In today’s post we will discuss some miscellaneous topics which might be interesting and surprising to know and in this post I shall frame some queries in the form of question & answers that might be useful for readers.
Q. What to do when a situation comes where more than one law applies to your organisation?
Ans. In such a situation, the Office of Privacy Commissioner is very clear and states that it is possible that more than one law could be applicable to an organisation while acting within a province or outside province such as disclosure across borders, may be subject to PIPEDA.
Q. What to do when you are unsure which law will apply?
Ans. if you are unsure, please click on below link-
https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/report-a-concern/leg_info_201405/ (this is the official website of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada).
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
of Canada, 30, Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 1H3
Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376, Phone: (819) 994-5444, TTY: (819) 994-6591
Q. How many privacy laws exist in Canada? PIPEDA or PIPA are the only laws Applicable in Canada?
Ans. To be very precise there are several laws in Canada in respect to privacy, PIPEDA and Privacy Act are federal laws.
PIPEDA – Covers the business group how they shall be handling the personal information of an individual. PIPEDA does not apply to Nonprofit and Charity Groups, Political Parties & Association.
Privacy Act – Covers how the federal government has to handle the personal information (basically the collection of Personal Information by governmental authorities, where subjects like- Old People’s pensions, Employment Insurance, Border Security, Taxation etc.). Please note that Privacy Act does not apply to Political parties and Political representatives.
Federal Bank Act – this act handles the Personal Information received by the federally regulated financial institutions.
Q. What is a certificate under Canada Evidence Act which is referred to in PIPEDA under various sections? How can it aid you after filing a complaint?
Ans. Certificate u/s.38.13 of Canada Evidence Act prohibits the disclosure of personal information of a specific individual when the complaint is filed under PIPEDA for investigation. This certificate is issued by the Attorney General of Canada prohibiting the disclosure of the Personal Information. This privilege is usually given the matters pertaining to the judicial or national security related subject.
Q. Which was the First PIPEDA case in the history of Canada?
Ans. Almost after 10 years of enactment of PIPEDA the first damage was awarded by the Federal Court of Canada in the year 2010. The first PIPDA case was Nammo Vs. Transunion of Canada Inc. The court awarded $5,000 along with a cost. We shall discuss this case in our next post in detail.
……… to be continued….