International Privacy – 2013 Year in Review – Canada

This fall, Canadian Parliament failed to pass proposed amendments to its federal privacy law that would impose a mandatory breach notification requirement. Bill C-12, originally introduced in 2010 and reintroduced in 2011, seeks to amend Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) to include breach notification obligations for companies doing business in Canada.

On December 2, 2013, Canada's federal privacy commissioner of the past ten years, Jennifer Stoddart, stepped down from her position. Some have speculated that any new commissioner, when appointed, might renew the push for a mandatory breach notification requirement in 2014 and other reforms of Canada's data privacy regime, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).