Bill C-54

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

PDF

Limit	(4) Subsection (3) does not apply if the individual needs the information because an individual's life, health or security is threatened.
Sensory disability	10. An organization shall give access to personal information in an alternative format to an individual with a sensory disability who has a right of access to personal information under this Part and who requests that it be transmitted in the alternative format if
	(a) a version of the information already exists in that format; or
	(b) its conversion into that format is reasonable and necessary in order for the individual to be able to exercise rights under this Part.
	DIVISION 2
	REMEDIES
	Filing of Complaints
Contraven- tion	11. (1) An individual may file with the Commissioner a written complaint against an organization for contravening a provision of Division 1 or for not following a recommendation set out in Schedule 1.
Commissioner may initiate complaint	(2) If the Commissioner is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to investigate a matter under this Part, the Commissioner may initiate a complaint in respect of the matter.
Time limit	(3) A complaint that results from the refusal to grant a request under section 8 must be filed within six months, or any longer period that the Commissioner allows, after the refusal or after the expiry of the time limit for responding to the request, as the case may be.
Notice	(4) The Commissioner shall give notice of a complaint to the organization against which the complaint was made.
	Investigations of Complaints
Powers of Commissioner	12. (1) The Commissioner shall conduct an investigation in respect of a complaint and, for that purpose, may
	(a) summon and enforce the appearance of persons before the Commissioner and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce any records and things that the Commissioner considers necessary to investigate the complaint, in the same manner and to the same extent as a superior court of record;
	(b) administer oaths;
	(c) receive and accept any evidence and other information, whether on oath, by affidavit or otherwise, that the Commissioner sees fit, whether or not it is or would be admissible in a court of law;
	(d) at any reasonable time, enter any premises, other than a dwelling-house, occupied by an organization on satisfying any security requirements of the organization relating to the premises;
	(e) converse in private with any person in any premises entered under paragraph (d) and otherwise carry out in those premises any inquiries that the Commissioner sees fit; and
	(f) examine or obtain copies of or extracts from records found in any premises entered under paragraph (d) that contain any matter relevant to the investigation.
Dispute resolution mechanisms	(2) The Commissioner may attempt to resolve complaints by means of dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and conciliation.
Delegation	(3) The Commissioner may delegate any of the powers set out in subsection (1) or (2).
Return of records	(4) The Commissioner or the delegate shall return to a person or an organization any record or thing that they produced under this section within ten days after they make a request to the Commissioner or the delegate, but nothing precludes the Commissioner or the delegate from again requiring that the record or thing be produced.
Certificate of delegation	(5) Any person to whom powers set out in subsection (1) are delegated shall be given a certificate of the delegation and the delegate shall produce the certificate, on request, to the person in charge of any premises to be entered under paragraph (1)(d).
	Commissioner's Report
Contents	13. (1) The Commissioner shall prepare, in relation to a complaint, a report that contains
	(a) the Commissioner's findings and recommendations;
	(b) any settlement that was reached by the parties;
	(c) if appropriate, a request that the organization give the Commissioner, within a specified time, notice of any action taken or proposed to be taken to implement the recommendations contained in the report or reasons why no such action has been or is proposed to be taken; and
	(d) the recourse, if any, that is available under section 14.
Where no report	(2) The Commissioner is not required to prepare a report if the Commissioner is satisfied that
	(a) the complainant ought first to exhaust grievance or review procedures otherwise reasonably available;
	(b) the complaint could more appropriately be dealt with, initially or completely, by means of a procedure provided for under the laws of Canada, other than this Part, or the laws of a province;
	(c) the length of time that has elapsed between the date when the subject-matter of the complaint arose and the date when the complaint was filed is such that a report would not serve a useful purpose; or
	(d) the complaint is trivial, frivolous or vexatious or is made in bad faith.
	If a report is not to be prepared, the Commissioner shall inform the complainant and give reasons.
Report to parties	(3) The report shall be sent to the complainant and the organization without delay.
	Hearing by Court
Application	14. (1) A complainant may, after receiving the Commissioner's report, apply to the Court for a hearing in respect of any matter in respect of which the complaint was made, or that is referred to in the Commissioner's report, and that is referred to in clause 4.1.3, 4.2, 4.3.3, 4.4, 4.6, 4.7 or 4.8 of Schedule 1, in clause 4.3, 4.5 or 4.9 of that Schedule as modified or clarified by Division 1, in subsection 8(6) or (7) or in section 10.
Time of application	(2) The application must be made within forty-five days after the report is sent or within any further time that the Court may, either before or after the expiry of those forty-five days, allow.
Commissioner may apply or appear	15. The Commissioner may
	(a) apply to the Court, within the time limited by section 14, for a hearing in respect of any matter described in that section, if the Commissioner has the consent of the complainant;
	(b) appear before the Court on behalf of any complainant who has applied for a hearing under section 14; or
	(c) with leave of the Court, appear as a party to any hearing applied for under section 14.
Remedies	16. (1) The Court may, in addition to any other remedies it may give,
	(a) order an organization to correct its practices in order to comply with sections 5 to 10;
	(b) order an organization to publish a notice of any action taken or proposed to be taken to correct its practices, whether or not ordered to correct them under paragraph (a); and
	(c) award damages to the complainant, including damages for any humiliation that the complainant has suffered.
Limitation	(2) The Court may not award punitive damages in an amount greater than $20,000.
Summary hearings	17. An application made under section 14 shall be heard and determined without delay and in a summary way unless the Court considers it inappropriate to do so.
	DIVISION 3
