Types of dispositions

Complaints can be filed for potential violations of specific provisions of the Privacy Act or the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Below are definitions of the possible outcomes of a complaint.

The following definitions are current as of April 1, 2020. For dispositions used in any given year historically, please see the Definitions section of that year’s Annual Report to Parliament.

Dispositions

Well-founded

The institution or organization contravened a provision of the Privacy Act or PIPEDA.

Well-founded and resolved

The institution or organization contravened a provision of the Privacy Act or PIPEDA but has since taken corrective measures to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of the OPC.

Well-founded and conditionally resolved

The institution or organization contravened a provision of the Privacy Act or PIPEDA. The institution or organization committed to implementing satisfactory corrective actions as agreed to by the OPC.

Not well-founded

There was no or insufficient evidence to conclude the institution/organization contravened the privacy legislation.

Resolved

Under the Privacy Act, the investigation revealed that the complaint is essentially a result of a miscommunication, misunderstanding, etc., between parties; and/or the institution agreed to take measures to rectify the problem to the satisfaction of the OPC.

Settled

The OPC helped negotiate a solution that satisfied all parties during the course of the investigation, and did not issue a finding.

For more information, see Settled and early resolved complaint dispositions.

Discontinued

Under the Privacy Act: The investigation was terminated before all the allegations were fully investigated. A case may be discontinued for various reasons, but not at the OPC’s behest. For example, the complainant may no longer be interested in pursuing the matter or cannot be located to provide additional information critical to reaching a conclusion.

Under PIPEDA: The investigation was discontinued without issuing a finding. An investigation may be discontinued at the Commissioner’s discretion for the reasons set out in subsection 12.2(1) of PIPEDA.

For more information, see Declined to investigate and discontinued complaint dispositions.

No jurisdiction

It was determined that federal privacy legislation did not apply to the institution/organization, or to the complaint’s subject matter. As a result, no report is issued.

Early resolution (ER)

Applied to situations in which the issue is resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant early in the investigation process and the Office did not issue a finding.

For more information, see Settled and early resolved complaint dispositions.

Declined to investigate

Under PIPEDA, the Commissioner declined to commence an investigation in respect of a complaint because the Commissioner was of the view that:

• the complainant ought first to exhaust grievance or review procedures otherwise reasonably available
• the complaint could be more appropriately dealt with by means of another procedure provided for under the laws of Canada or of a province; or
• the complaint was not filed within a reasonable period after the day on which the subject matter of the complaint arose, as set out in subsection 12(1) of PIPEDA

For more information, see Declined to investigate and discontinued complaint dispositions.

Withdrawn

Under PIPEDA, the complainant voluntarily withdrew the complaint or could no longer be practicably reached. The Commissioner does not issue a report.