Latest news with #PatriciaKosseim
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Yahoo
Ontario's privacy commissioner issues guardrails for police using investigative genetic genealogy
TORONTO, June 24, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) released guardrails for police use of investigative genetic genealogy. This first-in-Canada public resource marks an important step towards proper governance of this new and emerging technology. Investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) is a technique used by police to solve crimes. It involves using genetic data from crime scene samples and DNA databases to identify individuals through genetic matches, or partial matches to biological relatives. While IGG is a powerful tool for solving serious crimes, its use by police is currently not subject to any clear legislative framework. This raises real privacy and human rights concerns, especially for individuals who may become ensnared as part of a police investigation simply because they share DNA with someone else. "Investigative genetic genealogy has the power to crack cold cases, bring closure to victims' families, and even absolve the wrongfully convicted. But without clear legal rules, this new investigative tool can unduly broaden the scope of state surveillance and intrusion into the private lives of many innocent people." said Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. "Until there is a clear law governing the use of this technology, my office is proposing a policy framework to help ensure police in Ontario use this technology responsibly and in a way that maintains public trust." While the IPC does not necessarily endorse police use of IGG, these guardrails serve as a tool to help police comply with their legal obligations and mitigate risks to privacy and human rights. The twelve guardrails cover: lawful authority, necessity and proportionality, accountability, third party procurement, data minimization, retention, data security, controls for surreptitious DNA collection, transparency, access, public consultation, and ethical disclosure guidelines. In developing these guardrails, the IPC consulted with a broad range of interested parties to ensure a diversity of voices and expertise, including: police services, government ministries, civil society and human rights organizations, academic researchers and lawyers, experts in forensic science, pathology, genomics and bioethics, First Nations technology leaders, as well as privacy, human rights, and victims' rights regulators. Guardrails for Police Use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy in Ontario is the latest in a series of practical resources for police related to Next-Generation Law Enforcement. Others include guidance on automated licence plate recognition, facial recognition, and body-worn cameras. Through the development of these guidance documents, the IPC aims to contribute to building public trust in law enforcement by working with relevant partners to develop the necessary guardrails for the adoption of new technologies that protect both public safety and Ontarians' access and privacy rights. Learn more: Guardrails for Police Use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy in Ontario Family ties: Using investigative genetic genealogy to solve crimes (Info Matters podcast episode) Release of personal information to police: your privacy rights Disclosure of personal information to law enforcement Law enforcement and surveillance technologies (IPC webcast) SOURCE Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario View original content to download multimedia:
Cision Canada
24-06-2025
- Cision Canada
Ontario's privacy commissioner issues guardrails for police using investigative genetic genealogy Français
TORONTO, /CNW/ - Today, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) released guardrails for police use of investigative genetic genealogy. This first-in-Canada public resource marks an important step towards proper governance of this new and emerging technology. Investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) is a technique used by police to solve crimes. It involves using genetic data from crime scene samples and DNA databases to identify individuals through genetic matches, or partial matches to biological relatives. While IGG is a powerful tool for solving serious crimes, its use by police is currently not subject to any clear legislative framework. This raises real privacy and human rights concerns, especially for individuals who may become ensnared as part of a police investigation simply because they share DNA with someone else. "Investigative genetic genealogy has the power to crack cold cases, bring closure to victims' families, and even absolve the wrongfully convicted. But without clear legal rules, this new investigative tool can unduly broaden the scope of state surveillance and intrusion into the private lives of many innocent people." said Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. "Until there is a clear law governing the use of this technology, my office is proposing a policy framework to help ensure police in Ontario use this technology responsibly and in a way that maintains public trust." While the IPC does not necessarily endorse police use of IGG, these guardrails serve as a tool to help police comply with their legal obligations and mitigate risks to privacy and human rights. The twelve guardrails cover: lawful authority, necessity and proportionality, accountability, third party procurement, data minimization, retention, data security, controls for surreptitious DNA collection, transparency, access, public consultation, and ethical disclosure guidelines. In developing these guardrails, the IPC consulted with a broad range of interested parties to ensure a diversity of voices and expertise, including: police services, government ministries, civil society and human rights organizations, academic researchers and lawyers, experts in forensic science, pathology, genomics and bioethics, First Nations technology leaders, as well as privacy, human rights, and victims' rights regulators.
