Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (S.C. 2000, c. 5)

Marginal note:Promoting the purposes of the Part

24 The Commissioner shall

• (a) develop and conduct information programs to foster public understanding, and recognition of the purposes, of this Part;

• (b) undertake and publish research that is related to the protection of personal information, including any such research that is requested by the Minister of Industry;

• (c) encourage organizations to develop detailed policies and practices, including organizational codes of practice, to comply with Divisions 1 and 1.1; and

• (d) promote, by any means that the Commissioner considers appropriate, the purposes of this Part.

Marginal note:Annual report

• 25 (1) The Commissioner shall, within three months after the end of each financial year, submit to Parliament a report concerning the application of this Part, the extent to which the provinces have enacted legislation that is substantially similar to this Part and the application of any such legislation.

• Marginal note:Consultation

  (2) Before preparing the report, the Commissioner shall consult with those persons in the provinces who, in the Commissioner’s opinion, are in a position to assist the Commissioner in making a report respecting personal information that is collected, used or disclosed interprovincially or internationally.

Marginal note:Regulations

• 26 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part, including regulations

  • (a) specifying, by name or by class, what is a government institution or part of a government institution for the purposes of any provision of this Part;

  • (a.01) [Repealed, 2015, c. 32, s. 21]

  • (a.1) specifying information or classes of information for the purpose of paragraph 7(1)(d), (2)(c.1) or (3)(h.1);

  • (b) specifying information to be kept and maintained under subsection 10.3(1); and

  • (c) prescribing anything that by this Part is to be prescribed.

• Marginal note:Orders

  (2) The Governor in Council may, by order,

  • (a) provide that this Part is binding on any agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada to which the Privacy Act does not apply;

  • (b) if satisfied that legislation of a province that is substantially similar to this Part applies to an organization, a class of organizations, an activity or a class of activities, exempt the organization, 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; and

  • (c) amend Schedule 4.

Marginal note:Whistleblowing

• 27 (1) Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has contravened or intends to contravene a provision of Division 1 or 1.1 may notify the Commissioner of the particulars of the matter and may request that their identity be kept confidential with respect to the notification.

• Marginal note:Confidentiality

  (2) The Commissioner shall keep confidential the identity of a person who has notified the Commissioner under subsection (1) and to whom an assurance of confidentiality has been provided by the Commissioner.

Marginal note:Prohibition

• 27.1 (1) No employer shall dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, harass or otherwise disadvantage an employee, or deny an employee a benefit of employment, by reason that

  • (a) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has disclosed to the Commissioner that the employer or any other person has contravened or intends to contravene a provision of Division 1 or 1.1;

  • (b) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has refused or stated an intention of refusing to do anything that is a contravention of a provision of Division 1 or 1.1;

  • (c) the employee, acting in good faith and on the basis of reasonable belief, has done or stated an intention of doing anything that is required to be done in order that a provision of Division 1 or 1.1 not be contravened; or

  • (d) the employer believes that the employee will do anything referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

• Marginal note:Saving

  (2) Nothing in this section impairs any right of an employee either at law or under an employment contract or collective agreement.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (3) In this section, employee includes an independent contractor and employer has a corresponding meaning.

Marginal note:Offence and punishment

28 Every organization that knowingly contravenes subsection 8(8), section 10.1 or subsection 10.3(1) or 27.1(1) or that obstructs the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s delegate in the investigation of a complaint or in conducting an audit is guilty of

• (a) an offence punishable on summary conviction and liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000; or

• (b) an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding $100,000.

Marginal note:Review of Part by parliamentary committee

• Footnote ^*29 (1) The administration of this Part shall, every five years after this Part comes into force, be reviewed by the committee of the House of Commons, or of both Houses of Parliament, that may be designated or established by Parliament for that purpose.

  • Return to footnote ^*[Note: Part 1 in force January 1, 2001, see SI/2000-29.]

