Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 2024-25 Departmental plan
On this page
- From the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
- Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
- Planned spending and human resources
- Corporate information
- Supplementary information tables
- Federal tax expenditures
- Definitions
- Footnotes
(The original version was signed by)
The Honourable Arif Virani, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
From the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Philippe Dufresne
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
I am pleased to present the 2024–25 Departmental Plan for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC).
As technology plays an increasingly central role in our world, our lives, and our economy, ensuring that we can benefit from the advances, innovations, and conveniences that it brings while protecting privacy will be critical to our success as a free and democratic society.
To ensure that the OPC is well positioned to lead on this front, we have prepared a strategic plan based on my vision for privacy and the strategic priorities that support my vision. The three pillars of my vision are that privacy is a fundamental right; that privacy supports the public interest and Canada’s innovation and competitiveness; and that privacy accelerates the trust that Canadians have in their institutions and in their participation as digital citizens.
This vision frames how I look at privacy issues, and how I will consider and address the ongoing challenges of our time. To that end, our three strategic privacy priorities, which crystallized over the course of the first year of my mandate, include 1) maximizing the OPC’s impact in fully and effectively promoting and protecting the fundamental right to privacy; 2) addressing the privacy impacts of the fast-moving pace of technological advancement, especially in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI; and 3) ensuring that children’s privacy is protected, and that young people are able to exercise their privacy rights.
For the first priority, we will maximize our impact in fully and effectively promoting and protecting the fundamental right to privacy. We will adapt as our operational context changes, such as through potential legislative reforms, and we will pursue the most effective and efficient use of our resources and powers for optimal results for Canada and Canadians, even if privacy laws remain unchanged. The second priority involves bolstering our ability to address the privacy impacts of the fast-moving pace of technological advancements, especially in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI and encouraging privacy protective technological innovations. Our third priority is about doing more to promote and protect the privacy rights of children, who are particularly vulnerable in the digital age.
Our strategic plan has been published, and we have invited feedback from stakeholders to help shape how the plan is implemented. The strategic plan will help guide our work and focus our limited resources over the next three years.
The temporary funding received in the 2023 Budget for breaches and the complaints backlog will allow us to conduct more in-depth reviews and investigations of privacy breaches and improve response times for privacy complaints. We will use these funds to find creative and innovative ways to improve our processes and services, and will provide much-needed relief to address operational pressures in our Compliance Program. Budget 2023 also included temporary funding to operationalize new processes required to implement Bill C‑27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act. Once accessed, we will use these other funds to prepare for the new responsibilities that may come when Bill C‑27 is adopted. We have conducted and will continue to conduct costing, growth modelling, and planning so that we can immediately fulfill the requirements of our new mandate if and when it comes into force.
These temporary funds provide necessary and immediate support, but it is essential that we be properly resourced on a permanent basis to fully and effectively take on our new responsibilities under Bill C‑27. Moreover, the OPC must be adequately resourced on an ongoing basis to deal with the full volume and complexity of today’s privacy landscape. We will continue to present fiscally responsible funding requests. We will also maximize nimbleness and cost effectiveness by assessing and streamlining program and service delivery.
Privacy matters to Canadians more today than ever before, and it touches all aspects of our lives. Protecting privacy is one of the paramount challenges of our time. We are poised to meet this challenge through strong advocacy, collaboration, education, promotion, and enforcement.
The work that the OPC is doing is so important, and I am grateful to be working with such an extraordinary team in delivering on this important mandate at such a pivotal time.
(The original version was signed by)
Philippe Dufresne
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Plans to deliver on core responsibilities and internal services
Core responsibilities and internal services:
Protection of Privacy Rights
In this section
Description
Ensure the protection of privacy rights of Canadians; enforce privacy obligations by federal government institutions and private-sector organizations; provide advice to Parliament on potential privacy implications of proposed legislation and government programs; promote awareness and understanding of rights and obligations under federal privacy legislation.
Quality of life impacts
The OPC is committed to incorporating the Quality of Life Framework for Canada considerations into its work wherever possible. The protection of privacy rights contributes to the Prosperity (future outlook) and Good Governance (confidence in institutions) domains. Strengthened privacy protection promotes trust in the growing digital economy and directly increases Canadians’ confidence and trust in the federal government and businesses. Our policies and program activities are also informed and developed through intersectional lenses such as fairness, inclusion, and sustainability.
