Canada's Privacy Commissioner - Your Privacy Watchdog

Did you know? Canadians have an official federal government representative charged with protecting our privacy rights.

A “passionate and persistent” advocate

Our representative is the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart. She says her “commitment to Canadians is to be passionate and persistent in defending their privacy rights.”

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate. She works independently from any other part of the government to investigate privacy complaints from individuals.

Making sure our privacy laws work

The Privacy Commissioner’s office is responsible for ensuring compliance with both of the main pieces of federal legislation which set out how personal information is handled and protected in Canada.

These laws are the Privacy Act, which covers how federal government departments and agencies treat personal information, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which covers how businesses treat personal information.

The framework of privacy legislation in Canada helps protect against identity theft, by ensuring that personal, identifying information is collected only as required and is protected after collection.

Investigating your complaints

If you have a complaint about how your personal information was handled by a business or government in Canada, including a concern that you have been the victim of identity theft, the Privacy Commissioner’s office may launch an investigation to help you resolve it.

Investigators from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner will look into whether your rights to privacy were violated, or whether your right to access your personal information collected by a business or government was honoured.  (If you live in a province which has enacted legislation which covers the same ground as the PIPEDA, your complaint may be referred to the appropriate provincial office for investigation.)

Privacy issues are a growing concern for Canadians – keep yourself informed about the watchdogs that can protect you!