Interpretation
2 - DefinitionsPurpose
3 - PurposeApplication
4 - Application4.01 - Business contact information4.1 - Certificate under Canada Evidence Act5 - Compliance with obligations6 - Effect of designation of individual6.1 - Valid consent7 - Collection without knowledge or consent7.1 - Definitions7.2 - Prospective business transaction7.3 - Employment relationship7.4 - Use without consent8 - Written request9 - When access prohibited10 - Sensory disability
Filing of Complaints
11 - ContraventionInvestigations of Complaints
12 - Examination of complaint by Commissioner12.1 - Powers of CommissionerDiscontinuance of Investigation
12.2 - ReasonsCommissioner's Report
13 - ContentsHearing by Court
14 - Application15 - Commissioner may apply or appear16 - Remedies17 - Summary hearingsCompliance Agreements
17.1 - Compliance Agreements17.2 - Agreement complied with20 - Confidentiality21 - Not competent witness22 - Protection of Commissioner23 - Consultations with provinces23.1 - Disclosure of information to foreign state24 - Promoting the purposes of the Part25 - Annual report26 - Regulations27 - Whistleblowing27.1 - Prohibition28 - Offence and punishment*29 - Review of Part by parliamentary committee
Interpretation
31 - DefinitionsPurpose
32 - PurposeElectronic Alternatives
33 - Collection, storage, etc.34 - Electronic payment35 - Electronic version of statutory form36 - Documents as evidence or proof37 - Retention of documents38 - Notarial act39 - Seals40 - Requirements to provide documents or information41 - Writing requirements42 - Original documents43 - Signatures44 - Statements made under oath45 - Statements declaring truth, etc.46 - Witnessed signatures47 - CopiesRegulations and Orders
48 - Regulations49 - Amendment of schedules50 - Regulations51 - Effect of striking out listed provision52 to 57 - [Amendments]
58 and 59 - [Amendments]
60 to 71 - [Amendments]
4.1 - Principle 1: Accountability4.2 - Principle 2: Identifying Purposes4.3 - Principle 3: Consent4.4 - Principle 4: Limiting Collection4.5 - Principle 5: Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention4.6 - Principle 6: Accuracy4.7 - Principle 7: Safeguards4.8 - Principle 8: Openness4.9 - Principle 9: Individual Access4.10 - Principle 10: Challenging Compliance
(j) a work, undertaking or business to which federal laws, within the meaning of section 2 of the Oceans Act, apply under section 20 of that Act and any regulations made under paragraph 26(1)(k) of that Act. (entreprises fédérales)
(b) it is reasonable to expect that the collection with the knowledge or consent of the individual would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the information and the collection is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the laws of Canada or a province;
(ii) that is required by law.
(a) in the course of its activities, the organization becomes aware of information that it has reasonable grounds to believe could be useful in the investigation of a contravention of the laws of Canada, a province or a foreign jurisdiction that has been, is being or is about to be committed, and the information is used for the purpose of investigating that contravention;
(c.1) made to a government institution or part of a government institution that has made a request for the information, identified its lawful authority to obtain the information and indicated that
(ii) the disclosure is requested for the purpose of enforcing any law of Canada, a province or a foreign jurisdiction, carrying out an investigation relating to the enforcement of any such law or gathering intelligence for the purpose of enforcing any such law,
(iii) the disclosure is requested for the purpose of administering any law of Canada or a province, or
(i) has reasonable grounds to believe that the information relates to a contravention of the laws of Canada, a province or a foreign jurisdiction that has been, is being or is about to be committed, or
(d.1) made to another organization and is reasonable for the purposes of investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the laws of Canada or a province that has been, is being or is about to be committed and it is reasonable to expect that disclosure with the knowledge or consent of the individual would compromise the investigation;
(i) required by law.
(b) the enforcement of any law of Canada, a province or a foreign jurisdiction, an investigation relating to the enforcement of any such law or the gathering of intelligence for the purpose of enforcing any such law.
(a) the information is protected by solicitor-client privilege or, in civil law, by the professional secrecy of lawyers and notaries;
(3) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, an organization shall notify an individual of any breach of security safeguards involving the individual’s personal information under the organization’s control if it is reasonable in the circumstances to believe that the breach creates a real risk of significant harm to the individual.
(b) the complaint could more appropriately be dealt with, initially or completely, by means of a procedure provided for under the laws of Canada, other than this Part, or the laws of a province; or
(c) receive and accept any evidence and other information, whether on oath, by affidavit or otherwise, that the Commissioner sees fit, whether or not it is or would be admissible in a court of law;
(c) receive and accept any evidence and other information, whether on oath, by affidavit or otherwise, that the Commissioner sees fit, whether or not it is or would be admissible in a court of law;
(5) The Commissioner may disclose to the Attorney General of Canada or of a province, as the case may be, information relating to the commission of an offence against any law of Canada or a province on the part of an officer or employee of an organization if, in the Commissioner’s opinion, there is evidence of an offence.
(6) The Commissioner may disclose, or may authorize any person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Commissioner to disclose to a government institution or a part of a government institution, any information contained in a report made under subsection 10.1(1) or in a record obtained under subsection 10.3(2) if the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that the information could be useful in the investigation of a contravention of the laws of Canada or a province that has been, is being or is about to be committed.
