Privacy in Practice

Building Canada’s Privacy-First
Digital Trust and Identity Future

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In September 2022, Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial Privacy Commissioners issued a Joint Resolution on Digital Identity establishing seven conditions that digital trust and identity systems must meet to earn public trust.

This 13 week series examines how well Canada is meeting those standards. Here, we assess where Canadian digital trust and identity succeeds, where challenges remain, and what collaborative action can close the gaps with an honest analysis of achievements and shortcomings across government and industry alike.

The Privacy Compact

Seven conditions from Canada’s Privacy Commissioners that frame this series

  • Voluntariness

    Adoption must be genuinely voluntary, with equivalent non-digital alternatives available without penalty.

  • Data Minimization

    Systems must collect only the information necessary for each transaction, proportional to the purpose.

  • Anti-Tracking

    Digital identity must not enable tracking or tracing of individuals across services.

  • Security

    Robust technical and organizational measures must protect against unauthorized access and misuse.

  • Transparency

    Individuals must understand how their information is collected, used, and disclosed.

  • Accessibility

    Systems must be equitably accessible to all Canadians.

  • Independent Oversight

    Appropriate oversight mechanisms must ensure accountability.

The Series

A series of articles examining Canadian digital trust and identity against privacy principles

  • Article 1
    The Privacy Compact: What Canadians Were Promised
    Introducing the FPT Joint Resolution’s seven conditions and DIACC’s Privacy Scorecard for measuring progress.

  • Article 2
    The Illusion of Choice: Voluntary Adoption in Practice
    Is digital identity adoption truly optional, or are non-digital alternatives disappearing?

  • Article 3
    Less Is More: The Promise and Progress of Data Minimization
    How selective disclosure technology enables “over 19” verification without revealing birthdates.

  • Article 4
    No Tracking: Building Trust Through Architecture
    Why BC and Alberta’s wallet architectures make government tracking technically impossible.

  • Article 5
    The Security Paradox: Protecting Trust and Identity Through Smart Architecture
    How distributed architectures protect both security and privacy without creating honeypot databases.

  • Article 6
    When AI Meets Identity: Navigating Opportunity and Responsibility
    AI’s genuine value for fraud prevention and the privacy considerations that require thoughtful governance.

  • Article 7
    Learning from EUDI: International Lessons for Canadian Success
    What Canada can learn from the EU Digital Identity Wallet—successes to emulate and challenges to anticipate.

  • Article 8
    Accessibility: Does digital trust and identity serve all Canadians?
    We will examine who might be left behind and how to ensure inclusion.

     

  • Article 9
    Who Watches the Watchers? Strengthening Accountability Together
    The value and limits of self-regulation and why industry should support independent oversight.

  • Article 10
    Trust and Identity Without Borders: Privacy in a Global Context
    How Canada can pursue international interoperability while maintaining privacy protection.

  • Article 11
    Digital Trust and Identity and Young Canadians: Protection That Respects Privacy
    Age verification approaches that protect children online without sacrificing their privacy rights.

  • Article 12
    From Principle to Practice: Closing the Implementation Gap Together
    Why privacy principles without implementation are insufficient and what serious implementation requires.

  • Article 13
    Canada’s Digital Trust and Identity Crossroads: A Call to Collaborative Action
    Comprehensive recommendations for government, industry, and civil society and DIACC’s specific commitments.

The Privacy Scorecard

A simple self-assessment tool measuring digital trust and identity services against Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial privacy commissioners’ joint expectations. This scorecard is a learning tool to help you explore privacy principles. It is not a compliance checklist or legal advice. Use it to spark conversation, explore unfamiliar concepts, and identify areas worth digging into further.

Access the Privacy Scorecard

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