Virtual - Building Trust as Technology Transforms

Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Philippe Dufresne was appointed Privacy Commissioner of Canada on June 27, 2022. A leading legal expert on human rights, administrative and constitutional law, he previously served as the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel of the House of Commons where he was responsible for the provision of legal and legislative services to the House, its Speaker, Members and committees, the Board of Internal Economy and the House Administration.

Prior to his appointment as Law Clerk of the House in 2015, he was the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s Senior General Counsel, responsible for legal services, litigation, investigations, mediations, employment equity and Access to Information and Privacy. During that time, he successfully appeared as counsel before all levels of Canadian Courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada in a number of key human rights and constitutional cases over the last two decades.

A member of the Bars of Québec, Ontario, and Massachusetts, he has served his profession and community in several different capacities, including as president of the constitutional and human rights law section of the Canadian Bar Association (Québec Branch) and as president of the International Commission of Jurists (Canada).

Commissioner Dufresne holds degrees in common and civil law from McGill University’s Faculty of Law, and has been a part-time professor with the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Common Law and Queen’s University’s Faculty of Law. He regularly speaks on issues of privacy, human rights, administrative, and constitutional law in Canada.

AI has become an increasingly important tool for marketers in recent years, fueling data analytics and personalization and helping to provide customers with the tailored products, services and offers that they have come to expect.

The promise of AI raises important ethical considerations for marketers. Panelists will discuss emerging best practices – from Chat GPT for content generation to AI systems fueled by synthetic data sets.

Canada is facing the most significant changes to its privacy rules in decades. Panel experts will offer insights on what marketers need to know about Quebec’s new privacy law, Law 25, and the latest developments on Canada’s proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act, including how to ensure a compliant data-driven marketing strategy.

Moderator: Deborah Evans
Chief Privacy Officer, Rogers Communications Canada 

Deborah Evans is the Chief Privacy Officer at Rogers Communications, where she is responsible for privacy across all lines of business, including management of CASL and telemarketing rules. She is also responsible for Rogers’ relationship with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the CRTC Enforcement Branch.

Deborah joined Rogers in 2007 and has progressed through various positions within the organization’s Regulatory team, including representing Rogers at numerous proceedings and government hearings, and implementation of the CRTC’s Wireless Code. As well, she managed Rogers Office of the Ombudsperson for 18 months. Deborah has managed Rogers’ privacy office since 2014.

She is the Chair of both the CWTA Privacy and Security Committee and the Canadian Marketing Association’s Privacy Committee, former Chair of the CWTA’s Recycling Committee, and former member of the CWTA Accessibility Committee.

Jan Kestle
President, Environics Analytics

Jan Kestle has been a leader in the marketing information industry for more than five decades. An expert in using statistics and mathematics to help solve business challenges, she directed the initiatives that led to the creation of EA’s PRIZM® segmentation system, WealthScapes financial database and ENVISION business intelligence platform, among other products. Over the years, she’s helped hundreds of customers—in industries ranging from finance and retail to the not-for-profit sector—turn data and analytics into insight, strategy and engagement. Before founding EA in 2003, Jan was president of Compusearch and spent 19 years at the Ontario Statistical Centre.

Active in the marketing community, Jan was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Marketing Association and the GIS Leadership Award from BeSpatial Ontario. Jan is a member of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council, and is on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University, the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, and the Morisette School of Entrepreneurship at the University of Western Ontario. A frequent conference speaker, she is the recipient of a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics from Western University.

Suzanne Morin
VP, Enterprise Conduct, Data Ethics & Chief Privacy Officer, Sun Life Financial

In 2015, after more than 20 years in the communications industry, Suzanne shifted industries and joined Sun Life Financial. She has led the team providing legal support to the business in Québec combined with overall leadership for privacy at Sun Life and its subsidiaries worldwide. In April 2019, Suzanne moved into a newly created role with accountability for creating a compliance structure for Enterprise Services while continuing her global work as Chief Privacy Officer.

A big believer in giving back to the community, she continues to be involved with many organizations including the Canadian Bar Association’s National Privacy and Access Law Section, the Canadian Center for Child Protection and MediaSmarts, a leader in media and digital literacy. Suzanne was an appointed member of the board of the Standards Council of Canada for over a decade and was a member of the Canadian Spam Task Force.