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This privacy policy has been developed to meet the compliance standards established by Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, the CSA Model for the Protection of Personal Privacy and OECD's Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data.
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, formerly referred to as Bill C-6 is essentially about balance. On one hand, it respects an individual's right to privacy while on the other, it recognizes the need for industry and organizations to collect, use and disclose personal information. This law as its name suggests, encompasses two primary objectives. The first objective is to establish rules that govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by private sector organizations. The second objective is to acknowledge the validity and legality of electronic documents.
This federal law will significantly impact the way private businesses, corporations, federal agencies, not-for-profit organizations and associations handle the personal information with which they have been entrusted. At the same time, it will clearly establish a code of privacy practices that will provide Canadians from coast to coast with a mechanism to ensure their personal information is handled respectfully.
The heart of this Act is based on the Ten Principles established by the Canadian Standards Association's Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information. These principles were recognized as a Canadian standard in 1996 and address the ways in which organizations should collect, use and disclose personal information. They also address an individual's right to access his/her personal information in addition to his/her right to have it amended where appropriate.
In order to govern the commercial information-handling practices within provincial jurisdictions, each province has been encouraged to enact legislation that is substantially similar to the federal law. Quebec enacted comparable legislation in 1994 called an Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector. British Columbia and Alberta enacted legislation called the Personal Information Protection Act in 2004. As other provinces may enact similar legislation, organizations conducting commercial activity within a province will be subject to the provisions of their provincial laws rather than the federal Act. However, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act will continue to regulate cross-border, inter-provincial and international trade and commerce.
The implementation of this federal law relating to privacy occurred in three stages. The first phase, effective as of January 1, 2001 affected federally-regulated private organizations including Canadian banks as well as to organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information for profit on an inter-provincial or international basis. On January 1, 2002, this law was extended to cover personal health information. Two years later on January 1, 2004, most organizations regardless of their size, which collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activity, became subject to the provisions of this Act.
For more information regarding this legislation, please visit the official Web site of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the Electronic Commerce branch of Industry Canada.
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