Info Matters

Guests and Transparency Showcase exhibits

Council of Ontario Universities
Steve Orsini, President and CEO
Josh Lovell, Director, Policy and Planning 

Town of Innisfil
Mike Melinyshyn, Chief Financial Officer, Director of Corporate Services and Innovation
Damien Mainprize, Business Performance Specialist

Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Andrea Roberts, Director, Information Management Strategy Branch

Council of Ontario Universities

• What motivated the Council of Ontario Universities to create an open data platform? [2:43]
• Data that is publicly available on the platform and how it can benefit students, policymakers and educators [4:48]
• What goes into keeping the data up to date [7:01]
• How sharing data has led to new partnerships and real-world impacts [9:05]
• How the open data platform could evolve in the future [11:12]

Town of Innisfil

• About the Helpful Places initiative [13:53]
• Participating in the first cohort of the project with other cities from around the world [15:18]
• Using sensors to improve waste management efficiency in real time [16:03]
• Using QR codes and DTPR signage to let residents know about what data was being collected and why [18:56]
• The impact of transparency on public engagement and trust within the community [23:24]

Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

• The story behind high volumes of freedom of information requests [26:43]
• A two-stage approach to providing environmental property information records faster, using a new digital tool [28:32]
• Feeback from users of the system [30:55]
• Lessons learned from leveraging the FOI system in a new, innovative way [33:40]

Resources:

• IPC Transparency Showcase
• IPC Transparency Challenge
• Ontario Universities Open Data Platform
• Helpful Places
• Digital Trust for Places and Routines (DTPR)
• IPC Annual Reports and Statistics
• Environmental Property Information Program
• Environmental Property Information (EPI) search tool

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them. 

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review. 

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Post to @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected]. 

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

Dr. Devin Singh is an emergency physician and lead of clinical AI and machine learning in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). He is also co-founder and CEO of Hero AI.

• Combining medicine and machine learning [2:21]
• A patient death as a spark for thinking differently about health care delivery [3:27] 
• Demystifying the integration of AI into pediatric emergency medicine [5:03]
• Real world applications of AI at SickKids [7:31]
• Privacy and ethical considerations when implementing AI [9:04] 
• Mitigating bias in data, ensuring representative data models [11:26]
• Transparency and obtaining informed consent from patients [14:05]
• Human oversight of AI systems and predictions [16:05]
• Respecting patient autonomy and decision making [20:10]
• Guarding against cybersecurity risks [23:02]
• How doctors use AI scribe technology [25:34]
• Predictions about the future of AI in health care [29:16]

Resources:

• AI scribe (OntarioMD pilot project)
• Privacy and humanity on the brink (blog by Commissioner Kosseim)
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Trust in Digital Health(IPC resources)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them. 

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review. 

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Send us a tweet @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected]. 

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

Robert Fabes is a registered psychotherapist. His focus is on meaning-based existential mental health and addictions counselling. In addition to counselling clients in his private practice, he’s an addictions and trauma counsellor at The Ottawa Mission.

• Misconceptions about homelessness [5:06]
• Privacy concerns for people experiencing homelessness [6:18]
• Artificial intelligence tools to predict and prevent homelessness [9:10] 
• Barriers people experiencing homelessness face when trying to obtain or replace government-issued ID [13:20] 
• ID tied to access to services, self worth, and dignity [15:33]
• The ID Project at The Ottawa Mission [17:25]
• Social stigma about homelessness and privacy [21:41]
• Consulting with, and advocating for, the privacy rights of marginalized
  groups [23:18]
• Moving toward digital ID systems, ensuring no one is left behind [26:25]

Resources:

• ‘Explainable AI’ predicts homelessness in Ontario city (Cities Today)
• IPC Response to the Ontario government’s public consultation on a “Policy framework for Ontario’s digital identity program”
• Digital ID in Ontario (Government of Ontario)
• Nothing About Us Without Us: Seven Principles for Leadership & Inclusion of People with Lived Experience of Homelessness (Lived Experience Advisory Council)
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Privacy and Transparency in a Modern Government(IPC resources)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them. 

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review. 

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Send us a tweet @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected].

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

Cynthia Khoo is a technology and human rights lawyer and most recently, a senior associate at the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law, in Washington, D.C. She is a research fellow at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. 

