Former Quebec premier suing government for $1M for privacy violation
October 15, 2020 The Canadian PressMONTREAL – Former premier Jean Charest is suing the Quebec government for violation of his privacy in connection with an investigation by the province’s anti-corruption unit. The lawsuit filed Friday in Montreal seeks $1 million in punitive damages and $50,000…
COVID-19 pandemic accelerating digital privacy risks, federal watchdog warns
October 8, 2020 The Canadian PressOTTAWA – The federal privacy czar says the COVID-19 pandemic is underscoring weaknesses in the law that place the personal information of Canadians at risk. In his annual report presented to Parliament today, privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien warns the pandemic…
Appeal judge: Is the lack of a privacy-breach tort in this province ‘anachronistic’?
September 14, 2020 by Greg MeckbachBritish Columbia’s courts need to take a close look at the question of whether the province has a tort for breach of privacy, an appeal court judge suggested in a recent decision arising from a data breach at a Vancouver-based…
Canadian government named in class-action privacy breach lawsuit
September 3, 2020 by Greg MeckbachThe federal government is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit over data breaches earlier this year affecting thousands of users of online service users. Criminals were able to get the user names and passwords of 9,041 users of GCKey, the federal…
$2.2-million credit score class action settlement with The Personal approved
October 28, 2019 by Greg MeckbachA $2.2 million settlement of a class-action privacy lawsuit against The Personal has been approved by a judge, plaintiffs’ law firm Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation announced Monday. The lawsuit arose after The Personal asked some auto claimants if it could…
Scheer promises to create ‘Canada Cyber Safe’ certification for digital
September 9, 2019 Giuseppe Valiante - THE CANADIAN PRESSMONTREAL – Conservative party Leader Andrew Scheer is trying to reassure Canadians that if elected, his government would better protect their personal information following recent high-profile security breaches at major corporations that compromised the data of millions of Canadians. A…
The real reason for spike in cyber claims
June 17, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe number of reported cyber claims has jumped significantly, but it’s not because of the major breaches you’ve been reading in the headlines. Small to mid-sized organizations are at greater risk of cyber losses than large organizations, A.M. Best Company…
Nova Scotia Health Authority investigating possible privacy breach
June 10, 2019 THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – The personal health information of nearly 3,000 people may have been compromised in a phishing attack, the Nova Scotia Health Authority says. The health authority said Monday that it is investigating a “potential” privacy breach affecting 2,841 patients.…
How the EU’s data privacy law will apply to your Canadian clients
June 5, 2019 by Greg MeckbachThe European Union’s new data privacy law can affect your clients even if they don’t have offices in Europe, a cyber security expert with one of the world’s biggest brokerages warns. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect…
This province lacks ‘reasonable’ cyber security: privacy commissioner
January 15, 2019 Keith Doucette - THE CANADIAN PRESSHALIFAX – A pair of reports slam the Nova Scotia government for failing to protect personal information, saying the risk management around its freedom-of-information website was inadequate and a privacy breach last year was preventable. In his report released Tuesday…
Privacy breach hotel faces class action in Canada
December 11, 2018 Tara Deschamps - THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO – Canadians who stayed at Marriott International Inc. and Starwood Canada ULC hotels are taking legal action against the companies following a security breach. At least three proposed class actions have been launched in Toronto and Montreal against the…
Data breach risk prompts new Ontario legislation
November 30, 2018 by Greg MeckbachRecent backlashes against Statistics Canada and Facebook have prompted Ontario lawmakers to make it harder to share consumer banking information. “Financial data is especially vulnerable to hacking,” Stephen Crawford, Ontario MPP for Oakville, said Thursday at Queen’s Park in Toronto.…