Information & Ethics committee  Thank you. One of the most contentious issues that we had in our discussions with Google and Canpages is what happens to the raw imagery, the unblurred imagery that's stored in databases in the U.S. At first Google was very reluctant to set a retention period for how long they w

Information & Ethics committee  Since Google Street View went live on October 7, we've had a handful of calls from Canadians expressing their concerns. We have received no official complaints, but again, our first response is to send the individual to Google. A lot of people want images of their houses or thems

Information & Ethics committee  We've been told that it's secure, but we're not investigating, so we haven't visited their facilities yet. The undertaking will happen after a one-year period, and they've invited us in.

Information & Ethics committee  We do. We have three levels of complaints. If a file is urgent, for the reasons I just outlined, then it would be given priority. It would be assigned right away. We also look at the level of the investigator. A senior investigator, an experienced investigator, would be given a c

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not the expert on the answer to these questions, but my understanding is yes, we have had high turnover for the last three years. The reasons for that.... The workload is heavy. As well, there's natural churn of these kinds of professionals, who are doing access and privacy w

Information & Ethics committee  I'll take your first question, which is about how we are changing the front end of the process and the triaging of new complaints. We used to deal with complaints on a first-come, first-served basis. We felt that what we needed to do was put more resources into dealing with thos

Information & Ethics committee  If somebody was complaining about getting access to a certain record he or she needed for a custody dispute, if there was a medical issue at stake and information was needed from a physician, then we would deal with that first. So there was something urgently at issue. Also, if

Information & Ethics committee  There is discussion about that. The commissioner has the powers to audit FINTRAC, which collects this data, every two years. We are just completing an audit of that. And in fact there is over-collection by some agencies that are copying drivers' licences when they don't actually

Information & Ethics committee  All of the real estate firms are still required under PIPEDA, or the substantially similar provincial laws, to safeguard that information. So there still is a legal requirement to safeguard the data. I hear you, though. They need to understand that they are now collecting extens

Information & Ethics committee  The commissioner shares your concern, and a draft of that letter is on my desk right now, so you will be receiving it shortly. The difference between the example you gave about the video store collecting a driver's licence, of course, and a real estate agent scanning or copying

Information & Ethics committee  In that particular case we had an earlier complaint. We had investigated the complaint, and the video store had agreed to cease collecting the driver's licences, because of course there is a risk of exposure of personal information in the hands of the video chain when that inform

Information & Ethics committee  You're talking about the number of inquiries we get. Those are telephone and written inquiries. I don't have the statistics in front of me, but I think it would be a handful of those calls. A greater number of reports that involved theft or loss of personal information came in t

Information & Ethics committee  Good morning Mr. Chairman and committee members. Thank you for inviting our office to address you on the privacy implications of camera surveillance as used in commercial applications, such as Google Street View and Canpages, and on other issues related to surveillance and new t

Industry committee  I think that might be an unintended consequence of the drafting. I certainly think Canadians expect and want those upgrades on their computers, so I understand that Industry Canada is looking at tweaking the language to make sure that's taken care of.

Industry committee  I'm not sure I quite understand it. Do you mean does PIPEDA trump a private right of action?