• How facial recognition technology works [4:09]
• Use of facial recognition technology by government agencies [8:02]
• Use of facial recognition technologies in the private sector [10:15] 
• Stalkerware and facial recognition technology [15:07] 
• Impact of biased algorithms on historically marginalized groups [17:40]
• Public anonymity as an essential privacy right [22:00]
• Facial recognition and mugshot databases, guidance for police in Ontario [25:22]
• The option to roll back facial recognition systems [29:30]
• Guardrails and protections in contracts with third party vendors [32:12]

Resources:

• Your Face Belongs to Us, Kashmir Hill
• Gender Shades, Joy Buolamwini
• Wrongfully Accused by an Algorithm (Kashmir Hill, The New York Times, August 3, 2020)
• Another Arrest, and Jail Time, Due to a Bad Facial Recognition Match (Kashmir Hill, The New York Times, January 6, 2021)
• Facial Recognition and Mugshot Databases: Guidance for Police in Ontario (IPC guidance)
• R. v. Bykovets (Supreme Court of Canada decision)
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Next-Generation Law Enforcement(IPC resources)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them. 

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review. 

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Send us a tweet @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected]. 

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

Commissioner Kosseim speaks with Elyane Ruel, Head of School, and Grade 7 and 8 students from Westboro Academy in Ottawa, Ontario. 

• Do kids even care about privacy anymore? [2:01]
• What does privacy mean, how would you define it? [3:43]
• Sharing information with some, but not with others [5:56]
• Strategies for protecting yourself online [8:22]
• Respecting the privacy of others [12:11]
• Regrets about posting something online that can’t be taken down later [14:01]
• Concerns young people have about being online [14:44]
• Teaching kids about privacy at school [21:16]
• Technology use in the classroom, protecting student privacy [26:59]
• Strategies for teaching students about digital citizenship [29:08]
• Using the IPC’s Privacy Pursuit! lesson plans in the classroom [31:10]
• How the lesson plans can be a springboard for other classroom activities [32:30]
• The IPC’s draft Digital Privacy Charter for Ontario Schools [33:10]
• Developing kid-friendly resources to teach kids about privacy [34:39]
• It’s about more than technology — the importance of social and emotional learning to help kids develop their independence in the digital world [36:54]

Resources:

• Privacy Pursuit! lesson plans (free IPC lesson plans to teach kids about privacy)
• Digital Privacy Charter for Ontario Schools
• Teaching kids about privacy (Info Matters episode with Daniel Solove)
• Teenage confidential: Teens, technology, and privacy (Info Matters episode with Matthew Johnson)
• From high school to university: a young person’s perspective on digital privacy (Info Matters episode with Keith Baybayon)
• Ontario joins Canadian privacy regulators in passing resolutions on the privacy of young people and workers (October 2023, IPC news release)
• Resolution on children’s digital rights (Adopted resolution of the Global Privacy Assembly, October 2021 – IPC co-sponsor)
• Personal Data Protection Competency Framework for School Students (includes foundational learning principles – International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners – IPC co-sponsor)
• The IPC’s Youth Advisory Council
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Children and Youth in a Digital World(IPC resources)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them. 

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review. 

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Send us a tweet @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected]. 

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

A round up of key moments from season three of the Info Matters podcast, winner of the 2023 Canadian Podcast Award for Outstanding Technology Series. 

• How policing tools and methods have leapt decades in a few short years [1:03]
  (from S3-Episode 1: Predicting crimes before they occur: not so sci-fi anymore with the IPC’s Dr. Christopher Parsons) 
   
• Why misinformation isn’t new, the role of government in combatting it [4:28] 
  (from S3-Episode 2: Trust and truth: Navigating the age of misinformation with Dr. Alex Himelfarb of the Council of Canadian Academies) 
   
• What technological advancements keep the Privacy Commissioner of Canada up at night? [9:06] 
  (from S3-Episode 3: A casual conversation between two Canadian privacy commissioners with Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada) 
   
• Why it’s a problem when people don’t want to have samples or other personal data included in biobanks [11:21]
  (from S3-Episode 4: Ethical Uses of Genetic Data: A Conversation with Dr. Bartha Knoppers)
   
• How to strengthen Ontarians’ trust in digital health [14:51]
  (from S3-Episode 5: Co-designing digital health systems with patients and families with Betty-Lou Kristy, Chair of the Minister’s Patient and Family Advisory Council) 
   
• Real world obstacles that prevent women from accessing government information [17:40]
  (from S3-Episode 6: A woman’s right to know: Closing the gender gap with access to information with Laura Neuman of the Carter Center)
   
