ironically, the news this time around was more data breeches – stolen laptops with unencrypted data still couldn’t get most mainstream media to mention the Day, or the many activities connected with it.

Ironically (sadly, foolishly, illegally?) on the Day came a couple more Canadian stories about the loss of data and control over personal information.

The confidentiality of some 8,000 more names and associated personal information files were ‘lost’ when laptops stolen from an agency office – data not encrypted! And yet again, Canada’s federal privacy commission is looking at Facebook, and its security tools (or lack thereof) for really protecting the personal info it gathers.

Having previously promised to address such issues, the Commissioner’s office is now responding to still more complaints, and planning to hold public hearings about recent developments on the social networking site.

So, it was both a bit inspiring and disconcerting to attend the provincial privacy commissioner’s event.

She spoke with passion (her word) about online security and the protection of personal privacy, saying they were “[I]ntegrally tied to freedom and democracy. We shouldn’t trade one for the other, and I am asking you to join me in saying no…. NO! to the trade of personal freedom or privacy for security. I reject the zero sum game, and I ask you to join me. We can have one with the other,” she said in her opening remarks, standing in front of a big slide reading: Privacy = Freedom.

It’s very much like the line from Old Ben (not Kenobi, Franklin): “They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

She introduced a special guest, the Premier, who briefly addressed the crowd of privacy and data professionals – he gave support to her and her office’s initiatives, sure, but he put out what I saw as a rather misplaced reference to the excellence the province shows in its privacy initiatives, mentioning the health care industry as an example.

I’m thinking maybe he should read whatsyourtech – or any other reports about a long list of data breaches and losses connected to that ministry and the many hospitals, offices and agencies in the province.

But, as was planned for the Toronto event, a parade of Canadian technologists, researchers, not-for-profit representativess and the like shared news of their recent developments, aimed at integrating privacy into new products and services by design, ahead of the fact and not afterward.

There’s lots of reference material on the PbD site, but I’ll be looking to report in particular on developments in video surveillance, driven by a Toronto tech start-up company that hopes to instill much more personal identity protection into the world’s mushrooming number of video surveillance cameras and networks – both public and private.

Good luck – but until then – ha ha, don’t look up!