• Marginal note:Review and report

  (2) The committee shall undertake a review of the provisions and operation of this Part and shall, within a year after the review is undertaken or within any further period that the House of Commons may authorize, submit a report to Parliament that includes a statement of any changes to this Part or its administration that the committee recommends.

DIVISION 5Transitional Provisions

Marginal note:Application

• 30 (1) This Part does not apply to any organization in respect of personal information that it collects, uses or discloses within a province whose legislature has the power to regulate the collection, use or disclosure of the information, unless the organization does it in connection with the operation of a federal work, undertaking or business or the organization discloses the information outside the province for consideration.

• Marginal note:Application

  (1.1) This Part does not apply to any organization in respect of personal health information that it collects, uses or discloses.

• Marginal note:Expiry date

  Footnote ^*(2) Subsection (1) ceases to have effect three years after the day on which this section comes into force.

  • Return to footnote ^*[Note: Section 30 in force January 1, 2001, see SI/2000-29.]

• Marginal note:Expiry date

  Footnote ^*(2.1) Subsection (1.1) ceases to have effect one year after the day on which this section comes into force.

  • Return to footnote ^*[Note: Section 30 in force January 1, 2001, see SI/2000-29.]

PART 2Electronic Documents

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 31 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this Part.

  data

  data means representations of information or concepts, in any form. (données)

  electronic document

  electronic document means data that is recorded or stored on any medium in or by a computer system or other similar device and that can be read or perceived by a person or a computer system or other similar device. It includes a display, printout or other output of that data. (document électronique)

  electronic signature

  electronic signature means a signature that consists of one or more letters, characters, numbers or other symbols in digital form incorporated in, attached to or associated with an electronic document. (signature électronique)

  federal law

  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

  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

  • (c) despite paragraph (a) or (b), the person or body designated by the Governor in Council under subsection (2). (autorité responsable)

  secure electronic signature

  secure electronic signature means an electronic signature that results from the application of a technology or process prescribed by regulations made under subsection 48(1). (signature électronique sécurisée)

• Marginal note:Designation

  (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.

Purpose

Marginal note:Purpose

32 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.

Electronic Alternatives

Marginal note:Collection, storage, etc.

33 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.

Marginal note:Electronic payment

34 A payment that is required to be made to the Government of Canada may be made in electronic form in any manner specified by the Receiver General.

Marginal note:Electronic version of statutory form

• 35 (1) If a provision of an Act of Parliament establishes a form, the responsible authority in respect of that provision may make regulations respecting an electronic form that is substantially the same as the form established in the provision, and the electronic form may be used for the same purposes as the form established in the provision.

• Marginal note:Statutory manner of filing documents

  (2) If a non-electronic manner of filing a document is set out in a provision of an Act of Parliament, the responsible authority in respect of that provision may make regulations respecting the filing of an electronic version of the document, and an electronic version of the document filed in accordance with those regulations is to be considered as a document filed in accordance with the provision.

• Marginal note:Statutory manner of submitting information

  (3) If a non-electronic manner of submitting information is set out in a provision of an Act of Parliament, the responsible authority in respect of that provision may make regulations respecting the manner of submitting the information using electronic means, and information submitted in accordance with those regulations is to be considered as information submitted in accordance with the provision.

• Marginal note:Authority to prescribe form, etc.

  (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.

• Meaning of filing

  (5) In this section, filing includes all manner of submitting, regardless of how it is designated.

Marginal note:Documents as evidence or proof

36 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.

Marginal note:Retention of documents

37 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) the electronic document is retained for the specified period in the format in which it was made, sent or received, or in a format that does not change the information contained in the electronic document that was originally made, sent or received;

• (b) the information in the electronic document will be readable or perceivable by any person who is entitled to have access to the electronic document or who is authorized to require the production of the electronic document; and

• (c) if the electronic document was sent or received, any information that identifies the origin and destination of the electronic document and the date and time when it was sent or received is also retained.

Marginal note:Notarial act

38 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.

Marginal note:Seals

39 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.