CBC
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ford government used code words to make it 'unduly difficult' to search Greenbelt records: report
Social Sharing Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government broke its legal, record-keeping obligations amid its now-reversed decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt lands for housing, the province's information and privacy commissioner has found. Political staff were using code words to thwart document requests and left a surprisingly small paper trail for such a consequential policy, Commissioner Patricia Kosseim wrote as part of her annual report. A number of freedom-of-information appeals her office received on Greenbelt-related requests revealed concerning, systemic issues, she wrote. "The Greenbelt-related appeals offer a clear example and cautionary tale about the consequences of inadequate recordkeeping," the IPC report said. "When key government decisions are not properly documented, when code words are used, or when records are stored in fragmented ways across personal and official systems, transparency suffers, and with it, public trust." In addition to issues previously highlighted by the auditor general around political staff deleting Greenbelt emails and using personal accounts, the government sometimes used code words in communications. Staffers sometimes referred to the Greenbelt project in messages as "special project," or "GB," or "G..," with references to G.. being next to impossible to find. Those terms and their inconsistent use made it "unduly difficult" to search for Greenbelt-related records, Kosseim wrote. "Worse, the use of the code word "G.." made it virtually impossible to find relevant records, given that the asterisk ("..") is used as a technical wildcard when conducting text searches, returning any word starting with "G," she wrote. That meant having to forego using the code word "G.." as a search term, so some Greenbelt records may have been missed, Kosseim wrote. "These practices not only violate legal record-keeping obligations, they also erode public trust in the integrity of government decision-making," she wrote. "The public has a fundamental right to know how and why decisions are made, especially those that impact protected lands like the Greenbelt. When records are obfuscated and made difficult, if not impossible, to find through evasive code words, transparency is compromised, and oversight becomes illusory." But there was also a "surprising" lack of Greenbelt documentation at all, which undermines transparency, Kosseim found. "The near-total absence of decision-making documentation is particularly concerning, especially on a file as high profile and consequential as changes to the Greenbelt," the report said. "Despite evidence of meetings and discussions involving premier's office staff and ministry staff about the Greenbelt, there was very little documentation of what was said or decided in those conversations, aside from a few contemporaneous notes taken by ministry staff." The RCMP is in the midst of an investigation into the government's decision to remove 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt to remove 50,000 homes — a process the auditor general and integrity commissioner have found favoured certain developers. Premier Doug Ford's office says the government has taken several steps to strengthen record-keeping practices, including reminding staff to preserve and manage records in accordance with requirements and holding training sessions, and will continue to comply with legal obligations. NDP Leader Marit Stiles said "enough is enough," because the last time political staff were found to be deleting government records, one went to jail. A top aide to former premier Dalton McGuinty was convicted of illegal use of a computer relating to his destruction of potentially embarrassing documents about the Liberal government's costly decision to cancel two gas plants before the 2011 provincial election. Stiles said there should be consequences for these new failings. "When will the premier finally answer for the disturbing culture of dodging accountability and disappearing records within this government?" she wrote in a statement.
Winnipeg Free Press
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ford government obfuscated Greenbelt records through code words: commissioner
TORONTO – Ontario's information and privacy commissioner says Premier Doug Ford's government broke its legal, record-keeping obligations amid its now-reversed decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt lands for housing. As part of Commissioner Patricia Kosseim's annual report, she says that a number of freedom-of-information appeals her office received on Greenbelt-related requests revealed concerning, systemic issues. She says in addition to issues previously highlighted by the auditor general around political staff deleting Greenbelt emails and using personal accounts, the government has a 'surprising' lack of documentation on such an important decision and sometimes used code words in communications. Kosseim says in the report that staffers sometimes referred to the Greenbelt project as 'special project,' or 'GB,' or 'G*,' with references to G* being next to impossible to find. The RCMP is in the midst of an investigation into the government's decision to remove 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt to remove 50,000 homes — a process the auditor general and integrity commissioner have found favoured certain developers. Premier Doug Ford's office says the government has taken several steps to strengthen record-keeping practices and will continue to comply with legal obligations. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Information and Privacy Commissioner urges government to close regulatory gaps and secure public trust
TORONTO, June 12, 2025 /CNW/ - Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Patricia Kosseim, is urging the provincial government to address regulatory gaps to better protect Ontarians' personal information from cybersecurity attacks, commercialization of children's data, and the use of AI technologies without clear rules or oversight. The call to action is outlined in the 2024 annual report of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC), From Vision to Impact: Five Years of Privacy and Transparency in a Digital Ontario, released today. The report also includes an appendix containing the IPC's findings and recommendations emerging from a series of access-to-information appeals involving the Greenbelt land removals. "In a world where trust is increasingly hard to come by, Ontarians deserve clear rules, strong safeguards, and full transparency from their institutions," said Commissioner Kosseim. "Whether it's how decisions are made, how personal data is used, or how emerging technologies are governed, our office will continue pushing for real accountability, because public trust is the foundation of a healthy democracy." Make AI and privacy laws work for OntariansThe IPC is urging the government to develop meaningful, enforceable regulations to address key legislative gaps left behind by Bill 194 that enacted the Enhancing Digital Security and Trust Act (EDSTA) and amended the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Specifically, the IPC is calling for: binding guardrails and independent oversight for public sector use of AI robust cybersecurity measures that protect Ontarians' sensitive information stronger and clearer protections for children's digital information amendments to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to match FIPPA changes. Failing to align the two laws risks creating confusion for institutions and frustration for Ontarians, who expect consistent privacy rights across all of Ontario's public sector Protect patient rights in a digital health systemEnsure that stronger accountability measures are embedded in the Personal Health Information Protection Act and that any future accompanying regulations strengthen meaningful access and protections for individuals' health information, rather than undermine them. Enabling greater access to the electronic health record system through digital health IDs may be a good thing, but not if the system lacks the necessary safeguards, clarity, and transparency. The IPC is calling on the government to retain individuals' full access rights to their health records, embed privacy-enhancing principles into the design of digital health IDs, and ensure strong governance and oversight, particularly when the provision of digital health services involves third-party vendors. Restore transparency and accountability in government decision-makingIn an appendix to its annual report, the IPC examines how the government handled a series of access to information requests related to the Greenbelt land removal decisions. The IPC identified several systemic issues, including: the use of personal devices and email accounts for government-related business, the use of code words that had the effect of frustrating FOI searches, the lack of proper documentation of key government decisions and poor information retention practices. These practices, if left unaddressed, risk undermining transparency and eroding public trust in government institutions. The IPC calls on the government to strengthen its record-keeping policies and practices, prohibit the use of personal accounts and devices for government-related business, regularly monitor for compliance, and codify a legal duty to document communications, decisions, and actions, as well as an explicit requirement for institutions to define and implement appropriate retention measures. The full 2024 annual report, including the Greenbelt appendix and key recommendations, is available on the IPC website. Additional resources: From Vision to Impact: Five Years of Privacy and Transparency in a Digital Ontario, 2024 Annual Report Statistical Report SOURCE Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario View original content to download multimedia: Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
