The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: Developments in privacy law and writings of a Canadian privacy lawyer, containing information related to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (aka PIPEDA) and other Canadian and international laws.

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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Friday, December 17, 2004

Alberta bureaucrat calls in the federal commissioner to investigate privacy breach

In another interesting turn of events, an Alberta public servant has requested that the Federal Privacy Commissioner investigate the breach of privacy connected to the discovery of hundreds of files of bureaucrats' personal information in Alberta. This is in addition to an investigation conducted by the Alberta Commissioner, the report for which was released this week (see PIPEDA and Canadian Privacy Law: Alberta Commissioner releases report on incident involving sensitive info of senior public servants).

Feds called in:
"A top Alberta bureaucrat burned in the recent leak of private credit data from the provincial government's staff-screening process has sicced Ottawa's privacy watchdog on the case. The bureaucrat, who has asked not to be named, said he's filed a request for an investigation by the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
The commission office couldn't confirm the request yesterday. 'We get about 19,000 requests a year, [!]' said a spokesman.
Although provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner Frank Work released his own report on the Trans Union affair this week, the federal office may also have jurisdiction - since the screening process involved the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
The screening process was launched by the Klein government last year to guard against fraud or security breaches by top bureaucrats. It included criminal background and credit checks, along with a CSIS 'vulnerability risk screening.' ...."

For background, see:

Labels: alberta, information breaches, privacy