Teresa Scassa - Blog

A recent Finding from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada contains a consideration of the meaning of “publicly available information”, particularly as it relates to social media profiles. This issue is particularly significant given a recent recommendation by the ETHI committee in its Report on PIPEDA reform. PIPEDA currently contains a very narrowly framed exception to the requirement of consent for “publicly available information”. ETHI had recommended amending the definition to make it…

The Supreme Court of Canada has issued its unanimous decision in The Queen v. Philip Morris International Inc. This appeal arose out of an ongoing lawsuit brought by the province of British Columbia against tobacco companies to recover the health care costs associated with tobacco-related illnesses in the province. Similar suits brought by other provincial governments are at different stages across the country. In most cases, the litigation is brought under provincial legislation passed specifically…