The House of Commons committee recommends that the federal government notify Canadians if it collects data on their movements-and allow them to opt out of this collection.
These are some of the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, which began in January to examine the issue of data collection and use on the mobility of Canadians.
We just learned that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) used data on the mobility of Canadians during a pandemic to assess trends in the movement of populations.
Public health used cell tower data to track 33 million mobile devices to assess travel patterns during lockdowns. The agency then launched a tender, in December, to continue tracking cell location data until May 31, 2023.
The Commons committee believes the government should be informed on an ongoing basis Canadians from these programs – and they do in a way that clearly sets out the nature and purpose of data collection.
It also recommends changes to privacy and privacy laws, so that anonymous information and aggregated data can be considered personal data. personal informationtherefore subject to privacy protection.
LPHAC It ensured that cell tower location data would lose personal identities and that the agency would seek advice from privacy and ethics experts, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner from Canada.
Source: Radio-Canada
