Eugene Oscapella is an Ottawa lawyer and the President of Oscapella and Associates Consulting Ltd.Mr. Oscapella completed an undergraduate degree in economics at the University of Toronto (1974), obtained his law degree from the University of Ottawa (1977), and received his Masters of Laws from the London School of Economics and Political Science (1979). He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1980.
From 1980 to 1981, Mr. Oscapella served as a counsel to the Commission of Inquiry Concerning Certain Activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. From 1982 to 1985, he was Director of Legislation and Law Reform for the Canadian Bar Association. Since 1985, his company has offered research services and policy and strategic advice on Canadian legislative and social policy issues.
Mr. Oscapella is a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, and was a former chair and member of the policy committee of the Canadian Criminal Justice Association. He lectures in criminology at the University of Ottawa, and frequently lectures elsewhere on privacy and drug policy issues. His writing has been published widely in Canada and abroad.
Mr. Oscapella lectures widely on drug policy, privacy and human rights issues. Among his addresses:
- Associate Editor, Privacy Laws & Business International Newsletter (UK), 2001-04, ongoing contributor
- principal consultant to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada for study of privacy implications of identity management (2006-07)
- “Illegal Drugs and Terrorism Financing,” INTERSEC (The Journal of International Security), vol. 14, issue 11/12, November/December 2004 at 351-53
- with 9 others, “Harm Reduction: Pragmatic Drug Policies for Public Health and Safety,” in Joyce Lowinson et al, ed., Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook (4th ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia: 2005) 1229-49
- “A Review and Analysis of the Policy and Legislative Options Developed by the Department of Justice to Protect Genetic Information and Privacy” (Department of Justice, 2003)
- “The Legal Framework Relating to Genetic Testing in Employment” (Human Resources Development Canada, 2002-03)
- Privacy Issues Relating to Locating Missing Persons and Identifying Human Remains in Areas of Conflict (International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)), Geneva, 2002
- Adviser to the Hon. Sheila Finestone, Senator, on the development of a draft Privacy Rights Charter (introduced in Canada’s Senate in 2000)
- “Cannabis in Canada - a Puzzling Policy” (with P. Erickson), International Journal of Drug Policy
- “Genetics, Privacy and Discrimination: A Survey Prepared for the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee” (for Industry Canada, 2000)
- “Personal Health Information and the Health Info-structure: Surveys of Interested Organizations” (for Health Canada, 1998)
- “Workplace Surveillance: Serving the Omniscient State”, (1998), 6 Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal 341
- Book review, "From Mister Sin to Mister Big: A History of Australian Drug Laws", 24 Contemporary Drug Problems (1997) 409
- Drug Prohibition and Crime: Wilful Blindness, Forum, Vol. 21, No.7 (Federation of Canadian Municipalities magazine), November/December 1997, at 20
- "Illegal Drugs Policy, AIDS and Hepatitis: from Prohibition to Harm Reduction", Medicine and Law (Vol. 15, No. 3) December 1996
- "Drug Testing and Privacy", Canadian Labour Law Journal (1994)
- "Chemical McCarthyism", (1993), 9 Justice Report 1
- Overview of Canadian Laws Relating to Privacy and Confidentiality in the Medical Context, for the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies (March 1994)
- Genetic Testing and Privacy, published by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (May 1992)
- Drug Testing and Privacy, for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (1990)
- HIV/AIDS: A Need for Privacy, for the Information/Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (1990) (principal consultant)
- HIV/AIDS in the Workplace, for the Information/Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (1989) (principal consultant)
- AIDS and the Privacy Act, for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (1989)
- Law Reform Commission of Canada Working Paper on Classification of Offences (1987) (co-author)
- Law Reform Commission of Canada study on trial within a reasonable time (1995) (consultant)
- "CMA Calls for Action to Deal with Malpractice Insurance 'Crisis'", 135 Can. Med. Assoc. Journal 145 (1986) (co-author)
- Contributions to Second and Third Reports of the Royal Commission Concerning Certain Activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the McDonald Commission) (1981)
- "A Study of Informers in England", [1980] Criminal Law Review 136
- "Regina v. Kundeus", 8 Ottawa Law Review 91 (1976)
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