Notifying the OPC of a disclosure of personal information made in the public interest
June 16, 2022
Privacy Act Bulletins are intended to offer lessons learned, best practices and other important privacy news, trends and information related to privacy protection in the federal public sector. We encourage you to share this information with colleagues.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is pleased to announce that federal institutions can now notify us of disclosures made in the public interest, or in the interest of the individual, through our website, via the Public Interest Disclosure Portal (PID Portal).
Pursuant to legislation such as subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act, or subsection 37(1) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (DESDA), government institutions may disclose the personal information of an individual without their consent, should the institution deem it to be in the public interest, or in the best interest of the individual. Institutions are also obligated to notify the Privacy Commissioner of Canada of any such disclosure. For more information, see our updated guidance on Public interest disclosures by federal institutions under the Privacy Act.
The PID Portal is available to federal institutions on the OPC website, and provides a secure means to transmit information up to Protected B. Through a series of questions, users are prompted to provide the information elements necessary to submit consistent and comprehensive notifications to our office reducing the need for our office to seek clarification. We designed the PID Portal to enable institutions to easily notify our office of any disclosure made in the public interest or in the interest of the individual in one convenient location.
To access the PID Portal, go to Notifying the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
The OPC’s Government Advisory Directorate is available to provide a PID Portal information session, which includes a demonstration of the platform, as well as additional information related to disclosures made in the public interest or in the interest of the individual. To inquire about a session, or for any questions about notifying our office, please contact us at scg-ga@priv.gc.ca.
Sign up for future Privacy Act Bulletins by subscribing to our RSS feed.
- Date modified: