(3) Pursuant to Directive 95/46/EC the level of data protection should be assessed in the light of all the circumstances surrounding a data transfer operation or a set of data transfer operations, and in respect of given conditions. The Working Party on Protection of Individuals with regard to the processing of Personal Data established under Article 29 of Directive 95/46/EC has issued guidance on the making of such assessments(2).

(6) To respect the right of the provinces to legislate in their fields of jurisdiction, the Act provides that upon the passage of substantially similar provincial laws, an exemption may be granted to organisations or activities that will then be covered by the provincial privacy legislation. Section 26(2) of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act gives the federal cabinet the power, "if satisfied that legislation of a province that is substantially similar to this Part applies to an organisation, a class of organisations, an activity or a class of activities, to exempt the organisation, activity or class from the application of this Part in respect of the collection, use or disclosure of personal information that occurs within that province". The Governor in Council (Canadian federal cabinet) makes exemptions for substantially similar legislation by way of Order-in-Council.