Notice of consultation and call for comments on AI consultation paper

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is currently engaged in legislative reform policy analysis of both federal privacy laws. We are examining artificial intelligence (AI) as a subset of this work as it relates specifically to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). In our view, AI presents fundamental challenges to all PIPEDA principles and we have identified several areas where the Act could be enhanced.

In our opinion, responsible innovation involving AI systems must take place in a regulatory environment that respects fundamental rights and creates the conditions for trust in the digital economy to flourish.

We invite you to read our office’s Proposals for ensuring appropriate regulation of artificial intelligence and provide written feedback to OPC-CPVPconsult1@priv.gc.ca by March 13, 2020.

Feedback rules and procedures

Feedback may be sent in the form of an email or Word document. Any comments that violate Canadian law or violate our comment policy will not be considered within scope of this call for feedback and will either be deleted or dealt with in accordance with our legal authorities under the Privacy Act. Please note that the OPC is not providing funding for any feedback related to this call for comment.

Your feedback will not be posted on the OPC website but we will post an overall summary of feedback that we receive. If you post your feedback online, please advise us and provide us with a link. If you are submitting previously published works as part of your feedback, please include appropriate references and links.

The OPC is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The Access to Information Act provides a public right of access to government records. The Privacy Act provides individuals with a right of access to their own personal information and protects that information from unauthorized disclosure. Some of the information you provide to us in this process may be accessible under the Access to Information Act; this does not include personal information as defined in the Privacy Act.

Please see the OPC’s Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and comment policy for how we handle your information. The personal information you provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the OPC, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

If you have a question unrelated to this call for feedback, please use our Online information request form or contact our Information Centre. Feedback will not be treated as a privacy complaint under the Privacy Act or PIPEDA. For further information on filing complaints under either Act, please see How to file a privacy complaint.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Melanie Millar-Chapman, who can be reached directly at melanie.millar-chapman@priv.gc.ca, by telephone at 819-994-6008, or toll free at 1-800-282-1376.