OPC Strategic Privacy Priorities

Lead Directorates:

In 2015, following significant public consultation, the OPC identified four strategic priorities and key goals for each:
1. Economics of personal information: to enhance the privacy protection and trust of individuals so that they may confidently participate in an innovative digital economy;
2. Government surveillance: to contribute to the adoption and implementation of laws and other measures that demonstrably protect both national security and privacy;
3. Reputation and privacy: to help create an online environment where individuals may use the Internet to explore their interests and develop as persons without fear that their digital trace will lead to unfair treatment; and
4. The body as information: to promote respect for the privacy and integrity of the human body as the vessel of our most intimate personal information.
These priorities reflected Canadians’ concerns and values, as well as input from civil society, consumer groups, industry, legal practitioners, academia and government.
The OPC’s approaches to achieving its goals included public education, addressing the privacy needs of vulnerable groups, and protecting Canadians’ privacy in a borderless world.
Prior to 2015, the previous Privacy Commissioner’s priorities were: genetic information; identity integrity and protection; public safety and privacy; and, information technology.

The strategic priorities remain extremely relevant today. They contributed significantly to the OPC’s conclusion that effective privacy protection for Canadians requires the adoption of federal public and private sector privacy laws that are rights-based, interoperable and that confer appropriate powers to the regulator to ensure compliance.

The OPC can commence an exercise to select a new suite of strategic privacy priorities, should it be of interest to the Commissioner.