Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner’s Office is holding a Symposium- Beware of “Surveillance by Design:” Standing Up for Freedom and Privacy- on January 27 from 9-11 am. This Symposium, about the proposed federal “lawful access” legislation, is being webcast live (for free) and may be of particular interest to faculty and students of constitutional law, Charter rights, and information privacy.
This Symposium is intended to raise public awareness about the privacy implications of online surveillance and the proposed legislation. This issue is becoming a hot topic of discussion, especially among the legal community, media, and telecom providers. The anticipated re-introduction of three federal bills (Bills C-50, C-51, C-52) will provide police with the greater ability to access and track information via the communication technologies that we use everyday, (such as the Internet, smart phones, and other mobile devices) without a warrant or judicial oversight. These three pieces of legislation may diminish the privacy rights of all Canadians.
Join the Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, and other highly respected privacy, legal, and academic experts in this discussion of the implications of the “lawful access” legislation. The cast of speakers includes:
- Alan Borovoy, General Counsel, Emeritus, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
- Professor John Villasenor, The Brookings Institution and University of California, Los Angeles
- Dr. Ron Deibert, Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto
- Nathalie Des Rosiers, General Counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association
- David Fraser, Lead, McInnes Cooper Privacy Practice Group
- John Ibbitson, Ottawa Bureau Chief, Globe and Mail
We invite faculty and students to pre-register online for the free live webcast. The registration site includes a systems check page, where registrants can verify that their systems meet the requirements for viewing the webcast. All you need to do, once registered, is to simply log on to the website at 9 a.m. on January 27.
In addition to the Symposium, there will be an online letter-writing tool to encourage Ontarians (indeed, all Canadians) to ask their Members of Parliament to hold public hearings into these matters and to only introduce proposed legislation which has addressed these issues. The letter-writing tool is part of www.realprivacy.ca, on which there is more information regarding concerns about the legislation; positive solutions to address them; background information on the issue; and links to media reports.
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