DCHP-2

Privacy Commissioner privacy commissioner DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — Administration, Politics, Law

  an official reporting to the House of Commons who is responsible for overseeing and if need be investigating, the proper handling of personal information by all corporations and groups, governmental and private alike.

  Type: 1. Origin — The position of Privacy Commissioner was created in 1977 by the Canadian Human Rights Act, which was passed into law that year in response to concerns about the handling of personal information in government databanks (see Parliament of Canada reference). Privacy Commissioners exist on the federal level (one position) as well as in each province and territory (a total of 13). The position also exists in New Zealand, where it was created in 1993 (see NZ Privacy Commissioner reference). As Chart 1 shows, the term is very frequent in Canada. Chart 2 attests to its use in all provinces and territories (the prevalence in Nunavut is a result of the nature of the .nu domain, which is largely comprised of governmental sites. This imbalance casts doubt on the very high frequency in relation other Canadian locations).

  See also: privacy czar