Results and targets
The following tables show, for each departmental result related to the Protection of Privacy Rights, the indicators, the results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2024–25.
Table 1: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result Privacy rights are respected and obligations are met.
| Indicator | 2020–2021 result | 2021–2022 result | 2022–2023 result | Target | Date to achieve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Canadians who feel that businesses respect their privacy rights. | 45% | Not a survey year | 39% | 90% | March 31, 2025 |
| Percentage of Canadians who feel that the federal government respects their privacy rights. | 63% | Not a survey year | 58% | 90% | March 31, 2025 |
| Percentage of complaints responded to within service standards. | 44% | 47% | 55% | 75% | March 31, 2025 |
| Percentage of formal OPC recommendations implemented by departments and organizations. | 75% | 86% | 86% | 90% | March 31, 2025 |
Table 2: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result Canadians are empowered to exercise their privacy rights.
| Indicator | 2020–2021 result | 2021–2022 result | 2022–2023 result | Target | Date to achieve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Canadians who feel they know about their privacy rights. | 64% | Not a survey year | 51% | 70% | March 31, 2025 |
| Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of information to Canadians on how to exercise their privacy rights. | 30% (9/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | n/aFootnote 1 | n/aFootnote 2 | No target set for 2024-25Footnote 3 | n/a |
| Percentage of Canadians who read OPC information and find it useful. | 74% | 73% | 66% | 70% | March 31, 2025 |
Table 3: Indicators, results and targets for departmental result Parliamentarians, and public and private sector organizations are informed and guided to protect Canadians’ privacy rights.
| Indicator | 2020–2021 result | 2021–2022 result | 2022–2023 result | Target | Date to achieve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of OPC recommendations on privacy-relevant bills and studies that have been adopted. | n/aFootnote 4 | n/aFootnote 5 | 55% | 60% | March 31, 2025 |
| Percentage of private sector organizations that have good or excellent knowledge of their privacy obligations. | Not a survey year | 86% | Not a survey year | 85% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of key privacy issues that are the subject of guidance to organizations on how to comply with their privacy responsibilities. | 30% (9/30 specified pieces of guidance done) | n/aFootnote 6 | n/aFootnote 7 | No target set for 2024–25Footnote 8 | n/a |
| Percentage of federal and private sector organizations that find OPC’s advice and guidance to be useful in reaching compliance. | 70% | 76% | 73% | 70% | March 31, 2025 |
The financial, human resources and performance information for the OPC’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Plans to achieve results
In the coming year, the OPC will continue to play a central role by providing Canadians with a strong, fair, accessible, and timely compliance process, and by taking action to improve the protection of Canadians’ personal information and deliver results that make a real difference in their lives. We will engage with colleagues in the federal government, private industry, and data protection and privacy authorities across Canada and internationally to advance the promotion and protection of the fundamental right to privacy. We will continue to promote public awareness of privacy issues and a better understanding of the rights and obligations of individuals and organizations under federal privacy legislation, through advice and recommendations to individuals, government departments, private-sector organizations, and parliamentarians on matters of significant public interest and importance.
Furthermore, we will continue leveraging the temporary funding received in Budget 2023 to undertake more in-depth reviews and investigations of privacy breaches and improve response rates to privacy complaints. We will also focus on addressing systemic issues related to our investigative backlog to prevent it from resurfacing.
In addition to the key activities mentioned above, the OPC will focus its efforts on advancing its strategic priorities as outlined in its multi-year strategic plan. They are:
1. Maximizing the OPC’s impact in fully and effectively promoting and protecting the fundamental right to privacy.
This priority serves as the bedrock for fulfilling our existing mandate and preparing for potential changes in federal privacy laws. With the possibility of law reform on the horizon, the OPC is looking ahead and preparing so that, should Parliament modernize federal privacy legislation, we will be ready to take on important new responsibilities and provide support to Canadians, federal institutions, and businesses as they navigate new legislative frameworks. Substantial law reform will require operational and structural changes in order for us to fully and effectively take on new responsibilities.
