Brent Homan
Joining the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in 2012, Brent Homan is currently Deputy Commissioner, responsible for the enforcement of Canada’s federal public and private sector privacy laws.
Mr. Homan’s accomplishments in Privacy include key investigations such as: in the area of Facial Recognition – Clearview, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Cadillac Fairview (2020/1), Facebook Cambridge Analytica (2019), Statistics Canada (2019), Equifax (2018), the World Anti-Doping Association Breach (2017), Ashley Madison (2016), the Bell Advertising Program (2015), and Google Behavioural Advertising (2014).
A global leader in International enforcement, Mr. Homan has joined forces with partners, co-leading numerous international investigations including two Global Privacy Award winning joint investigations against Clearview and Ashley Madison, and the first ever international joint-investigation in the field of Privacy (against Whatsapp) with the Dutch Privacy Authority. Mr. Homan created and spearheaded the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) Privacy Sweep, and co-chairs the International Enforcement Cooperation Working Group for the Global Privacy Assembly.
A leader in digital economy, Mr. Homan co-chairs a Global Digital Consumer Working Group examining the growing intersection of privacy, consumer-protection and competition, and seeking to advance collaboration across regulatory spheres.
Prior to his appointment at the OPC, Mr. Homan was Assistant Deputy Commissioner at the Competition Bureau of Canada where he led numerous high profile misleading advertising investigations in the Digital Economy. In the area of health, Mr. Homan led Canada’s Tobacco Inquiry into the use of Light and Mild descriptors, culminating in the removal of Light and Mild labelling from cigarette packaging across Canada.
Mr. Homan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from Carleton University, and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Ottawa.