Jennifer Stoddart (born 1949) was the sixth
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
The privacy commissioner of Canada (french: Commissaire à la protection de la vie privée du Canada) is a non-partisan ombudsman and officer of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner investigates complaints regarding violations of the feder ...
.
Early life and education
Stoddart was born in 1949 in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. In 1967 she graduated from
Neuchâtel Junior College
Neuchâtel Junior College (or NJC) is a private international school located in the French-speaking town of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It is a member of Canadian Accredited Independent Schools.
History
NJC was founded in 1956 by Leonard Wilde, an E ...
in Switzerland.
Fluent in five languages, she studied Quebec social history and received a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in history from the
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...
. In 1980 she received a licence in
civil law from
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
; she was admitted to the bar in 1981. She is married to an architect who teaches urban planning; they have two grown sons.
Career
As a lawyer she worked to modernize regulations and remove barriers to employment based on gender or cultural differences. She headed the Quebec Commission on Access to Information and held senior positions at the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission, the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
On December 1, 2003, Stoddart was appointed Canada's Privacy Commissioner by the Governor in Council for a seven-year term. In December 2010, she was reappointed for a three-year term, which ended in December 2013.
In her role as commissioner she gave an annual report to Parliament about privacy trends and results of investigations, including privacy audits of government departments. Her 2013 report drew attention to privacy problems with the
Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credit ...
. She represented Canada at the annual
International Conference on Privacy and Personal Data Protection.
In November 2005, a journalist showed Stoddart her own telecommunication-data for the past few months - the ones from her private connection as well as those from the blackberry-systems provided by the government - which he had bought by an online data broker for about $200.
In 2008, she drew international headlines when she announced an investigation into the privacy policies of
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, which resulted in the social media site instituting privacy protections for its users.
Stoddart has been active in the
Canadian Bar Association
The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in Canadian French, French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada.
History
The Association's first Annu ...
and the
Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice. She also serves as one of the board members on the
social purpose corporation #REDIRECT Social purpose corporation #REDIRECT Social purpose corporation
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Jennifer Stoddart received a Doctor of Laws, ''honoris causa'' (LLD), at McGill University’s fall convocation ceremonies on Tuesday, November 10, 2015. She was made a Knight of the
in 2020.