Advancing Data Privacy in the Public Sector: A Message from the Defence Chief Privacy Officer

January 20, 2026 - Defence Stories

Data Privacy Week, which takes place from January 26 to January 30, aims to raise awareness of the fundamental right to data privacy in our rapidly evolving digital era.

As Chief Privacy Officer, I invite you to attend the Advancing Data Privacy in the Public Sector information session hosted by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS), in partnership with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC).

The event is open to all Defence Team members, and will feature a conversation with Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, as well as updates from TBS subject matter experts on the importance of safeguarding personal information while maintaining openness and transparency.

Please register for this session with your work email address using the link below. Spaces are limited.

Event Details

• Date: Monday, January 26, 2026
• Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Format: virtual, bilingual

Register for this event by January 23, 2026.

Should you require accommodations or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Canada School of Public Service Learning Events group.

Also open to Defence Team members is a webinar on Navigating Privacy Breaches - Prevention, Response, and Building Trust. Hosted by TBS, the OPC and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, it will share practical advice and tools on how everyone can better prepare for, manage, and learn from privacy breaches.

Should you require any accommodation, or have questions or other comments, please feel free to reach out to [email protected].

Privacy Compliance Efforts

The Defence Team is committed to meetings its obligations under the Privacy Act, by safeguarding the department and Canadians from privacy breaches and legal, financial, and reputational risks.

Recent direction from TBS indicates that all departments must begin advancing risk-based privacy strategies. Before starting that process, however, departments must first resolve legal non-compliance with the Privacy Act.

Currently, the Defence Team is not compliant, and immediate action is required to close this gap. These next steps are critical to meeting federal privacy requirements and enabling future risk-basedPrivacy Impact Assessment (PIA) work.

This means that all programs collecting personal information must be supported by a Personal Information Bank (PIB) registered with TBS by March 31, 2026, and published online by June 30, 2026, to meet statutory obligations and transparency requirements.

As part of the Defence Team's commitment to meeting TBS privacy compliance conditions, each L1 must actively participate in the Privacy Compliance activity. If you have any questions, please contact the Benchmark and Privacy Risk Management Team.

Privacy is a shared responsibility. Your efforts will help safeguard personal information and enable our compliance.

If you have general questions regarding your role and responsibility in protecting privacy here at the Defence Team, please contact the Privacy Management Compliance positional mailbox.

Thank you/Meegwetch

Geneviève Binet
Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs) & Defence Chief Privacy Officer