Justice committee  I try to avoid that.

Information & Ethics committee  Which number?

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you for the question. Just to clarify whether it's explicit or implied consent, both need to be informed. In terms of PIPEDA, the validity of consent depends on it being of an informed nature. In terms of distinguishing what form of consent is appropriate in different circumstances, whether it should be explicit or implied, in our guidance over the years, we have said that it will depend on the sensitivity of the information and the reasonable expectations of the individual.

Information & Ethics committee  No, there is not in the positive. But south of border there has been enormous refraction to the right to be forgotten for reasons related to their First Amendment right of freedom of speech. There's an example of a jurisdiction that's likely not going there.

Information & Ethics committee  Currently, the act provides for a balancing test, with oversight from our office. On a transactional basis, if personal information is disclosed in the context of an access to information request, we will be informed of that. We can't overwrite that—that is a ministerial discretion.

Information & Ethics committee  I think the recommendation is that where there are exemptions in the act to access to personal information requests, those should be injury-based as a starting premise. With respect to the Privacy Act exemptions, for access to personal information requests, that's the general principle that we're putting forth as the default.

Information & Ethics committee  One of the examples that has been the subject of much discussion here, both in the access to information context as well as in the privacy context, is around the exemption to access to information where there's personal information involved, as an example. One of the pivotal points is how to decide what the conditions are for releasing that information, despite the fact that personal information may be involved.

Information & Ethics committee  Other grounds that exist currently and with which we work in respect of the private sector include where there's insufficient evidence to pursue the investigation, perhaps due to timeliness and the disappearance of relevance; where the organization itself—in this case, a department or an institution—has already provided a fair and reasonable response to the individual; or where the matter has already been the subject of a report by the commissioner and a recurring issue has already been dealt with.

Information & Ethics committee  You've pointed to section 16 under the private sector legislation, which provides a good model of the array of remedies a court could order in the event of contravention of the act—in that case PIPEDA, but there is no reason that it wouldn't apply in the case of the Privacy Act as well—by way of an order to do something, an order to stop doing something, an order for damages, or an order for a publication of a notice of any action taken or proposed to be taken to correct practices.

Industry committee  I believe 2004 was when they were adopted, in that timeframe. For those specific provisions, I don't know offhand.

Industry committee  In the commissioner's words, we will have to take a close look at this issue based on the experience we will have with the new system.

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. Currently under PIPEDA there is a requirement to complete the investigation within a prescribed time period, and there are 45 days after which either the complainant or the commissioner can proceed to court for a de novo hearing in the event that we cannot resolve a matter with an organization.

Industry committee  The last round of amendments to PIPEDA would have come into force with the CASL legislation that made consequential amendments to PIPEDA in light of the anti-spam legislation. I believe that may have been the last time, but certainly there was no full review as per the requirement of the act.

Information & Ethics committee  As you know, we did participate in the study, so we were happy to see the report. There are a number of recommendations that we have paid attention to and continue to implement as we can. Are there some in particular you would like to ask about? I don't have the study in front of me.

Information & Ethics committee  Certainly, social media in general is a very big priority for the organization. We have particular outreach activities aimed at youth in order to increase digital literacy. We do them in-house or a lot through our contribution program that funds research and public education programs aimed at increasing digital literacy.