Privacy

R v Canfield: Unrestricted Searches of Digital Devices at the Border Declared Unconstitutional

Over the past decade, personal electronic devices (“PEDs”) such as cell phones, tablets, and laptops have become mobile security safes for individuals’ core biographical and personal information. They contain banking information, credit card numbers, health data, private correspondence, and personal photos, all locked away by a single password. Having another person, especially a government official, […]

Genetic Non-Discrimination Act Reference: What’s the difference between a genetic test and a biopsy?

OPC Reaffirms 2009 Consent Standard for Cross-Border Data Processing

Only “Counsel” and “Media” Can Tweet Inside Court: A Charter Infringement?

The open court principle requires that the media is able to report on court proceedings, except in rare cases where doing so would infringe, for example, an accused's right to a fair trial or a witness's right to privacy. In recent years, social media has been increasingly used to communicate information from courtrooms to the […]

R v Vice Media : The Special Role of the Press

When should judges grant police access to a media company’s communications with a source? What if that source is suspected of engaging in terrorist activity? In R v Vice Media Canada Inc., 2018 SCC 53 [Vice] the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) balanced the interests of the media and the state in creating a new […]

Establishing the Parameters of Privacy and Trust in the Sharing Economy

TheCourt.ca has published commentary on R v Reeves from when it was heard at the Ontario Court of Appeal and most recently at the Supreme Court of Canada. This post is a forward-thinking piece on the impact of R v Reeves on the sharing economy. 2019 has arrived with a slew of upcoming Initial Public Offerings […]

Rogers Communications Inc v Voltage Pictures: Balancing Privacy and (Intellectual) Property Protection

This case has already been covered in detail by Nicole Daniels here. The case—and that post—focus more on the issue of who should bear liability for the costs of actions undertaken to combat infringement. This post focuses on the underlying reasons the SCC may have had in reaching their decision. Rogers Communications Inc v Voltage […]

Iggillis Holdings Inc v Canada (National Revenue): What Secrets Can Corporate Lawyers and Their Clients Keep?

When corporate lawyers choose to exchange information with opposing counsel, they do so with a view towards a smooth and confidential closing of their client’s transaction. In particular, the promise of confidentiality is granted by the doctrine of “common interest privilege”. Privilege protects all communications between a professional legal adviser and their clients from being disclosed […]

Click and Consent: Douez v Facebook and Online User Agreements

Much like over 2 billion people globally, 19 million in Canada, and 1.8 million in British Columbia, Deborah Douez has a Facebook account. And much like two billion people before her, Ms. Douez clicked "I agree" to Facebook's terms and conditions when creating her Facebook account in 2007.

Return to Sender: Reasonable Expectations of Privacy in R v Marakah

How private are your private messages? Can the police read the texts you send to others? This post explores R v Marakah, 2017 SCC 59, in which the Supreme Court of Canada found that a sender can have a reasonable expectation of privacy over messages retrieved from the phone of the person receiving those messages. The […]