A leading expert on personal information law says the Trudeau government is unwilling to hold political parties to the same level of accountability it is demanding of other organizations in its current revamp of the federal privacy regime.
Teresa Scassa, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, says the Liberals are imposing significant new obligations on many organizations, but “they’re simply not willing to hold themselves” and other parties to account as political entities.
The Justice Department recently issued a discussion paper on revising the Privacy Act, which regulates the federal public sector’s collection, use and disclosure of personal data.
The launch of a public consultation follows the tabling of a government bill by Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains that would give people more control over their information in the digital age, with potentially stiff fines for companies that flout the rules.
However, neither initiative addresses calls from the privacy commissioner and accountability advocates who want federal laws governing personal information to apply to political parties.
Information about prospective voters is helpful to political parties for everything from door-to-door canvassing to crafting platforms, and there are new concerns about how parties use such information to track and target people in the era of algorithms and vast databases.
Scassa says the government could ensure federal parties abide by provisions that would require them, for example, to obtain consent to use personal information, report data breaches when they happen and erase personal details upon someone’s request.
“There’s a lot that you could put in there that would dramatically improve the protection of individuals’ privacy, when it comes to political parties,” Scassa said. “They seem completely unwilling to do so. It’s a very significant problem.”
It might be necessary to include exceptions in the law around how parties communicate with voters or espouse their ideas, she acknowledged.
Canadian Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien has called for federal laws governing personal information to apply to political parties. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
But basic fair-information principles can apply, “especially since the kind of information that political parties are now starting to collect and use goes way beyond what used to be the case, and some of them are in engaging in much more sophisticated profiling of people and so on,” Scassa said.
Others calling for explicit application of privacy law to parties include Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien and the Centre for Digital Rights, established by businessman and philanthropist Jim Balsillie.
Justice Department spokesperson Ian McLeod said the Privacy Act applies to federal government institutions and federal public bodies, and since political parties are private organizations, “they would not be captured by the act’s scope.”
Asked about the possible inclusion of political parties in federal privacy law governing private-sector organizations, John Power, a spokesperson for Bains, said the 2018 Elections Modernization Act created requirements for political parties to protect Canadians’ personal information.
Parties are now required to have “a publicly available, easily understandable policy” for the protection of personal information, a document that must be submitted to Elections Canada, he said.
Scassa said these provisions fall short of what’s needed.
“A requirement to have a privacy policy without more, without proper accountability and proper safeguards, it’s just not good enough.”
The discussion paper on overhauling the Privacy Act says the government faces the dilemma of updating a decades-old law so that Canadians can benefit from the many promises of the digital environment, while respecting modern expectations about how their information should be used, managed and protected.
Among the changes it proposes:
Give federal agencies greater flexibility to use and disclose personal information that has undergone an established process for removing personal identifiers.
Spell out rights related to public awareness of interactions with automated decision-making systems, such as artificial intelligence tools.
Give the privacy commissioner greater powers to more effectively address complaints and expand the range of matters for which individuals can seek legal remedies.
Definitions of what the government considers to be personal information and publicly available information, particularly in the context of the online world and social media, would be welcome in a revised law, said Tim McSorley, national co-ordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.
McSorley said he would also like to see a rights-based approach to management of personal information, saying it would amount to a profound change by placing privacy rights on a footing with other fundamental guarantees.
In addition, he flags elements of the discussion paper that suggest police and spy agencies could be exempted from certain requirements, given the secret nature of their investigations.
“We could have the strongest possible rules in the Privacy Act, but if it’s full of exceptions for national security and law enforcement, then it doesn’t really go far enough to protect people’s privacy and their information.”
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
