C-413 Private Member’s Bill 42nd Parliament, 1st session
This enactment amends the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to expand the grounds on which the Privacy Commissioner may decide not to investigate a complaint. It also authorizes the Privacy Commissioner to make orders directing an organization to take any action that, in the Commissioner’s opinion, is reasonable to ensure compliance with the organization’s obligations under the Act. Finally, this enactment provides that an organization that is found to have failed to comply with certain obligations under the Act is liable to a fine.
The bill aims to implement our parliamentary privacy committee’s unanimous recommendations to strengthen the enforcement powers of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, including the power to make orders, and broader discretion to audit organizations for compliance with our laws. What we have is an ombudsman. What we need is a regulator. The bill also provides for significant financial sanctions where organizations intentionally or recklessly breach our privacy rights. Where organizations obtain a financial benefit from using our personal information, they should suffer a financial loss when they misuse our personal information. If we take privacy seriously, we need both strong rules and a strong privacy regulator.
– Nate Erskine–Smith, introducing the bill 📹.
