Agenda

Gregory Keefe
Chief Information Officer
Nova Scotia Office of the Chief Information Officer

The compliance model inherent in the federal Access to Information Act is weak. There is an urgent need to bring about a true culture of openness and transparency throughout federal institutions. Now, more than never, concerted action among all stakeholders is required, at all levels, to strengthen transparency as an important pillar of our democracy, and to allow Canada to regain its status as a leader in access to information.

Assistant Commissioner Legault will discuss the OIC's recent responses to the deficiency of the compliance model and the need to reform an outdated legislation. She will present the new business model the Office is implementing to improve the timeliness and efficiency of its investigative work and to maximize compliance across the system. The strategic use of systemic actions, in particular, offers significant opportunities for partnerships to help bring Canada's access to information system into the 21st century.

Suzanne Legault
Assistant Commissioner
Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

Suzanne Legault was appointed Assistant Commissioner for the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada on June 18, 2007. She heads the Policy, Communications and Operations Branch. In 2006, she participated in the Federal Public Servant in Residence Program and worked with Dr. David Zussman, Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at the University of Ottawa. Ms. Legault began her career in the Public Service in 1996 at the Competition Bureau, where she held increasingly senior positions, including Special Advisor to the Commissioner of Competition. She then served as Legal Counsel with the Department of Justice, before returning to the Competition Bureau where she was Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Legislative Affairs, then Deputy Commissioner, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs. Prior to joining the Public Service, Ms. Legault practised law as a criminal defense lawyer from 1991 to 1996, as well as Crown prosecutor from 1994 to 1996. Ms. Legault holds a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill Law School, which she obtained in 1988.

Dr. Valerie Steeves
Assistant Professor
Department of Criminology and Faculty of Law
University of Ottawa

Please register for this session early, last year's workshop sold out!!!

More often than not, professional staff in many organizations are required to assume the duties of "privacy officer" without having formal training, or any previous experience. Even those who have some awareness of the world of privacy's Fair Information Principles are often challenged by the need to keep management attuned to the privacy needs of their organization as well as the day-to- day tasks of developing and monitoring policies and protocols. Meeting such challenges in an age of outsourcing personal information IT projects can be daunting, especially when the potential for a privacy breach with serious ramifications for the organization is just around the corner. Privacy is the "trust entrance window" for an organization, and is often the credibility test for other elements of the customer or client relationship. Of all this means that it is important to keep your privacy program simple but thorough, responsive but also anticipatory, and flexible but solid in its approach. There are basic tools that every private and public sector organization should have that respond to these challenges, and effectively meet privacy compliance obligations, but at the same time are systemic with mechanisms that automatically ensure currency and relevance.

This session will provide a practical guide for the inexperienced privacy officer, as well as the seasoned privacy professional who is seeking a manageable comprehensive approach to privacy protection for their organization. It will provide a summary of the privacy tools that an organization should use and an outline of the major components for each. The session will provide presentations, videos, and case studies related to the background and experience of the audience. There will be points useful to both public and private sector practitioners and the session will be tailored to be of use and interest to all attending.

Those attending the session will receive:

• a user-friendly flow-chart that navigates the confusing arena of privacy laws
• a check list of the key tools that you need to ensure are in place and operational
• Tips and components for a privacy policy and a privacy breach protocol
• some basic privacy security tips around shredding, memory sticks, and laptops
• a handy "vulnerability meter" with respect to possible U.S. claims on the personal information of Canadians held by the organization.

Robert P. Doherty
President
Access & Privacy Services

For the past 10+ years, Bob Doherty was Nova Scotia Government’s first full-time Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Coordinator. Located in the N.S. Department of Justice, his office provided policy guidance and advice on best practices in the field of access and privacy to more than 100 individuals in public bodies and municipalities in the Province. As well, his team each year developed and delivered numerous information, education, and training workshops and materials on the administration of Nova Scotia’s access and privacy laws. During his tenure as Nova Scotia’s FOIPOP Coordinator he also directed the development of the first mandatory Routine Access Policy in Canada, and was executive producer for a series of access and privacy best practice videos now in use in the province. He was one of the principal architects of amendments to the FOIPOP Act in 1998, and PIIDPA in 2006. He has been a guest panellist at access and privacy conferences across Canada, has taught access and privacy law at the Mount St. Vincent University Information Technology Program, and worked with the University of Alberta’s Information Access and Privacy Certificate Program. He holds a B.A. Degree from St. Francis Xavier University, an M.Sc. in Communications from Boston University, and an LL. B. From Dalhousie University. He retired from the N.S. Public Service on April 20, 2007 and plans to continue his professional career in the access and privacy field.

David Fraser will lead an interactive workshop on the latest on regulations and privacy best practices, spanning the public and private sectors. The format will be flexible to make sure that the session focuses on what the participants want to learn. Issues will include:

• Trends from the courts and the regulators.

• Cross-border privacy issues:

• How to manage Patriot Act blocking statutes

• Crossing the border with electronic devices

• Social networking sites and Web 2.0

David Fraser
Chair
Privacy Practice Group
McInnes Cooper

David is widely recognized as one of Canada's leading privacy law experts. He is the chair of McInnes Cooper's Privacy Practice Group, working with large and small clients to implement compliance programs for Canadian privacy laws spanning the public, private and health-care sectors. He regularly provides opinions related to Canadian privacy law and is a frequently invited speaker on this topic. David also acts for organizations and individuals in privacy complaints before regulators and in the courts.

David is the President of the Canadian IT Law Association. He is the Vice Chair of the National Privacy and Access Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association and co-chair of the Section's legislation and law reform committee. He has twice appeared before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics of the Canadian Parliament and has contributed to the CBA's submissions on privacy law reform, criminal justice matters, submissions to the Arar Inquiry, the Air India Inquiry, to name a few.