Wednesday, April 23, 2008
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT
Playback: Monday, April 28, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. EDT

Pamela Chapman

Arbitrator/Mediator

Lorene Novakowski

Employer Counsel
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin

Dan Scott

Union Counsel
Blair Chahley Seveny

ISSUES:

The introduction of private sector privacy legislation by the federal government in 2001 was hailed as the start of a new era for the protection of privacy in Canada. Since that time two provinces, B.C. and Alberta, have joined Quebec in enacting privacy legislation which covers private sector workplaces, and employers and employees in those provinces, and in the federal sector, have seen the development of new law setting limits on the use of personal information in the workplace. However, the other provinces retain a patchwork of legislation providing varying degrees of privacy protection in the public sector. The result: widespread confusion over the scope of privacy rights, and over the overlapping roles of arbitrators and Privacy Commissioners in adjudicating privacy issues. 

• What important decisions regarding workplace privacy have been issued by the federal Privacy Commissioner under the Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act? In what workplaces does PIPEDA apply and what is the scope of the protection provided by this federal legislation? 
• What limits have been placed on the collection, use and disclosure of employee information in workplaces in those provinces which have enacted privacy legislation covering the private sector? (B.C., Alberta and Quebec) 
• To what extent does public sector legislation regulate workplace privacy in other provinces, and in what workplaces does this legislation apply? (Provincial governments? Municipalities? School boards? Emergency services? Hospitals and other health care workplaces?) 
• To what extent have arbitrators considered the provisions of privacy legislation and the decisions of Privacy Commissioners in making decisions concerning workplace privacy rights? What is the scope of arbitrators' jurisdiction to interpret and apply privacy legislation? 
• To what extent have Privacy Commissioners considered or adopted arbitral jurisprudence in interpreting and enforcing privacy legislation?
• What is the appropriate forum for resolving workplace privacy issues, where privacy legislation applies? Grievance arbitration? Or a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner? How are disputes over jurisdiction resolved?
• In those jurisdictions with workplace privacy legislation, has there been effective enforcement of privacy standards? Does the appeals process work?

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