At the same time, we must continue to find creative and innovative ways to strategically use the tools currently at our disposal to improve our processes and services and deliver concrete and meaningful results for Canadians.
To advance this priority in the coming years, we will leverage data and partnerships to understand stakeholder needs, optimize service delivery, and assess our impact. Our approach includes harnessing data, business intelligence, and partnerships to produce focused advice, guidance and outreach, as well as to address compliance issues in the public and private sectors. We will pursue timely, constructive, and strategic engagements to continue to help shape federal privacy laws and regulations. We will ensure that we have dedicated capacity, delineated roles and responsibilities, and a clear roadmap for the timely implementation of a potential new law.
2. Addressing privacy impacts of the fast-moving pace of technological advancement, especially in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI.
Digital technologies play an increasingly central role in our world, our lives, and our economy. While these technologies offer exciting possibilities for individuals, businesses, and consumers, they also create new and unforeseen risks to privacy and other human rights.
One area of technological development in which these benefits and risks are especially pronounced is the field of artificial intelligence (AI). While AI technologies hold great promise in advancing innovation, efficiency, and convenience, they also raise serious privacy concerns. These include (i) concerns about the collection and use of personal information as training data; (ii) transparency and explainability of data sources and AI decision-making processes; (iii) consent mechanisms and accountability for system processes and outcomes; and (iv) the accuracy of personal information, including information generated through inferences.
To advance this priority over the coming years, we will focus on enhancing our internal capacity and capabilities, forging strategic partnerships, and fostering technological knowledge and experience-building initiatives. We will cultivate a robust foundation for horizontal decision-making to address privacy challenges related to new technologies. We will prioritize investments and equip and establish ourselves as adopters, exemplifying how our organization can leverage technology effectively while also protecting privacy.
3. Ensuring that children’s privacy is protected and that young people are able to exercise their privacy rights.
Growing up in the digital era presents significant new concerns for the privacy and personal information of younger generations. As children and young people embrace new technologies and experience much of their lives in a largely online world, their personal information is increasingly being used to create personalized content and advertising profiles and ultimately to influence their behaviours. Children and young people require protections so that they can benefit from technology and be active online safely and free from risks of being targeted, manipulated, or harmed.
To advance this priority in the coming years, we will continue our efforts to advance privacy rights, while also concentrating specific initiatives on the needs of children and young people. We will deepen our understanding of youth privacy, learn from young people and those that advocate for them about their privacy concerns and rights, and identify key opportunities through research and engagement. Our focus is on increasing knowledge regarding key children’s privacy risks, issues, and gaps, as well as better understanding how and where they consume content. We aim to build internal capacity and expand partnerships to amplify the uptake of resources, guidance, and advice. We will also apply a children’s privacy lens to our enforcement activities and leverage our findings to inform and incentivize organizations to develop products and services with better privacy protection for children.
Key risks
Key risks to the privacy of Canadians influence the OPC’s identification of priorities, affect plans and performance, and are factors in decision-making. The OPC continually scans its environment to ensure that it fulfills its core mandate and responds to the changing environment.
A key risk facing the organization is the ability to meet its obligations given the rapidly evolving privacy landscape, the significant increase in complexity and volume of data flows, talent scarcity, fiscal constraints, increased reliance on the courts to enforce the OPC findings, and uncertainty related to the impact of its evolving mandate. To mitigate this risk, the OPC has set out its strategic direction for the next three years and will focus on its three strategic priorities to advance privacy interests for the benefit of Canadians. The OPC will also continue to look for creative ways to streamline processes, leverage partnerships to amplify impact and expand capacity, and make use of technology to bring about further efficiencies in its service delivery to Canadians, while continuing to work to protect individuals’ privacy rights.
In the context of potential law reform, as a small organization, we will have to reconcile providing services under existing laws while concurrently planning for the implementation of our potential new responsibilities within a context of financial constraints and a growing complexity and volume of work. We will leverage the temporary funding set aside in Budget 2023 to help us prepare for the implementation of new mandate obligations stemming from C‑27 to navigate this important transition period for the OPC. At the same time, we will continue to engage with government officials on the OPC’s longer-term funding needs.
