Professionals Take Heed: A Decision At The Crossroads Of Disciplinary Law And Cybersecurity

On June 7, 2017, the disciplinary council of the Ordre des CRHA/CRIA¹ issued a fundamental decision that lies at the crossroads of professional and disciplinary law, the protection of privacy and information, and information technologies: Conseillers en ressources humaines et en relations industrielles agréés (Ordre professionnel des) c. Milot, 2017 CanLII 35570 (QC CDRHRI).

This decision essentially offers a number of lessons concerning the duty of professionals to be technologically competent, security measures to be applied when transmitting technological documents, and, more broadly, certain cybersecurity issues. This bulletin will therefore summarize (1) the facts to which the decision relates; (2) the positions of the parties; (3) the analysis by the disciplinary council; (4) the lessons to be learned in relation to professional and disciplinary law; and (5) the lessons to be learned in terms of cybersecurity and information technologies.