Privacy and the 2010 Olympics
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In February and March 2010, Canada hosted the world at the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. As the first international “mega-event” in Canada in the post-9/11 era, the Vancouver Winter Games posed unprecedented security challenges.
But while keeping athletes, visitors, staff and volunteers safe was of paramount importance, it was crucial that security officials uphold another core Canadian value: Respect for the privacy of individuals and the integrity of their personal information – before, during and after the Games.
For more than a year leading up to the Games, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, in conjunction with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia, was in communication with the Integrated Security Unit responsible for Olympic security, to ensure that surveillance and other security measures would not unduly infringe on the rights of participants, workers, visitors or nearby residents.
This website explores the preservation of privacy in the context of Olympic security, and provides links to further information.
Fact Sheet
- Privacy and Security at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games
August 2009 - Your privacy rights at airports and border crossings
February 2010
News Releases
- Privacy protection must be part of Vancouver Olympic Games planning, say federal and B.C. Privacy Commissioners – Joint news release from Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia.
February 2, 2009
Speeches and Statements
- A group of researchers who participated in the Surveillance Games Research Workshop November 20-21 in Vancouver, B.C. have drafted a joint statement on security, surveillance and mega-events signed by international experts specializing in these areas
November 23, 2009 - Remarks by Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, at the “Privacy, Security and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games” workshop, Victoria, British Columbia
February 2, 2009 - Privacy, Security and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, speaking points by Chantal Bernier, Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada at the 2009 Reboot Conference
February 4, 2009
Research
- Summary report of the “Privacy, Security and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games” workshop, Victoria, B.C., February 2, 2009
- Privacy Games – The Vancouver Olympics, Privacy and Surveillance, a report to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada under the Contributions Program, Philip Boyle and Kevin Haggerty, University of Alberta, March 2009
Guidelines
- OPC guidelines for the use of video surveillance of public places by police and law enforcement authorities, March 2006
Events
- The Surveillance Games: A Research Workshop, an event organized by The New Transparency Project (in association with the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology, Simon Fraser University), at the Harbour Centre, Vancouver, B.C., November 20-21, 2009
Other links
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