privacy czar quashes
used-goods database
BizTalk Server update
tags RFID support
By Briony Smith similar bylaws requiring this
n ONTArIO INFOrMATION ANd practice) earlier this summer
Privacy Commissioner Ann resulted in portions of their
Cavoukian has ordered the bylaw being struck down.
destruction of a large amount In the wake of this case,
of personal data that was being a complaint was registered
collected and monitored by with the Ontario privacy
police unbeknownst to many commissioner’s office, caus-
Ottawa residents. ing her to issue the
In Ottawa, people cease-and-desist
selling used goods to (and destroy) order
secondhand stores to the City of Ottawa
were required to and Ottawa Police
provide personal Department.
information that was “Innocent people
tied to their names. sell used goods
Courtesy of an Ottawa and then appear
bylaw and Regina- CAVOUKIAN: By- in a police depart-
based customer law puts people’s ment database? It’s
personal data at
information software stake. untenable,” Cavou-
vendor Business kian said.
Watch International (BWI), “With this information used
this information was funneled in an improper way, it can do
directly into the databases real harm, which is why we’re
of the Ottawa Police Service, taking such a firm stance on
who made the data accessible this. The police and state can’t
to other police departments ask for such information unless
across the country. Over an offense has been commit-
250,000 transactions and ted, otherwise it’s a police
more than 44,000 identifiable state,” she added.
persons were in that database, Cavoukian said that, in
which was managed by BWI, Edmonton (which has similar
whose executives declined to bylaws), a policewoman was
comment. fired after only a few days
A case against Cash Con- on the job, as an extensive
verters of Oshawa (who have background check turned up
that she had sold some items to
a pawnshop years ago.
So, while the police claim it is
a useful source of information,
said John Lawford, counsel for
the Public Interest Advocacy
Centre, it is also surveillance
that violates their privacy.
Said Philippa Lawson,
the Ottawa-based Canadian
Internet Policy and Public
Clinic director: “They shouldn’t
invade the privacy of all
Canadians for that—it’s an
unreasonably broad net of
suspicion.”
“This fits in with the
continuing of the increasing
trend of law enforcement and
government trying to conscript
private enterprise and businesses into collecting personal
information,” said David T.S.
Fraser, a privacy lawyer with
the Halifax-based firm of
McInnes Cooper.
Fraser said the market for
these types of systems are
a growth area. This makes
Cavoukian’s ruling significant,
as it could force vendors
similar to Business Watch
International to shut down any
operations in Ontario. “And it’s
a pretty significant province,”
said Fraser. 079460
By Mari-Len De Guzman
n SErVICE-OrIENTEd
architecture is extending
to the supply chain as
Microsoft’s latest version
of its Biz Talk Server 2006
now offers support for radio
frequency identification and
electronic data interchange
capabilities.
Biz Talk Server 2006
R2 has been updated to
provide native support for
EDI Applicability State-
ment 2 (AS2), a standard
for transmitting EDI over
the Internet, without
the need for additional
software agent, according
to Chris Brakel, product
manager for e-business An rFId-based retail app from HP triggers a
video demo when an item is lifted off the shelf.
with Microsoft Canada.
Microsoft hopes the latest
Biz Talk Server’s support for
AS2 “out-of-the-box” will
open up opportunities for
the mid-market by providing
capabilities for application
integration, especially in
collaborating with trading
partners, Brakel said.
Biz Talk Server 2006 is
essentially an integration tool
that enables enterprise users to
get a single view of data from
disparate and disintegrated
systems and applications.
Microsoft has been promoting
Biz Talk as a jumping board for
Firms ramp up accessible IT
By Briony Smith
n THE INTErNATIONAl OPEN
Forum on e-Learning and Standardization, held in Toronto this month,
became a venue for discussions on
the challenges of making IT accessible for all.
Canada has almost four million
differently-abled people, but even
the able might not be so for long. One
factor driving the immediate need for
more widespread accessible technology is the aging population, said Bill
Curtis-Davidson, business development and solutions leader with IBM.
“With a maturing workforce, we need
to adapt,” he said.
But to adapt successfully, said Bill
Abbott, a regulatory lawyer with Bell
Canada, companies need to be proactive when it comes to its adaptive
technology, and position
it as a business case,
rather than a series of
Band-Aids. “(Assistive
technology) is seen as
a regulatory obligation,
not as something that
takes you far or fast
towards innovation. You need to
change that outlook to seeing it as a
business opportunity,” he said.
One way to build a solid strategy is
to connect with advocacy groups that
can help inform the company about
the needs of the differently abled,
he said. That way, if the accessibility
plan doesn’t go well, the company
has still practiced due diligence and
has allies in the community with
which to consult.
Also, try positioning
the inclusivity of ac-
cessible technology as a
bonus for everyone.
Instituting company-
wide inclusivity policies
and devices also is often
the more cost-effective option,
said Abbott.
He admits that Bell Canada has
not reached 100 per cent accessibility level yet, but the company’s
commitment to inclusive technology and practices is a key business
driver. Abbott said,
IBM is another company hard at
work on crafting solutions to help
the differently abled go faster, and
better. Rich Schwerdtfeger, senior
technical staff member with IBM
Emerging Technologies’ accessibility strategy and architecture software group, said, “Inclusive technology is critical in meeting the needs
of business customers,” citing the
aging population, the current vogue
of productivity, and the mounting
laws demanding accessibility.
With the goal of inclusivity for the
Web-centric culture (including Web
2.0 and rich Internet applications),
his team has been working on Aria,
IBM’s Web program that improves
accessibility for persons with a
disability. 075802
organizations embarking on the
path towards SOA.
“We have supported EDI
in the past, but the need for
supporting AS2 has been
communicated by our customers” Brakel told reporters
during the launch event for
Biz Talk Server 2006 R2, held at
Hewlett Packard’s Mississauga,
Ont. facility. HP Canada has
been using Biz Talk Server in
its RFID labs which, according
to its chief technology officer,
Victor Garcia, enabled HP
to integrate RFID data with
various backend systems.
As the IT industry’s largest
user of RFID technology, HP
has been actively developing
various RFID applications and
needs to be able to test and
integrate with multiple backend
systems, said Garcia, adding
that Biz Talk Server facilitates
that integration.
“When automating processes,
you can’t force (customers) to
change their backend systems,”
said Garcia, pointing out that in
many instances backend applications aren’t meant to interface
with RFID. 078043
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