Skip to content.

snIP/ITs Blog Monthly Review

Below is our Month in Review for February, highlighting posts on our snIP/ITs blog. You can follow the links to any of these specific posts, or you can visit the blog at www.canadiantechlawblog.com.

Canadian Courts Refuse to Settle for Weak Privacy Rights: “Imperial Oil Limited v Alberta”
By Roland Hung and Kimberly Macnab on February 27th, 2015

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) dismissed leave to appeal the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”) decision in Imperial Oil Limited v Alberta., thereby endorsing the ABCA’s approach to settlement privilege in the context of applications under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FOIPP”). Settlement privilege is alive, well, and strongly protected in Alberta, even in the more public regulatory context, as long as parties fall within the exceptions set out in ss. 16 and 27 of FOIPP. Continue Reading

Bill C-13: Lawful Access and the Relationship Between Organizations
By Sean Griffin, Anne-Elisabeth Simard and Marianne Bellefleur on February 25th, 2015

On December 9, 2014, Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act, the Competition Act and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act (Act) – also known as the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act –, received the royal assent. The Act will come into force on March 9, 2015. The Act deals with the serious issues of online bullying, harassment and non-consensual circulation of intimate images and aims the protection of Canadians from cyber-bullying and other forms of Internet exploitation. Continue Reading

PHIPA Does Not Preclude the Recourse to Common Law for Health Privacy Violations
By Antoine Brylowski, Mathieu Courchesne and Sean Griffin on February 25th, 2015

‘‘With the click of a mouse, personal health records can be accessed by those who have a legitimate interest in properly treating a patient – or they can be accessed for an improper purpose.’’ These were the opening words of the Ontario Superior Court in the case of Hopkins v. Kay where Representative Plaintiffs sought to bring a class action suit against a hospital and other defendants, alleging that approximately 280 patient records of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (the ‘‘Hospital’’) were intentionally and wrongfully accessed by the Hospital’s staff and others. Continue Reading

Mere Compliance With Privacy Requirements By Corporations may no Longer be Enough
By Antoine Brylowski, Mathieu Courchesne and Sean Griffin on February 25th, 2015

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (‘‘OPC’’) recently published a research paper entitled ‘‘Privacy and Cyber Security: Emphasizing privacy protection in cyber security activities’’ in which are outlined the common interests and tensions between privacy and cyber security. The report sets out key policy indications with a view to generating dialogue on cyber security as an important element of online protection, while acknowledging that cyberspace governance is a global issue. Continue Reading

U.S. regulators review brokerage cybersecurity, provide guidance
By Kirsten Thompson on February 20th, 2015

Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) each released reports addressing cybersecurity. FINRA’s report targeted its broker-dealer members, and the SEC’s report targeted broker-dealers and investment advisers, but the twin reports provide a roadmap to cybersecurity for financial market participants generally, both in the US and Canada. Continue Reading

Canada Patented Medicines: Federal Court of Appeal Confirms Mootness of Innovator Appeals after Generic Marketing Authorization is Granted
By Bart Nowak and David Tait on February 17th, 2015

“Asking a court to prohibit a notice of compliance after it has issued is like asking someone to close the barn door after the horses have escaped.” With this analogy, the Federal Court of Appeal in Janssen Inc. v. Teva Canada Limited, 2015 FCA 36 has confirmed that an appeal from an order dismissing a prohibition application under the PM(NOC) Regulations becomes moot once the generic notice of compliance is issued. The Court dismissed Janssen’s appeal noting that it does not serve judicial economy to hear moot appeals. Continue Reading

The Latest on Canadian Expert Reports: Ontario’s Highest Court Rejects Notion that Consultations between Counsel and Experts Must Stop
By Bart Nowak and David Tait on February 17th, 2015

The Ontario Court of Appeal has put to rest any notion that the practice of consultation between counsel and expert witnesses to review draft reports is improper. In its decision in Moore v. Getahun, 2015 ONCA 55 rendered on January 29, 2015, the Court explained that “banning undocumented discussions between counsel and expert witnesses or mandating disclosure of all written communications is unsupported by and contrary to existing authority”. Continue Reading