Summary
People continue to have a reasonable expectation of privacy even
when they are in a public space or a space under general
surveillance.
Widespread use of surveillance technology in areas open to the
gaze of others does not mean there can be no reasonable expectation
of privacy.
The Supreme Court of Canada has just reaffirmed that individuals
in Canada rightly have an expectation of privacy, even in public
areas where surveillance technology may be in use.
The Context
Private sector organizations, employers and public institutions
have long taken advantage of readily-available and increasingly
accurate surveillance technology. Its careful deployment for
legitimate uses has been cautiously approved by the courts and
privacy regulators across Canada to ensure that its
privacy-invasive characteristics are kept to a minimum necessary in
various circumstances.
