| dc.description.abstract | The control of the introduction and spread of COVID-19 has posed a significant challenge to state governments. One control measure which has been implemented in an effort to reduce spread is the contact tracing application. This thesis undertakes a brief overview of these technologies, with a focus on COVID Alert, the Canadian COVID-19 contact tracing application. It then reviews the current Canadian privacy legislative framework insofar as it relates to COVID Alert, finding that it is outdated and in need of revision, suffering from unclear drafting and statutory interpretation, inadequate enforcement mechanisms, and an outdated overall approach to privacy. This thesis then looks to the current state of the law in the EU to determine whether and to what extent Canada can adopt, wholly or in part, elements of European privacy law, in order to improve privacy law overall, and what obstacles, including federalism, may hinder this process. | eng |