	AUDITS
To ensure compliance	18. (1) The Commissioner may, on reasonable notice and at any reasonable time, audit the personal information management practices of an organization if the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that the organization is contravening a provision of Division 1 or is not following a recommendation set out in Schedule 1, and for that purpose may
	(a) summon and enforce the appearance of persons before the Commissioner and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce any records and things that the Commissioner considers necessary for the audit, in the same manner and to the same extent as a superior court of record;
	(b) administer oaths;
	(c) receive and accept any evidence and other information, whether on oath, by affidavit or otherwise, that the Commissioner sees fit, whether or not it is or would be admissible in a court of law;
	(d) at any reasonable time, enter any premises, other than a dwelling-house, occupied by the organization on satisfying any security requirements of the organization relating to the premises;
	(e) converse in private with any person in any premises entered under paragraph (d) and otherwise carry out in those premises any inquiries that the Commissioner sees fit; and
	(f) examine or obtain copies of or extracts from records found in any premises entered under paragraph (d) that contain any matter relevant to the audit.
Delegation	(2) The Commissioner may delegate any of the powers set out in subsection (1).
Return of records	(3) The Commissioner or the delegate shall return to a person or an organization any record or thing they produced under this section within ten days after they make a request to the Commissioner or the delegate, but nothing precludes the Commissioner or the delegate from again requiring that the record or thing be produced.
Certificate of delegation	(4) Any person to whom powers set out in subsection (1) are delegated shall be given a certificate of the delegation and the delegate shall produce the certificate, on request, to the person in charge of any premises to be entered under paragraph (1)(d).
Report of findings and recommendati ons	19. (1) After an audit, the Commissioner shall provide the audited organization with a report that contains the findings of the audit and any recommendations that the Commissioner considers appropriate.
Reports may be included in annual reports	(2) The report may be included in a report made under section 26.
	DIVISION 4
	GENERAL
Confiden- tiality	20. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (5), 13(3) and 19(1), the Commissioner or any person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Commissioner shall not disclose any information that comes to their knowledge as a result of the performance or exercise of any of the Commissioner's duties or powers under this Part.
Public interest	(2) The Commissioner may make public any information relating to the personal information management practices of an organization if the Commissioner considers that it is in the public interest to do so.
Disclosure of necessary information	(3) The Commissioner may disclose, or may authorize any person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Commissioner to disclose, information that in the Commissioner's opinion is necessary to
	(a) conduct an investigation or audit under this Part; or
	(b) establish the grounds for findings and recommendations contained in any report under this Part.
Disclosure in the course of proceedings	(4) The Commissioner may disclose, or may authorize any person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Commissioner to disclose, information in the course of
	(a) a prosecution for an offence under section 28;
	(b) a prosecution for an offence under section 132 of the Criminal Code (perjury) in respect of a statement made under this Part;
	(c) a hearing before the Court under this Part; or
	(d) an appeal from a decision of the Court.
Disclosure of offence authorized	(5) The Commissioner may disclose to the Attorney General of Canada or of a province, as the case may be, information relating to the commission of an offence against any law of Canada or a province on the part of an officer or employee of an organization if, in the Commissioner's opinion, there is evidence of an offence.
Not competent witness	21. The Commissioner or person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Commissioner is not a competent witness in respect of any matter that comes to their knowledge as a result of the performance or exercise of any of the Commissioner's duties or powers under this Part in any proceeding other than
	(a) a prosecution for an offence under section 28;
	(b) a prosecution for an offence under section 132 of the Criminal Code (perjury) in respect of a statement made under this Part;
	(c) a hearing before the Court under this Part; or
	(d) an appeal from a decision of the Court.
Protection of Commissioner	22. (1) No criminal or civil proceedings lie against the Commissioner, or against any person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Commissioner, for anything done, reported or said in good faith as a result of the performance or exercise or purported performance or exercise of any duty or power of the Commissioner under this Part.
Libel or slander	(2) For the purposes of any law relating to libel or slander,
	(a) anything said, any information supplied or any record or thing produced in good faith in the course of an investigation or audit carried out by or on behalf of the Commissioner under this Part is privileged; and
	(b) any report made in good faith by the Commissioner under this Part and any fair and accurate account of the report made in good faith for the purpose of news reporting is privileged.
Consulta- tions with provinces	23. (1) If the Commissioner considers it appropriate to do so, or on the request of an interested person, the Commissioner may, in order to ensure that personal information is protected in as consistent a manner as possible, consult with any person who, under provincial legislation that is substantially similar to this Part, has powers and duties similar to those of the Commissioner.
Agreements	(2) The Commissioner may enter into agreements with any person with whom the Commissioner may consult under subsection (1)
	(a) to coordinate the activities of their offices and the office of the Commissioner, including to provide for mechanisms for the handling of any complaint in which they are mutually interested;
	(b) to undertake and publish research related to the protection of personal information; and
	(c) to develop model contracts for the protection of personal information that is collected, used or disclosed interprovincially or internationally.
Promoting the purposes of the Part	24. The Commissioner shall
	(a) develop and conduct information programs to foster public understanding, and recognition of the purposes, of this Part;

Bill C-54

DIVISION 2

REMEDIES

DIVISION 3

AUDITS

DIVISION 4

GENERAL