Canada’s PIPED Act

Canada’s PIPED Act

Canadian Law has been ammended several times in the last decade to include a number of restrictions on how personal
information is both stored and processed by companies. Over time, these restrictions have been expanded to include
more and more companies within Canadian borders. By 2004, these laws covered any Canadian company that:

“collects, uses or discloses personal information in the course of a commercial activity within a province, whether or not the
organization is a federally-regulated business or not”

Source : https://www.priv.gc.ca/leg_c/legislation/02_06_02a_e.asp

The following goes into detail about how the laws have changed over time, and what provinces aren’t liable to follow the specific legislature:

The implementation of PIPEDA occurred in three stages. Starting in 2001, the law applied to federally regulated industries (such as airlines, banking and broadcasting).
In 2002 the law was expanded to include the health sector. Finally in 2004, any organization that collects personal information in the course of commercial activity
was covered by PIPEDA, except in provinces that have “substantially similar” privacy laws. Five provincial privacy laws have been declared by the federal Governor in
Council to be substantially similar to PIPEDA:

• An Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector (Quebec).
• The Personal Information Protection Act (British Columbia).
• The Personal Information Protection Act (Alberta).
• The Personal Health Information Protection Act (Ontario).
• The Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act (New Brunswick).
• The Personal Health Information Act (Newfoundland and Labrador).

The previous changes to the tele-marketing legislature make it unfeasible for a hosted marketing or sales platform to exist in most Canadian territory. Because of this we highly suggest ensuring that you check with local officials to see if you are complying with all regulations regarding the specifications for where information can be stored and processed.

If you’re unsure about how to comply with the PIPED Act, the best way to learn more is to visit Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Website where you can find regulations, compliance guides, and general resources regarding privacy law.