Canadian privacy & access decisions

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) investigated a complaint from a Trimac truck driver concerned about audio and video recording in his truck cabin. The OPC found that while Trimac had legitimate safety and asset protection goals, the continuous audio recording was too intrusive, especially when drivers were off-duty. Trimac was also not initially transparent about using the data for disciplinary purposes, failing to meet consent requirements under PIPEDA. Trimac has since implemented changes, limiting audio recording to on-duty hours and improving data access controls. The OPC found the complaint conditionally resolved regarding the intrusive nature of the recording and resolved regarding the consent issue, accepting Trimac's remedial actions.

• Appropriateness of continuous audio recording in truck cabins, including during off-duty hours.
• Whether Trimac provided adequate information about the use of collected data for disciplinary purposes.
• The proportionality of privacy intrusion versus business benefits.
• The requirement for employee consent for data collection in an employment context.

The complainant requested a summary of financial assistance provided by Export Development Canada (EDC) to Canadian companies in Honduras over $50,000 from 2009 to 2019. EDC withheld information under exemptions related to confidential business information and disclosure restricted by another law. The Information Commissioner found that EDC failed to demonstrate that the information belonged to EDC as required for the first exemption and that the information was "obtained by" EDC as required for the second exemption. The Commissioner ordered EDC to disclose policy types, policy numbers, and maximum liability amounts.

• Applicability of exemption s. 18.1(1) (confidential financial, commercial, scientific or technical information of EDC)
• Meaning of "belongs to" in s. 18.1(1) ATIA
• Interpretation of EDC's Disclosure Policy for confidentiality
• Applicability of exemption s. 24(1) (disclosure restricted by another law) citing s. 24.3(1) of the Export Development Act
• Distinction between information "obtained by" and "created by" EDC under s. 24.3(1) of the Export Development Act