Cybersecurity risks are inherent to every organization, and the OPC is no exception. We must continue to be vigilant and continually monitor these risks and invest in mechanisms to manage them effectively.
Snapshot of planned resources in 2024–25
- Planned spending: $24,986,305
- Planned full-time resources: 167
Related government priorities
Gender-based Analysis Plus
The OPC supports a culture that embraces diversity and inclusion in order to provide the highest quality of service to Canadians and enable the full participation of its employees, clients, and stakeholders in the delivery of its activities and its mandate. The OPC recognizes the importance of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) to understand the impacts of its programs and services to achieve better outcomes and supports its implementation throughout the organization. Recognizing the need for data informed, evidence-based analysis, in the coming year, we will be investing in a dedicated capacity to help the OPC incorporate GBA Plus into its work while respecting privacy.
United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
While the OPC is not a lead key contributing department or horizontal lead identified in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy or in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the OPC takes into account the Government of Canada’s commitment to achieve the four following goals in its strategic initiatives and activities:
- Advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and take action on inequality.
- Improve access to affordable housing, clean air, transportation, parks, and green spaces, as well as cultural heritage in Canada.
- Reduce waste and transition to zero-emission vehicles.
- Take actions on climate change and its impacts.
More information on the OPC’s contributions to Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan on the 2030 Agenda and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy can be found in our Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy.
Program inventory
The Protection of Privacy Rights is supported by the following programs:
- Compliance Program
- Promotion Program
Activities related to addressing existing compliance issues fall under the compliance program, while activities to bring departments and organizations towards compliance with the law fall under the promotion program.
Supporting information on planned expenditures, human resources, and results related to OPC’s program inventory is available on GC Infobase.
Internal services
In this section
Description
Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:
- management and oversight services
- communications services
- legal services
- human resources management services
- financial management services
- information management services
- information technology services
- real property management services
- materiel management services
- acquisition management services
Communications services are an integral part of the OPC’s education and outreach mandate. As such, these services are included in the Promotion Program. Similarly, as legal services are an integral part of the OPC’s delivery of compliance activities, they are included in the Compliance Program.
Plans to achieve results
In the context of potential law reform, we will continue to focus broadly on organizational change and adaptation, including to support a healthy and resilient workforce. Given the ever-changing needs of the OPC, Internal Services functions will provide efficient and timely services in support of our priorities.
We will continue to strengthen our culture of respect, diversity and inclusion, and accessibility to leverage the full potential of our employees and produce better results for Canadians. We will also continue our efforts to optimize employee experience to attract, retain, and develop talent, by investing in employee well-being, talent management, training and development, engagement initiatives, and flexible work arrangements.
To support program delivery, in 2024–25, Internal Services will undertake the following key initiatives:
- Continue to support the organization in advancing its strategic priorities, and to prepare to carry out new expanded mandate obligations. This includes reviewing organizational structures and developing innovative recruitment strategies in order to meet the requirements of the evolving mandate and changing environment.
- Review of the OPC’s training, learning, and development program to ensure that it enables and supports the OPC in achieving its mandate and objectives.
- Review and update the Departmental Results Framework to ensure that the OPC is meaningfully and directly measuring its contributions to desired outcomes.
- Review and update our Risk Management Framework to support agile risk-based decision-making and foster a risk-aware culture.
- Support activities to tackle anti-black racism and promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Continue to strengthen our hybrid work model to ensure staff have the necessary modern tools to facilitate maximum flexibility and productivity of both remote work and office work.
- Develop strategies that align our public-facing services with pertinent policies and enable future improvements based on modern digital approaches.
Snapshot of planned resources in 2024–25
- Planned spending: $8,994,995
- Planned full-time resources: 54
Related government priorities
Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses
The OPC will continue to implement measures to achieve and surpass the mandatory 5% target in 2024–25 as required by the Directive on the Management of Procurement. We have modified our business processes to incorporate Indigenous procurement methods in the planning stages. We will continue to award contracts to Indigenous businesses mainly through prequalified vendors when using various standing offers and other government procurement tools. Our plan is to increase voluntary set-asides when Indigenous capacity exists and operational requirements, best value, prudence, probity, and sound contracting management can be assured. As a smaller organization, the OPC relies on the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) for procurement services, and we will work jointly with CHRC to achieve the target.
| 5% reporting field | 2022–23 actual result | 2023–24 forecasted result | 2024–25 planned result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses | 29,84% | n/a | 5% |
Planned spending and human resources
This section provides an overview of the OPC’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2024–25 with actual spending from previous years.
