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Canadian Government Attempts to Enhance Individuals’ Privacy
9/29/2011
Amendments to PIPEDA introduced in the House of Commons.
Christian Paradis, Canada’s minister of industry, has announced the re-introduction of amendments to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in the House of Commons in an attempt to further protect the privacy of Canadians during commercial transactions.
"Canadians have given our government a strong mandate to stay focused on what matters: creating jobs and economic growth,” he says. “Ensuring trust and confidence through the protection of personal information is essential to the growth of the digital economy. Our government will continue to help protect consumers and businesses from the misuse of their personal information, thereby increasing confidence in the online marketplace."
PIPEDA sets privacy rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in a way that is designed to balance the privacy rights of individuals with measures to maintain the flow of information necessary to business operations.
The bill includes provisions designed to better protect and empower consumers, clarify and streamline rules for business and enable investigations by law enforcement and security agencies. A key amendment would require organizations to report material breaches of personal information to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Affected individuals also would be notified when there was a risk of significant harm, such as identity theft, fraud or risk to one's reputation.
"Canada already has a solid legislative framework in place to ensure the protection of personal information," Paradis says. "These amendments are based on extensive consultations and will help us maintain a balanced and practical approach to privacy law."
The proposed amendments also allow for the release of personal information to help protect victims of financial abuse and include measures designed to better protect the privacy of minors online.
Part 1 of PIPEDA governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the course of commercial activity. It has been in force since Jan. 1, 2001, and is mandated to be reviewed by Parliament every five years.
The new bill acts on the government's October 2007 Response to the Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics arising from the first Parliamentary review of the act. The response addressed each of the 25 recommendations contained in the committee's report and committed to amending the act in agreement with many of the committee's recommendations, according to Industry Canada.
In its report, the committee states that the act is working well and does not require major changes. However, the committee recommends the "fine-tuning" of some of the act's provisions and encouraged increased harmonization with provincial privacy laws.
Industry Canada, which administers the act, conducted formal consultations with stakeholders to further develop and define options for implementing the government response to the committee report. The government received 76 written submissions, and officials held more than 25 meetings involving a wide range of stakeholders, including business, consumer and privacy advocates, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, provincial governments and law enforcement authorities.
Where possible, the proposed amendments take into consideration approaches taken in provincial privacy laws, according to Industry Canada.