Editor’s Note: Just as Canadian Underwriter went to press, the Federal Court of Canada ruled in State Farm v Privacy Commissioner of Canada that using surveillance for the purpose of mounting a defence in a civil legal action does not fall under the Privacy Act, although the Privacy Commissioner does have jurisdiction to investigate the matter.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is an advocate for the privacy of the rights of Canadians. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a federal privacy law from which the OPC derives its authority. There has been much debate in recent years about whether the OPC has the ability to regulate how private organizations such as insurance companies conduct covert video surveillance of individuals about which they seek to obtain further information.

Abigail Turner and Kim Yee co-wrote the article “Privatizing Surveillance” which was published by Canadian Underwriter in their August 2010 Edition.  Read the article here.