Spending
Table 4: Actual spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services ($ dollars)
The following table shows information on spending for each of the OPC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Amounts for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on spending to date.
| Core responsibilities and internal services | 2021–22 actual expenditures | 2022–23 actual expenditures | 2023–24 forecast spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of privacy rights | 22,571,738 | 22,224,125 | 26,013,369 |
| Subtotal | 22,571,738 | 22,224,125 | 26,013,369 |
| Internal services | 8,172,643 | 8,598,493 | 9,380,674 |
| Total | 30,744,381 | 30,822,618 | 35,394,043 |
Explanation of table 4
For the 2021–22 and 2022–23 fiscal years, actual spending represents the actual expenditures as reported in the Public Accounts of Canada.
Forecast spending for the 2023–24 fiscal year corresponds to the OPC’s planned spending. It includes funding received for the collective agreements, the inclusion of the operating budget carry-forward from 2022-23 to 2023-24, and the additional temporary funding received as part of Budget 2023 to reduce the backlog of privacy complaints and to undertake more in-depth investigations of privacy breaches across public and private organizations and to improve response rates to privacy complaints from Canadians.
Table 5: Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
The following table shows information on spending for each of the OPC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the upcoming three fiscal years.
| Core responsibilities and internal services | 2024–25 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates) | 2024–25 planned spending | 2025–26 planned spending | 2026–27 planned spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of privacy rights | 24,986,305 | 24,986,305 | 23,366,261 | 23,386,212 |
| Subtotal | 24,986,305 | 24,986,305 | 23,366,261 | 23,386,212 |
| Internal services | 8,994,995 | 8,994,995 | 8,386,643 | 8,394,135 |
| Total | 33,981,300 | 33,981,300 | 31,752,904 | 31,780,347 |
Explanation of table 5
Budgetary spending for the 2024–25 fiscal year corresponds to the OPC’s planned spending. It includes funding received for the collective agreements and the additional temporary funding received as part of Budget 2023 to undertake more in-depth investigations of privacy breaches across public and private organizations and to improve response rates to privacy complaints from Canadians. The planned spending for 2025–26 and 2026–2027 remains stable at $31.8 M.
Funding
Figure 1: Departmental spending 2021–22 to 2026–27
The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.
Text version of Figure 1
| 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory | 3,155,678 | 3,278,609 | 3,638,615 | 3,427,753 | 3,227,819 | 3,231,147 |
| Voted | 27,588,703 | 27,544,009 | 31,755,427 | 30,553,547 | 28,525,085 | 28,549,200 |
| Total | 30,744,381 | 30,822,618 | 35,394,043 | 33,981,300 | 31,752,904 | 31,780,347 |
| * Amounts are net of Vote Netted Revenue (VNR) authority of $200,000 for internal support services to other government organizations, pursuant to section 29.2 of the Financial Administration Act. | ||||||
* Amounts are net of a Vote Netted Revenue (VNR) authority of $200,000 for internal support services to other government organizations, pursuant section 29.2 of the Financial Administration Act.
Explanation of Figure 1
The above graph illustrates the OPC’s spending trend over a six-year period from 2021–22 to 2026–27.
Statutory spending covers annual costs for employee benefits. Such costs may vary from year to year and are set by the Treasury Board Secretariat, based on calculated expenses and forecasts.
The figures for the 2021–22 and 2022–23 fiscal years reflect the organization’s actual expenditures, as reported in the public accounts. The figures for the 2023–24 to 2026–27 fiscal years represent planned spending.
Estimates by vote
Information on the OPC’s organizational appropriations is available in the 2024–25 Main Estimates.
Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of [organization’s name]’s operations for 2023–24 to 2024–25.
The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.
A more detailed future-oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, are available on the OPC’s website.
