Canada: Privacy Protection

Foreign companies entering Canada often assume their existing privacy programs designed for GDPR or CCPA compliance can simply extend to Canadian operations, but Canada's legal requirements demand targeted modifications. This comprehensive guide examines Canada's private sector privacy legislation, breach reporting obligations, AI governance expectations, and anti-spam regulations that businesses must navigate before launching in the Canadian market.

The BC Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the courts' gatekeeping role at certification, upholding a lower court's refusal to certify a privacy class action where plaintiffs failed to provide any evidentiary basis for their central allegation that shopping mall directory software recorded facial images and converted them into biometric data. This decision clarifies the evidentiary burden required to satisfy the "some basis in fact" standard at the certification stage in British Columbia.

Artificial intelligence has entered a new phase in Canadian health care. BLG recently hosted health care leaders, hospital representatives, technology companies, and industry stakeholders at its Artificial Intelligence in Canadian Health Care Symposium in Toronto.