Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which came into force in April 2000, is the primary federal law that governs how private-sector organisations collect, use, and disclose personal information during commercial activity. More than two decades since its inception, PIPEDA remains the foundation of Canada’s private-sector privacy regime, even as technology, business models, and global privacy standards have evolved at a rapid pace.
In 2020, the Canadian Parliament introduced Bill C-11, known as the Digital Charter Implementation Act, to overhaul PIPEDA. However, this bill did not pass the committee review. In June 2022, a revised version of Bill C-27 was tabled, aiming to enact three new acts, the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act, and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act. While these reforms are designed to modernise and strengthen Canada’s privacy framework, none have yet been passed.
I. Who Does PIPEDA Apply To?
PIPEDA applies to all private-sector organisations that collect, use, or disclose personal information in the course of commercial or for-profit activities in Canada. The Act’s core focus is on personal information, defined broadly as any information about an identifiable individual factual such as age, name, or email address or subjective such as opinions or evaluations, whether recorded or not. According to guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, examples of personal information include ID numbers, ethnic origin, blood type, income or credit records, medical histories, or even the existence of a dispute between a consumer and a merchant.
To determine if PIPEDA applies, organisations should ask, “Does the organisation operate in the private sector?”, “Does it collect, use, or disclose personal information?” and “Is that activity conducted in the context of commercial or for-profit business within Canada?” If the answer to any one is yes, then PIPEDA applies, and compliance is mandatory.
However, certain categories of entities and data are exempt from the current law. Federal government organisations fall under the separate Privacy Act, not PIPEDA. When personal information is collected, used, or disclosed strictly for personal purposes) or journalistic activities, PIPEDA does not apply. Personal information about employees, when used exclusively for employment relationship purposes, may be governed by provincial employment privacy laws rather than PIPEDA. Furthermore, private sector organisations located in Alberta, British Columbia, or Quebec are generally governed by provincial statutes deemed substantially similar to PIPEDA. In those provinces, PIPEDA steps only when personal information flows across cross-provincial or national borders. In all other provinces and territories, PIPEDA applies in full. PIPEDA does not apply to organisations that are not engaged in commercial or for-profit work. Furthermore, PIPEDA generally does not apply to not-for-profit and charity groups, nor political parties and associations, unless their involvement in commercial activities is significant to their primary purpose and involves personal information.
II. What Is PIPEDA Compliance?
PIPEDA compliance means fulfilling all obligations set out by the Act and having both technical and organisational measures in place to protect personal information. Compliance is not achieved with a single audit or checkbox; it is ongoing. Certain areas, such as handling privacy rights requests and managing breach response, demand continuous attention and periodic review.
Understanding Your Data
The first step in any PIPEDA compliance program is to understand what constitutes personal information under the Act and to inventory what data your organisation actually holds. As noted above, PIPEDA defines personal information broadly as any information about an identifiable individual, whether factual or subjective, whether recorded or not.
Developing a central data map is therefore vital. A data map catalogs every discrete data element of customer name, purchase histories, device identifiers, IP addresses, email correspondence describing how each is collected, stored, used, disclosed, and retained. The data map also identifies whether each processing activity is subject to PIPEDA or a provincial substantially similar statute, and whether any further sector-specific rules apply.
III.The Ten Fair Information Principles
At the core of PIPEDA are the Ten Fair Information Principles, regarded by the OPC as enforceable ground rules for processing personal information.
1. Accountability
Under PIPEDA’s accountability principle, organisations are fully responsible for personal information in their custody, including data processed by third-party service providers. To meet this standard, organisations must appoint a Privacy Officer or equivalent tasked with maintaining a privacy management program that includes documented policies, standard operating procedures, training modules for employees, and vendor management protocols. Periodic internal audits or third-party assessments should verify that each policy is up to date, that all staff understand privacy obligations, and that third parties adhere to PIPEDA’s requirements through contractual clauses and oversight mechanisms.
2. Identifying Purposes
Before or at the time of collecting personal information, organisations must identify and document the specific, legitimate purposes for which the data is collected. For example, if an e-commerce website asks for an email address at checkout, it must inform the customer that the email will be used to send order confirmations and shipping updates.
3. Consent
PIPEDA mandates meaningful consent, meaning that individuals must understand what they are consenting to, what data is being collected, why it is collected, how it will be used, and with whom it will be shared so they can make an informed choice. Consent may be express or implied. However, implied consent is typically restricted to lower-risk or inconsequential data collection. The OPC also emphasises that organisations must allow individuals to withdraw consent easily, subject only to minimal legal or contractual obligations that render it impossible to do so.
4. Limiting Collection
Under this principle, the collection of personal information must be limited to what is necessary for the identified purpose, and all collection must be conducted by fair and lawful means. Organisations should avoid data hoarding or collecting more information than they need
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention
Once personal information is collected, it must be used or disclosed only for the purposes identified at collection and retained only as long as necessary to fulfill those purposes. Personal data that is no longer required should be securely deleted or irreversibly anonymised. Failing to delete data when no longer needed increases risk such as data breaches and violates PIPEDA’s retention limits.
6. Accuracy
To fulfill this principle, organisations must keep personal information as accurate, complete, and up to date as necessary for its intended use. Line-of-business owners should be assigned responsibility for verifying data accuracy in their respective domains, and corrective workflows should be triggered whenever a discrepancy is identified.