Table 6: Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending March 31, 2025 (dollars)
| Financial information | 2023–24 forecast results | 2024–25 planned results | Difference (2024–25 planned results minus 2023–24 forecast results) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | 40,509,000 | 39,111,000 | (1,398,000) |
| Total revenues | 238,000 | 200,000 | (38,000) |
| Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | 40,271,000 | 38,911,000 | (1,360,000) |
Explanation of table 6
The net cost of operations before government funding and transfers for the 2024–25 planned results is expected to decrease by $1,360,000 when compared to the net cost of operations before government funding and transfers for the 2023–24 forecast results.
This decrease is mainly explained by the inclusion of the operating budget carry-forward and funding received to offset the cost of collective agreements in the forecast results of 2023–24. Total revenues include a recovery from another organization for costs associated with the provision of internal services.
Human resources
Table 7: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services
The following table shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for the OPC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.
| Core responsibilities and internal services | 2021–22 actual FTEs | 2022–23 actual FTEs | 2023–24 forecasted FTEs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of privacy rights | 163 | 150 | 156 |
| Subtotal | 163 | 150 | 156 |
| Internal services | 52 | 57 | 54 |
| Total | 215 | 207 | 210 |
Table 8: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services
The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of the OPC’s core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for 2024–25 and future years.
| Core responsibilities and internal services | 2024–25 planned fulltime equivalents | 2025–26 planned fulltime equivalents | 2026–27 planned fulltime equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protection of privacy rights | 167 | 153 | 153 |
| Subtotal | 167 | 153 | 153 |
| Internal services | 54 | 54 | 54 |
| Total | 221 | 207 | 207 |
Explanation of table 8
The increase in 2023–24 forecast FTEs and 2024–25 planned FTEs, is due to the additional temporary funding received as part of Budget 2023 to undertake more in-depth investigations of privacy breaches across public and private organizations and to improve response rates to privacy complaints from Canadians. The planned FTEs for 2025–26 and 2026–2027 remains stable at 207 FTEs.
Corporate information
Organizational profile
Appropriate ministerFootnote 9: Arif Virani
Institutional head: Philippe Dufresne
Ministerial portfolioFootnote 10: Department of Justice Canada
Enabling instrument(s): Privacy Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-21; Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5
Year of incorporation / commencement: 1982
Organizational contact information
Mailing address
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30 Victoria Street, 1st Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3
Canada
Toll-free: 1-800-282-1376
Telephone: 819-994-5444
TTYFootnote 11: 819-994-6591
Fax: 819-994-5424
Website(s): www.priv.gc.ca
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on the OPC’s website:
Information on the OPC’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on the OPC’s website.
Federal tax expenditures
The OPC’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.
Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government-wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures.
This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis plus.
Definitions
- appropriation (crédit)
- Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
- Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
- core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
- An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
- Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
- A document that sets out a department’s priorities, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three-year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Plans are tabled in Parliament each spring.
- departmental result (résultat ministériel)
- A change that a department seeks to influence. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.
- departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
- A factor or variable that provides a valid and reliable means to measure or describe progress on a departmental result.
- departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
- A framework that consists of the department’s core responsibilities, departmental results and departmental result indicators.
- Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
- A report on a department’s actual performance in a fiscal year against its plans, priorities and expected results set out in its Departmental Plan for that year. Departmental Results Reports are usually tabled in Parliament each fall.
- full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
- A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. Full time equivalents are calculated as a ratio of assigned hours of work to scheduled hours of work. Scheduled hours of work are set out in collective agreements.
- Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])
- An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
- government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
- For the purpose of the 2024–25 Departmental Plan, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2021 Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighter harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation and fighting for a secure, just, and equitable world.
- horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
- An initiative in which two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
- Indigenous business (entreprise autochtone)
- As defined on the Indigenous Services Canada website in accordance with the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses annually.
- non-budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
- Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.
- performance (rendement)
- What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
- plan (plan)
- The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead up to the expected result.
- planned spending (dépenses prévues)
- For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in the Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports. - program (programme)
- Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within a department and that focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
- program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
- An inventory of a department’s programs that describes how resources are organized to carry out the department’s core responsibilities and achieve its planned results.
- result (résultat)
- An external consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead, they are within the area of the organization’s influence.
- statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
- Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
- target (cible)
- A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
- voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
- Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an Appropriation Act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditure
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