Privacy Act 1982 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Privacy Act is Canadian federal legislation that came into effect on July 1, 1983. The act sets out rules for how institutions of the federal government

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

must deal with personal information of individuals

Data privacy

Information privacy, or data privacy is the relationship between collection and dissemination of data, technology, the public expectation of privacy, and the legal and political issues surrounding them....

. Some salient provisions of the legislation are as follows:

A government institution may not collect personal information unless it relates directly to an operating program or activity of the institution (section 4).

With some exceptions, when a government institution collects an individual's personal information from the individual, it must inform the individual of the purpose for which the information is being collected (section 5(2)).

With some exceptions, personal information under the control of a government institution may be used only for the purpose for which the information was obtained or for a use consistent with that purpose, unless the individual consents (section 7).

With some exceptions, personal information under the control of a government institution may not be disclosed, unless the individual consents (section 8).

Every Canadian citizen
Canadian nationality law
Canadian citizenship is typically obtained by birth in Canada, birth abroad when at least one parent is a Canadian citizen and was born or naturalized in Canada, or by adoption abroad by at least one Canadian citizen. It can also be granted to a permanent resident who lives in Canada for three out...

or permanent resident
Permanent resident (Canada)
A Permanent Resident in Canada is someone who is not a Canadian citizen but who has been granted permission to live and work in Canada without any time limit on his or her stay...

has the right to be given access to personal information about the individual under the control of a government institution that is reasonably retrievable by the government institution, and request correction if the information is inaccurate (section 12).

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is a special ombudsman and an officer of parliament who reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate....

receives and investigates complaints, including complaints that an individual was denied access to his or her personal information held by a government institution (section 29).

Case law

An individual who has been refused access to personal information may ultimately apply to the Federal Court

Federal Court (Canada)

The Federal Court is a Canadian trial court that hears cases arising under certain areas of federal law. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction...

for a review of the matter, pursuant to section 41 of the Act. The Court may order the head of the government institution to disclose the information to the individual (sections 48 and 49). Decisions of the Federal Court on such matters may be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal

Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)

The Federal Court of Appeal is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters arising from certain federal Acts. The court was created on July 2, 2003 by the Courts Administration Service Act when it and the Federal Court were split from its predecessor, the Federal Court of...

, and, if leave is granted, further appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

. Some important court decision concerning the Privacy Act are:

Canada (Information Commissioner) v. Canada (Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), 2003 SCC 8 http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2003/2003scc8/2003scc8.html (considering the definition of "personal information" in section 3 of the Privacy Act)

Ruby v. Canada (Solicitor General), 2002 SCC 75 http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2002/2002scc75/2002scc75.html (holding that section 51(2)(a) of the Privacy Act is unconstitutional because it requires that the entire hearing of certain applications to Federal Court be held in camera
In camera
In camera is a legal term meaning "in private". It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.In camera describes court cases that the public and press are not admitted to...

)

Lavigne v. Canada (Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages), 2002 SCC 53 http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2002/2002scc53/2002scc53.html (holding that the Privacy Act is 'quasi-constitutional' legislation, and considering section 22(1)(b), the exemption for information the disclosure of which could be injurious to the conduct of lawful investigations)

Privacy Act (Can.) (Re), 2001 SCC 89 http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2001/2001scc89/2001scc89.html (holding that the Privacy Act was not violated by a program whereby Canada Customs gave information about travellers to the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, to identify those who received employment insurance benefits while outside Canada)

Dagg v. Canada (Minister of Finance), [1997] 2 S.C.R. 403 http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/1997/1997rcs2-403/1997rcs2-403.html (the first major Supreme Court of Canada decision to consider the Privacy Act)

External links

The Canadian Privacy Law Blog: A regularly updated blog on issues related to Canadian privacy law written by David T.S. Fraser, a Canadian privacy lawyer.

Case law

External links

See also