Peter Roberts of Lawson Lundell writes:
… To begin, there is no common-law claim for breach of privacy. As a result, in B.C. the Legislature enacted the Privacy Act which came into force in December 2007. The Privacy Act is short, running to only five sections. It creates a “statutory tort” making it unlawful for anyone “wilfully and without a claim of right, to violate the privacy of another.” However, the nature and degree of privacy a person is entitled to is only “that which is reasonable in the circumstances, giving due regard to the lawful interests of others.” Further, in determining if there has been a breach of privacy, the court will look at “the nature, incidence and occasion of the act or conduct and to any domestic or other relationship between the parties.” This seems simple enough but, in practice, is very difficult to assess given the myriad situations and the individual sensitivities that could give rise to a privacy concern.
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