Since her appointment as B.C.'s
Information and Privacy Commissioner in May 2010, Elizabeth Denham
has raised the profile of privacy rights, promoted transparency in
government, and adopted a proactive approach to the enforcement of
access and privacy laws in British Columbia.
Promoting privacy rights is Commissioner Denham's top priority.
Ms. Denham has led investigations into several high-profile privacy
breaches and has completed systemic reviews that examine the impact
of new and emerging technologies on privacy, including smart
meters, facial recognition technology and an online gaming
platform.
Ms. Denham has led the office to adopt a proactive approach to
the monitoring and enforcement of access and privacy laws. A
newly-created policy and technology team conducts systemic
investigations and monitors the latest developments in access and
privacy, identifying areas where future work is needed.
Ms. Denham is known for spearheading collaborative projects with
her federal and provincial colleagues. Most recently, she
co-authored Canada's latest guidance called Getting Accountability
Right with a Privacy Management Program. The document has received
international attention for its innovative and practical approach,
which emphasizes privacy management programs as building blocks
that must be in place before programs are implemented and systems
are built.
Ms. Denham has been a strong voice for the access rights of
British Columbians. A proponent of open government and open data,
Ms. Denham has called for the proactive disclosure of records and
published best practices for government ministries and public
bodies.
Prior to her appointment in British Columbia, Ms. Denham served
as Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada (2007-2010), where she
led a ground-breaking investigation into the privacy practices of
Facebook which resulted in changes to the social networking site -
changes that were implemented on a global basis. She also led
the office's discussions with Google, which prompted improvements
to the company's street level imaging service in Canada. Prior
to her federal appointment, she served as Director, Private Sector,
for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of
Alberta (2003-2007).
Ms. Denham is a frequent speaker on the many challenges of
protecting privacy in a networked world. She is a director of
The Privacy Projects, the Centre for Law, Ethics, and Applied
Research in Health Information, and a member of the IAPP Canadian
Advisory Board. She holds a Bachelor's degree in history and
a Master's degree in archival and information science from the
University of British Columbia.
In 2011, Ms. Denham was honoured as a UBC distinguished alumni
for her pioneering work in archives and leadership in the field of
access and privacy.