• Why cybersecurity matters and how individuals and organizations can protect themselves from digital threats [21:54]
  (from S3-Episode 7: Unmasking digital threats: How to guard against cyber crime with Jason Besner, Director of Partnerships at the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security)
   
• International efforts to recognize and protect the right to mental privacy [26:35]
  (from S3-Episode 8: What’s on your mind? Neurotechnology and mental privacy with Jennifer Chandler, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Health Law, Policy, and Ethics)
   
• Potential benefits for schools and school boards who sign on to the IPC’s Digital Privacy Charter for Ontario Schools [29:38]
  (from S3-Episode 9: Empowering young women and girls in the digital world with University of Ottawa professors Jane Bailey and Valerie Steeves)

Resources:

• Law Enforcement and Surveillance Technologies (IPC Privacy Day webcast)
• Fault Lines (Report of the Expert Panel on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Science and Health Misinformation, Council of Canadian Academies, January 26, 2023)
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Digital Privacy Charter for Ontario Schools (IPC campaign)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them. 

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review. 

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Submit a comment to @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected].

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

Professors Jane Bailey and Valerie Steeves co-lead the eQuality Project. Its mission is to help young people create a networked environment where they can participate equally, free from surveillance, and identity-based harassment.

• What led to research investigating the societal and cultural impacts of the internet on teens and particularly girls [3:06]
• Goals of the eQuality Project, roots in the eGirls Project [5:36]
• Impacts of social media on teens [8:32]
• Defining technology facilitated violence [9:57]
• Impacts of technology facilitated violence on young women and girls [12:01]
• Young people self censoring themselves on social media [13:29]
• The role of education in helping young women and girls participate equally in the digital world [14:41]
• Recognizing and honouring the rights of young people through deliberative dialogue [18:18]
• How to meaningfully engage young people in discussions about privacy in the digital environment [22:49]
• Value of educators and schools committing to upholding the privacy rights of young people [23:28]

Resources:

• eQuality Project 2021-22 Annual Report
• eGirls, eCitizens (edited by Professors Bailey and Steeves)
• Privacy Pursuit! Lesson Plans (free IPC lesson plans to teach kids about privacy)
• Digital Privacy Charter for Ontario Schools
• Teaching kids about privacy (Info Matters episode with Daniel Solove)
• Teenage confidential: Teens, technology, and privacy (Info Matters episode with Matthew Johnson)
• From high school to university: a young person’s perspective on digital privacy (Info Matters episode with Keith Baybayon)
• Ontario joins Canadian privacy regulators in passing resolutions on the privacy of young people and workers (October 2023, IPC news release)
• Resolution on children’s digital rights (Adopted resolution of the Global Privacy Assembly, October 2021 – IPC co-sponsor)
• Personal Data Protection Competency Framework for School Students (includes foundational learning principles – International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners – IPC co-sponsor)
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Children and Youth in a Digital World(IPC resources)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them. 

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review. 

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Send us a tweet @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected]. 

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.

Jennifer Chandler is a professor at the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics.

You can learn more about her research at jennniferchandler.ca.

• A career that combines law, brain sciences and neurotechnology [2:54]
• Neurotechnology explained [4:29]
• Examples of how neurotechnology is used in health care [7:17]
• Applications of neurotechnology in the workplace [10:12]
• Brain technologies as investigative tools in law enforcement [11:53]
• Brain fingerprinting as evidence [14:16]
• Legal, ethical, and privacy concerns related to neurotechnology [16:40]
• Questions about identity, personality, capacity and freedom [17:30]
• International efforts to codify neuro rights [21:21]
• Advice to regulators on the issue of mental privacy [26:27]

Resources:

• Selvi & Ors vs State of Karnataka & Anr (May 5, 2010)
• United Nations Human Rights Council, neurotechnology and human rights
• Chile: Pioneering the protection of neuro rights (UNESCO Courier)
• IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025
• Trust in Digital Health (IPC resources)

Info Matters is a podcast about people, privacy, and access to information hosted by Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. We dive into conversations with people from all walks of life and hear stories about the access and privacy issues that matter most to them.

If you enjoyed the podcast, leave us a rating or a review.

Have an access to information or privacy topic you want to learn more about? Interested in being a guest on the show? Send us a tweet @IPCinfoprivacy or email us at [email protected].

The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the IPC does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this podcast, and information from this podcast should not be used or reproduced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. None of the information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast bind the IPC’s Tribunal that may be called upon to independently investigate and decide upon an individual complaint or appeal based on the specific facts and unique circumstances of a given case.