Big and Little Brother: The Potential Erosion of Workplace Privacy in Canada

Abstract

The Canadian Federal Government has repeatedly called for increased access to proprietary databases for lawful purposes. Employers therefore face a distinct possibility that their monitoring and surveillance data will be routinely accessed by various government and law enforcement agencies. Since in many provinces workers enjoy little legal protection of their right to a private life, and since new legal protective measures are unlikely, employers must look to their role as socially responsible members of a liberal and democratic society, and respect the rule of law by minimizing their collection of personal worker information.

Keywords: privacy, workplace, surveillance, monitoring, CSR, rule of law, dignity, employment