(a) would be relevant to an ongoing or potential investigation or proceeding in respect of a contravention of the laws of a foreign state that address conduct that is substantially similar to conduct that would be in contravention of this Part; or
(a) provide for cooperation with respect to the enforcement of laws protecting personal information, including the sharing of information referred to in subsection (2) and the provision of mechanisms for the handling of any complaint in which they are mutually interested;
(2) Nothing in this section impairs any right of an employee either at law or under an employment contract or collective agreement.
federal law means an Act of Parliament or an instrument, regardless of its name, issued, made or established under an Act of Parliament or a prerogative of the Crown, other than an instrument issued, made or established under the Yukon Act, the Northwest Territories Act or the Nunavut Act. (texte législatif)
responsible authority, in respect of a provision of a federal law, means
(a) if the federal law is an Act of Parliament, the minister responsible for that provision;
(b) if the federal law is an instrument issued, made or established under an Act of Parliament or a prerogative of the Crown, the person or body who issued, made or established the instrument; or
(2) The Governor in Council may, by order, for the purposes of this Part, designate any person, including any member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, or body to be the responsible authority in respect of a provision of a federal law if the Governor in Council is of the opinion that it is appropriate to do so in the circumstances.
The purpose of this Part is to provide for the use of electronic alternatives in the manner provided for in this Part where federal laws contemplate the use of paper to record or communicate information or transactions.
A minister of the Crown and any department, branch, office, board, agency, commission, corporation or body for the administration of affairs of which a minister of the Crown is accountable to the Parliament of Canada may use electronic means to create, collect, receive, store, transfer, distribute, publish or otherwise deal with documents or information whenever a federal law does not specify the manner of doing so.
(4) The authority under a federal law to issue, prescribe or in any other manner establish a form, or to establish the manner of filing a document or submitting information, includes the authority to issue, prescribe or establish an electronic form, or to establish an electronic manner of filing the document or submitting information, as the case may be.
A provision of a federal law that provides that a certificate or other document signed by a minister or public officer is proof of any matter or thing, or is admissible in evidence, is, subject to the federal law, satisfied by an electronic version of the certificate or other document if the electronic version is signed by the minister or public officer with that person’s secure electronic signature.
A requirement under a provision of a federal law to retain a document for a specified period is satisfied, with respect to an electronic document, by the retention of the electronic document if
A reference in a provision of a federal law to a document recognized as a notarial act in the province of Quebec is deemed to include an electronic version of the document if
(a) the electronic version of the document is recognized as a notarial act under the laws of the province of Quebec; and
(b) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3.
A requirement under a provision of a federal law for a person’s seal is satisfied by a secure electronic signature that identifies the secure electronic signature as the person’s seal if the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3.
A provision of a federal law requiring a person to provide another person with a document or information, other than a provision referred to in any of sections 41 to 47, is satisfied by the provision of the document or information in electronic form if
(a) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3;
A requirement under a provision of a federal law for a document to be in writing is satisfied by an electronic document if
(a) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3; and
A requirement under a provision of a federal law for a document to be in its original form is satisfied by an electronic document if
(a) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3;
Subject to sections 44 to 46, a requirement under a provision of a federal law for a signature is satisfied by an electronic signature if
(a) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3; and
A statement required to be made under oath or solemn affirmation under a provision of a federal law may be made in electronic form if
(c) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3; and
A statement required to be made under a provision of a federal law declaring or certifying that any information given by a person making the statement is true, accurate or complete may be made in electronic form if
(b) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3; and
A requirement under a provision of a federal law for a signature to be witnessed is satisfied with respect to an electronic document if
(b) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3; and
A requirement under a provision of a federal law for one or more copies of a document to be submitted is satisfied by the submission of an electronic document if
(a) the federal law or the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3; and
For the purposes of sections 38 to 47, the responsible authority in respect of a provision of a federal law may, by order, amend Schedule 2 or 3 by adding or striking out a reference to that federal law or provision.
(1) For the purposes of sections 41 to 47, the responsible authority in respect of a provision of a federal law may make regulations respecting the application of those sections to the provision.
The striking out of a reference to a federal law or provision in Schedule 2 or 3 does not affect the validity of anything done in compliance with any regulation made under section 50 that relates to that federal law or provision while it was listed in that Schedule.
When personal information that has been collected is to be used for a purpose not previously identified, the new purpose shall be identified prior to use. Unless the new purpose is required by law, the consent of the individual is required before information can be used for that purpose. For an elaboration on consent, please refer to the Consent principle (Clause 4.3).
Note: In certain circumstances personal information can be collected, used, or disclosed without the knowledge and consent of the individual. For example, legal, medical, or security reasons may make it impossible or impractical to seek consent. When information is being collected for the detection and prevention of fraud or for law enforcement, seeking the consent of the individual might defeat the purpose of collecting the information. Seeking consent may be impossible or inappropriate when the individual is a minor, seriously ill, or mentally incapacitated. In addition, organizations that do not have a direct relationship with the individual may not always be able to seek consent. For example, seeking consent may be impractical for a charity or a direct-marketing firm that wishes to acquire a mailing list from another organization. In such cases, the organization providing the list would be expected to obtain consent before disclosing personal information.
The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the organization. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.
The requirement that personal information be collected by fair and lawful means is intended to prevent organizations from collecting information by misleading or deceiving individuals about the purpose for which information is being collected. This requirement implies that consent with respect to collection must not be obtained through deception.
Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfilment of those purposes.
