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Ottawa, February 13, 2004

Privacy Commissioner's Office establishes new External Advisory Committee

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, along with Assistant Privacy Commissioners Heather Black and Raymond D'Aoust, officially announced today the creation of a new blue-ribbon External Advisory Committee, comprised of seasoned privacy experts and public sector scholars and practitioners, which will provide expert advice on strategic directions for her Office.

The Committee's distinguished members include: David Flaherty, a prominent authority on data protection and former Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia; the Honourable Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canda with a particular interest in human rights; Paul Thomas, political scientist, professor at the University of Manitoba and commentator on the role of Parliamentary officers; and Mary Anne Griffith, former Deputy Clerk of the House of Commons, and advisor in the areas of Parliamentary procedure and administration.

The Committee met with the Office's senior officials for the first time on February 5, 2004, and the first task was to review and comment on the Office's strategic directions for the upcoming fiscal year. The discussions were fruitful, and the insights garnered will help to shape the Office's strategies and priorities The Committee is expected to meet approximately twice a year, but members may also act as a sounding board for the Office on their various areas of expertise and on issues as they arise.

The Commissioner and Assistant Commissioners are confident that the Committee will be an invaluable resource as the Office strives to develop appropriate strategic plans, modernize management practices, strengthen its accountability processes and reposition many of its operations. As the Office and its staff emerge from difficulties faced over the past year, these new approaches will help to ensure that they can rise to the contemporary privacy challenges in Canada.