Michael McEvoy found that B.C.’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) applies to every organization in the province, whether or not they are federally registered. The federal NDP, which was challenged for its collection of data in this case, could appeal the ruling and seek a stay pending the outcome. It has not yet indicated whether it will. (The Logic)

Talking point: B.C. is the only jurisdiction in Canada where political parties are subject to privacy laws—but until this ruling, it wasn’t clear whether the legislation applied to federally registered parties, or just provincial ones. Political parties are increasingly relying on personal data collection to target voters, according to recent investigations in the U.K., the U.S. and New Zealand. If this decision either goes unchallenged or is upheld, federally registered parties operating in B.C. will have to get individuals’ consent before collecting their personal data (except in certain limited conditions, like when the information is publicly available), disclose how the information is being used and come up with readily available data collection policies, among other requirements. This decision comes on the heels of growing calls to expand federal privacy legislation across the country. In September 2018, federal, provincial and territorial privacy commissioners issued a joint call to bring political parties under privacy law; the House Ethics Committee recommended similar change in two reports released in June and December that year. And, federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien has repeatedly called for his office to have the power to compel political parties to disclose data collection practices and issue fines to those who don’t comply.

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