Your Privacy Responsibilities

Thousands of Ontario businesses must now comply with the new Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act ,(Bill C-6). Companies must get compliant or face challenges regarding storage and use of personal information possibly resulting in lawsuits.

The Act sets out ground rules for the management of personal information in the private sector.

It balances an individual's right to the privacy of personal information with the need of organizations to collect, use or disclose personal information for legitimate business purposes.

The Act establishes the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as the ombudsman for complaints under the new law. The Commissioner seeks whenever possible to solve problems through voluntary compliance, rather than heavy-handed enforcement. The Commissioner investigates complaints, conducts audits, promotes awareness of, and undertakes research about privacy matters. The Commissioner is also the ombudsman for complaints under the Privacy Act , which covers the federal public sector.

Companies should analyze their operations and really look at who actually handles personal information on a daily basis. Companies will have to train those people and make sure they know what the requirements are. Small to medium size companies should look to contract out regulatory functions to industry specialists.

CM Group’s wealth of legal professionals are poised to solve compliance issues and assist companies with implementation of new policies and procedures. For starters, CM Group would recommend implementing the 10 Fair Information Practices set out in the Canadian Standards Association's Model Code.

Guide for Businesses and Organizations to Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

GUIDE