Extracts of the Privacy Act

Appearance before the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, February 27, 2024

Privacy Act – Interpretation

Definitions

3. personal information means information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing,

• (a) information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age or marital status of the individual,
• (b) information relating to the education or the medical, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved,
• (c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,
• (d) the address, fingerprints or blood type of the individual,
• (e) the personal opinions or views of the individual except where they are about another individual or about a proposal for a grant, an award or a prize to be made to another individual by a government institution or a part of a government institution specified in the regulations,
• (f) correspondence sent to a government institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature, and replies to such correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence,
• (g) the views or opinions of another individual about the individual,
• (h) the views or opinions of another individual about a proposal for a grant, an award or a prize to be made to the individual by an institution or a part of an institution referred to in paragraph (e), but excluding the name of the other individual where it appears with the views or opinions of the other individual, and
• (i) the name of the individual where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the individual,

but, for the purposes of sections 7, 8 and 26 and section 19 of the Access to Information Act, does not include

[…]

• (m) information about an individual who has been dead for more than twenty years;(renseignements personnels)

Privacy Act – Disclosures

Disclosure of personal information

8 (1) Personal information under the control of a government institution shall not, without the consent of the individual to whom it relates, be disclosed by the institution except in accordance with this section.

Where personal information may be disclosed

(2) Subject to any other Act of Parliament, personal information under the control of a government institution may be disclosed

• (a) for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the institution or for a use consistent with that purpose;
• (b) for any purpose in accordance with any Act of Parliament or any regulation made thereunder that authorizes its disclosure;
• (c) for the purpose of complying with a subpoena or warrant issued or order made by a court, person or body with jurisdiction to compel the production of information or for the purpose of complying with rules of court relating to the production of information;
• (d) to the Attorney General of Canada for use in legal proceedings involving the Crown in right of Canada or the Government of Canada;
• (e) to an investigative body specified in the regulations, on the written request of the body, for the purpose of enforcing any law of Canada or a province or carrying out a lawful investigation, if the request specifies the purpose and describes the information to be disclosed;
• (f) for the purpose of administering or enforcing any law or carrying out a lawful investigation, under an agreement or arrangement between the Government of Canada or any of its institutions and any of the following entities or any of their institutions:
  • (i) the government of a foreign state,
  • (ii) an international organization of states or an international organization established by the governments of states,
  • (iii) the government of a province,
  • (iv) the council of the Westbank First Nation,
  • (v) the council of a participating First Nation as defined in subsection 2(1) of the First Nations Jurisdiction over Education in British Columbia Act,
  • (vi) the council of a participating First Nation as defined in section 2 of the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement Act,
  • (vii) a First Nation Government or the Anishinabek Nation Government, as defined in section 2 of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement Act, or an Anishinaabe Institution, within the meaning of section 1.1 of the Agreement, as defined in section 2 of that Act,
  • (vii.1) the Whitecap Dakota Government, as defined in section 2 of the Self-Government Treaty Recognizing the Whitecap Dakota Nation / Wapaha Ska Dakota Oyate Act;
• (g) to a member of Parliament for the purpose of assisting the individual to whom the information relates in resolving a problem;
• (h) to officers or employees of the institution for internal audit purposes, or to the office of the Comptroller General or any other person or body specified in the regulations for audit purposes;
• (i) to the Library and Archives of Canada for archival purposes;
• (j) to any person or body for research or statistical purposes if the head of the government institution
  • (i) is satisfied that the purpose for which the information is disclosed cannot reasonably be accomplished unless the information is provided in a form that would identify the individual to whom it relates, and
  • (ii) obtains from the person or body a written undertaking that no subsequent disclosure of the information will be made in a form that could reasonably be expected to identify the individual to whom it relates;
• (k) to any aboriginal government, association of aboriginal people, Indian band, government institution or part thereof, or to any person acting on behalf of such government, association, band, institution or part thereof, for the purpose of researching or validating the claims, disputes or grievances of any of the aboriginal peoples of Canada;
• (l) to any government institution for the purpose of locating an individual in order to collect a debt owing to Her Majesty in right of Canada by that individual or make a payment owing to that individual by Her Majesty in right of Canada; and
• (m) for any purpose where, in the opinion of the head of the institution,
  • (i) the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result from the disclosure, or
  • (ii) disclosure would clearly benefit the individual to whom the information relates.

