Drew McArthur
Acting Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C.
DREW MCARTHUR is best known for his role as the former Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer at TELUS, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of TELUS’ privacy policy, which has been independently recognized as a nationwide industry-leading policy.
Drew was a founding member of the Canadian Council of Chief Privacy Officers, operating in conjunction with the Conference Board of Canada, and was a long-standing member of their executive committee. In 2004 he founded a cross-industry networking association in British Columbia to assist privacy practitioners in B.C. with understanding the implications of private sector privacy legislation. In 2006 Drew worked with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), an international organization dedicated to privacy education, to develop the Canadian professional certification program, and was one of the first individuals to achieve the designation of Certified International Privacy Professional of Canada (CIPP/C). He has many years of experience dealing with compliance and privacy issues at a practical level, and has worked throughout Canada to represent industry and other stakeholders on various initiatives.
Since his retirement from TELUS in 2007, Drew has continued to work in the field of privacy and compliance with his consulting practice, ensuring his clients have the appropriate controls, policies and measurements in place to be compliant with many areas of law and regulation. Drew has been on the External Advisory Board of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC since 2010, so he is familiar with the operational functions of the office.
Drew lives in the Lower Mainland where he participates in hockey regularly, and is active in the volunteer community as the past chair of the national board of The Arthritis Society.
I was invited to speak to this group because Selkirk College has been awarded a three-year federal grant to explore open data and open government in rural B.C. The organizers asked me to share my views about open data, including where datasets should be published, and what data should be considered sensitive and private.
From September 25 to October 2 we are celebrating Right to Know week to raise awareness of our right to access government records, essential to democracy and good governance.
A few weeks ago, my office and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC-Canada) co-hosted the 48th Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities (APPA) Forum in Vancouver. From November 15-17, APPA officials from 14 member jurisdictions and invited guests shared insights and perspectives, discussed global privacy trends, exchanged experiences, and looked for opportunities for joint regulatory guidance and enforcement activities across the Asia Pacific Region.
I recently spoke about the Internet of Things and Big Data at a healthcare summit in Vancouver. Well, let’s be honest and call it what it really is - the Internet of Everything. From the rubber ducky in your child’s bathtub to your smart tea kettle, the array of connected devices on the market today seems almost limitless.
