Publication
Proposed changes to Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Alberta is set to significantly change the privacy landscape for the public sector for the first time in 20 years.
Canada | Publication | November 24, 2020
New privacy legislation proposed by the federal government will usher in sweeping changes on how Canadian organizations collect, use, disclose and retain personal information. Organizations will face enhanced scrutiny on how they process personal information and will be required to comply with new privacy obligations. Non-compliance may be subject to corrective orders and may be punishable by administrative monetary penalties of the greater of up to 5% of global revenue or Cdn $25 million.
On November 17, the federal government introduced Bill C-11, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020), which enacts the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and makes related amendments to other acts.
Bill C-11 seeks to enact significant changes to Part 1 of Canada’s existing federal private sector privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). It is expected that amendments to the Bill may be proposed as it makes its way through the parliamentary process and we will provide further updates as this process unfolds.
Significantly, Bill C-11, as drafted, will fundamentally change the current enforcement model under PIPEDA by granting the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) significant order-making power and the authority to recommend the imposition of administrative monetary penalties. Bill C-11 will also create a new Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal to hear appeals from orders issued made by the OPC, and to determine and impose on organizations any administrative monetary penalties recommended by the OPC. Individuals will also have a private right of action for actual damages suffered.
While these proposed amendments to the enforcement model certainly up the compliance ante for organizations, Bill C-11 also proposes certain important amendments to the existing consent model under PIPEDA. Bill C-11 will also do away with the requirement for individual knowledge and consent as a precondition to engaging in certain, enumerated business activities that should be obvious to the reasonable individual, as well as for certain socially beneficial purposes. The Bill also clarifies that the transfer of personal information by an organization to its service provider may be done without individual knowledge or consent.
For organizations wanting to get a head start on the impending law, below are elements of the CPPA that an organization may need to consider in terms of making adjustments to its privacy compliance program. This is by no means intended to be an exhaustive list. In addition, the specific elements an organization will need to consider will depend on the scope and reasons for collecting, using and processing personal information:
This long-anticipated Bill seeks to usher in privacy legislation in Canada that is comparable to the most stringent global privacy regimes such as the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). There are, however, certain key differences in how privacy rights are affected (that will be the subject of future articles).
While Industry Canada has indicated in its technical briefings on Bill C-11 that there will be some grace period between royal assent and entry into force of the new legislation, a best practice implemented by organizations in their preparation for compliance with the GDPR and CCPA is also recommended here: that compliance efforts are best started early to avoid a rush to review and revise policies, processes and procedures necessary to comply with what are expected to become the new requirements. In a nutshell, it is not too early to engage with the new Bill C-11.
Publication
Alberta is set to significantly change the privacy landscape for the public sector for the first time in 20 years.
Publication
On December 15, amendments to the Competition Act (Canada) (the Act) that were intended at least in part to target competitor property controls that restrict the use of commercial real estate – specifically exclusivity clauses and restrictive covenants – came into effect.
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