On June 16, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti introduced Bill C-27, a step toward updating its privacy regime. 

The Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022 features three pieces of legislation: 

• the Consumer Privacy Protection Act
• the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act
• the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act

The three-pronged legislation aims to strengthen Canada's data privacy framework, primarily the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and create new regulations for the responsible development of AI, while continuing to implement Canada’s Digital Charter. The proposal would also introduce changes to how privacy is enforced in the nation.  

The first component, the proposed Consumer Privacy and Protection Act will increase Canadians’ ability to control personal information held about them by organizations, provide more freedom to move that information from one company to another securely, and hold companies that process children’s data to a higher standard. The second component of the Digital Charter Act would establish a new tribunal charged with levying monetary penalties against organizations that violate the CPPA. 

The final component of Thursday's announcement would be the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. The proposed law would require companies building high-impact AI systems to identify, assess and mitigate the risk of harm and bias. It would establish an AI and Data Commissioner under the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, which would be charged with monitoring compliance and ordering third-party audits of a given system and potentially sharing findings with other regulators.

“In today’s economy, Canada’s competitiveness depends on our ability to use digital innovation to harness the power of data,” Champagne said. “This will not only promote confidence in the digital space but also ensure a safe, more inclusive and secure digital economy for the benefit of all Canadians.”

In 2020, Canada proposed bill C-11, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, but that was cleared off the table in 2021 when Canada's federal election was called.

Last week, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau nominated Philippe Dufresne for the country's privacy commissioner vacancy. Information Commissioner of Canada Caroline Maynard was named interim privacy commissioner through October after Daniel Therrien's term ended June 3.

One can read the legislation here.