Leaving Privacy to the Privacy Commissioner

Abstract

The Competition Bureau no longer needs to play the role of privacy enforcer. Canada's competition authority envisioned itself as a necessary defender of Canadians' privacy interests where those interests could not be adequately protected elsewhere. Bill C-11, in introducing the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, transforms the Office of the Privacy Commissioner from mediator and conciliator to a dedicated privacy enforcer with the ability to make orders and recommend fines. With this welcome departure from the ombuds model, the Privacy Commissioner is better positioned than the Competition Bureau to take regulatory action against deceptive privacy claims: deceptive claims about what, how, and why consumers' personal information is being collected, used, and distributed. Faced with overlapping mandates, the Competition Bureau should enter into a referral agreement with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for such claims, taking a significant enforcement effort off the Bureau's books and allowing each regulator to fulfill their own mandate.