Personal information disclosed by Library and Archives of Canada

(3) Subject to any other Act of Parliament, personal information under the custody or control of the Library and Archives of Canada that has been transferred there by a government institution for historical or archival purposes may be disclosed in accordance with the regulations to any person or body for research or statistical purposes.

Copies of requests under paragraph (2)(e) to be retained

(4) The head of a government institution shall retain a copy of every request received by the government institution under paragraph (2)(e) for such period of time as may be prescribed by regulation, shall keep a record of any information disclosed pursuant to the request for such period of time as may be prescribed by regulation and shall, on the request of the Privacy Commissioner, make those copies and records available to the Privacy Commissioner.

Notice of disclosure under paragraph (2)(m)

(5) The head of a government institution shall notify the Privacy Commissioner in writing of any disclosure of personal information under paragraph (2)(m) prior to the disclosure where reasonably practicable or in any other case forthwith on the disclosure, and the Privacy Commissioner may, if the Commissioner deems it appropriate, notify the individual to whom the information relates of the disclosure.

Definition of Indian band

(6) In paragraph (2)(k), Indian band means

• (a) a band, as defined in the Indian Act;
• (b) the band, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Naskapi and the Cree-Naskapi Commission Act;
• (c) the shíshálh Nation, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the shíshálh Nation Self-Government Act; or
• (d) a first nation named in Schedule II to the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act.

Definition of aboriginal government

(7) The expression aboriginal government in paragraph (2)(k) means

• (a) Nisga’a Government, as defined in the Nisga’a Final Agreement given effect by the Nisga’a Final Agreement Act;
• (b) the council of the Westbank First Nation;
• (c) the Tlicho Government, as defined in section 2 of the Tlicho Land Claims and Self-Government Act;
• (d) the Nunatsiavut Government, as defined in section 2 of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Act;
• (e) the council of a participating First Nation as defined in subsection 2(1) of the First Nations Jurisdiction over Education in British Columbia Act;
• (e.1) the Tla’amin Government, as defined in subsection 2(2) of the Tla’amin Final Agreement Act;
• (f) the Tsawwassen Government, as defined in subsection 2(2) of the Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement Act;
• (f.1) the Cree Nation Government, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee Governance Agreement Act or a Cree First Nation, as defined in subsection 2(2) of that Act;
• (g) a Maanulth Government, within the meaning of subsection 2(2) of the Maanulth First Nations Final Agreement Act;
• (h) Sioux Valley Dakota Oyate Government, within the meaning of subsection 2(2) of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Governance Act;
• (h.1) the Whitecap Dakota Government, as defined in section 2 of the Self-Government Treaty Recognizing the Whitecap Dakota Nation / Wapaha Ska Dakota Oyate Act;
• (i) the council of a participating First Nation as defined in section 2 of the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement Act; or
• (j) a First Nation Government or the Anishinabek Nation Government, as defined in section 2 of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement Act, or an Anishinaabe Institution, within the meaning of section 1.1 of the Agreement, as defined in section 2 of that Act.

Definition of council of the Westbank First Nation

(8) The expression council of the Westbank First Nation in paragraphs (2)(f) and (7)(b) means the council, as defined in the Westbank First Nation Self-Government Agreement given effect by the Westbank First Nation Self-Government Act.

Privacy Act – Right of Access

12 (1) Subject to this Act, every individual who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act has a right to and shall, on request, be given access to

• (a) any personal information about the individual contained in a personal information bank; and
• (b) any other personal information about the individual under the control of a government institution with respect to which the individual is able to provide sufficiently specific information on the location of the information as to render it reasonably retrievable by the government institution.

Privacy Act Regulations (SOR/83-508)

Personal Information Under the Control of the Archives

6 Personal information that has been transferred to the control of the Library and Archives of Canada by a government institution for archival or historical purposes may be disclosed to any person or body for research or statistical purposes where

• (a) the information is of such a nature that disclosure would not constitute an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual to whom the information relates;
• (b) the disclosure is in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(j) or (k) of the Act;
• (c) 110 years have elapsed following the birth of the individual to whom the information relates; or
• (d) in cases where the information was obtained through the taking of a census or survey, 92 years have elapsed following the census or survey containing the information.