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Ontario

Summary

Law: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSO 1990 c F.31 ('the Act'). Please note that the Act applies to public bodies only. Private organisations are regulated at the federal level by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act 2000 ('PIPEDA').

Regulator: The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario ('IPC')

Summary: Although Ontario does not have a comprehensive private sector data protection law, privacy principles are enshrined through the enforcement of public sector and sector-specific laws. In addition, Ontario has shown signs of increasing the scope of privacy protections in the province with recent amendments to the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 3, Sched. A ('PHIPA'). In particular, the changes to PHIPA include increased penalties, audit requirements for organisations, and additional regulation-making powers for the IPC. Finally, Bill 14 for the Personal Information Protection Act, 2018, which is being discussed in the Standing Committee on Justice, may introduce significant new requirements for private organisations if enacted.

Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how nearly every industry in the world operates. From temporary accommodations to more permanent changes, the paradigm shift of the pandemic has been palpable. The proliferation of work-from-home arrangements has enjoyed robust traction over the last two years. However, removing employees from their more supervised work environments and leaving them to work from the comfort of their own homes may understandably come with concerns about employee productivity and the use of work devices away from the workplace. Jennifer L. Hunter and Christopher Dias, from Lerners LLP, discuss the new legislation on electronic employee monitoring and how this may impact both employers and employees.

The Office of the Information Commissioner of Ontario ('IPC') announced, on 7 September 2021, that it had issued its submission1 in response to the provincial government's white paper2 on proposals for a provincial private sector privacy law.

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