7. Safeguards
Personal information must be protected by appropriate security safeguards, which may include technical, physical, and administrative controls. The level of safeguards should be commensurate with the sensitivity of the data. For instance, financial or health data warrants encryption at rest and in transit, while lower-risk data may require standard protections. Regular privacy impact assessments and security risk assessments help verify that safeguards remain adequate over time.
8. Openness
Transparency is a core tenet of PIPEDA. Organisations must make information relating to their data handling practices readily accessible to individuals through public privacy policies, easy-to-understand notices, in-app disclosures, or printed brochures. Policies should outline what personal information is collected, why it is collected, how it is used and disclosed, who is responsible for privacy, and methods for filing complaints.
9. Individual Access
Under PIPEDA, individuals have the right to request access to any personal information that an organisation holds about them, and to receive details on how it has been used and disclosed. Upon a proper request usually submitted through a centralised Data Subject Access Request DSAR portal, the organisation must confirm whether it holds the requested information, provide a readable copy in the individual’s preferred format, and disclose relevant contextual information such as data sources and any third parties who received the data.
Access must be provided at minimal or no cost, although organisations may charge a reasonable fee to cover the expense of retrieving, compiling, and reproducing the data provided the fee is publicly disclosed upfront and does not act as a barrier. If access is denied, the organisation must explain the reasons for refusal and inform the individual of any recourse, such as filing a complaint with the OPC.
10. Challenging Compliance
If an individual believes an organisation is not complying with one or more of the Ten Fair Information Principles, they can file a complaint with the designated Privacy Officer. Organisations must maintain a documented complaint-handling process whereby each complaint is recorded, investigated thoroughly, and a timely response is provided to the complainant. If the organisation upholds the complaint, it must implement corrective actions and inform the individual of the outcome. If the organisation rejects the complaint, the individual is entitled to further recourse, such as escalating the issue to the OPC.
IV. Understanding Privacy Rights Under PIPEDA
PIPEDA imbues individuals with specific privacy rights, some explicit, others implied by OPC guidance, that mirror the functionality of modern data protection laws:
- Right to Be Informed: While not a standalone right, PIPEDA requires organisations to clearly communicate the purposes for data collection, use, and sharing either verbally, in writing, or through clear on-screen prompts before collecting personal information.
- Right of Access: Under section 8, individuals may request access to their data at any time. Organisations must confirm whether data is held, explain its use, and provide a readable copy within 30 days, with one permissible extension if communicated in advance.
- Right to Correction: Individuals can request amendments to inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information. After identity verification, the organisation must correct the record and, if feasible, notify any third parties who received the incorrect data. If refused, the individual can append a statement of disagreement.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Consent can be withdrawn at any time, subject to legal or contractual obligations. Clear opt-out mechanisms like unsubscribe links must accompany every consent process.
- Right to Erasure: While not explicitly codified, OPC guidance treats consent withdrawal as triggering a right to erasure when the data is no longer necessary. This includes deletion of user-generated content like social media posts unless justified by overriding interests.
- Right to Lodge a Complaint: Individuals may file complaints with the OPC if unsatisfied with how an organisation manages their data. The Commissioner can investigate, issue findings, and recommend corrective action. While PIPEDA lacks direct penalties, reputational consequences may follow.
V. Establishing a Breach Response Process
Since November 2018, PIPEDA has mandated that organisations notify both the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and affected individuals when a data breach poses a real risk of significant harm. Such breaches involve the loss of, or unauthorised access to, use, or disclosure of personal information. While not every incident must be reported, organisations are expected to follow a structured process to assess each event. It begins with intake, where staff, vendors, or third parties must have easy ways to report suspected breaches via hotline, secure email, or ticketing tools. Next, the organisation must investigate to determine what occurred, who was impacted, and whether any sensitive information was accessed. This includes reviewing logs, collecting forensic evidence, and identifying affected systems. In the assessment stage, organisations evaluate whether the breach is likely to cause identity theft, fraud, reputational harm, or similar losses. If the threshold is met, they must report the breach.
– first to the OPC with full details of the incident,
– and then to the affected individuals, offering clear guidance on steps to minimise harm, such as changing passwords or monitoring financial accounts.
Organisations are legally required under Section 10.3(1) of PIPEDA and the Breach of Security Safeguards Regulations to maintain a record of all breaches of security safeguards. These records must be kept for at least 24 months from the date the breach is determined and must be made available to the OPC upon request. This leads to the remediation phase; steps must be taken to contain the breach and strengthen defenses. This might include revoking credentials, applying patches, or providing credit monitoring for victims. Finally, the documentation of every phase discovery, investigation, notifications, and lessons learned should be meticulously maintained to demonstrate accountability and preparedness.
Conclusion
PIPEDA is Canada’s rulebook for how businesses should handle people’s personal information. If you collect, use, or share someone’s data, you need to check if PIPEDA applies to you and then follow its basic principles to respect privacy. In practice, that means knowing exactly what personal data you have, making it simple and safe for people to see or correct their information, and having a clear plan to spot, report, and fix any data privacy breaches. Even though Bill C-27 might bring updates to Canada’s privacy rules, the main ideas behind PIPEDA won’t go away. Companies that use good security tools, keep privacy in mind every day, and build systems to protect data will not only meet legal requirements, but they’ll also earn people’s trust.
If your business needs help navigating PIPEDA or setting up strong privacy frameworks, our data privacy consulting services can guide you. Visit https://tsaaro.com/ to learn how we can support your compliance journey and strengthen your privacy practices.
