Module Summary

There are key legislative and policy documents, including the Privacy Act , the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the Policy on Privacy Impact Assessments, and the Privacy Impact Assessment Guidelines.
The Privacy Act (1983) defines key privacy terminology (for example, "personal information", "personal information bank" and "data matching").
The Privacy Act also provides a full listing of exemptions—specific circumstances where individuals can be refused access to their own personal information.
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) regulates personal information in the private sector and the use of electronic documents and signatures as legal alternatives to originals. PIPEDA is being released in three stages—with respect to what organizations are subject to the Act.
The Policy on PIAs (2002) provides a framework in which to conduct, maintain and publish PIAs.
The Guidelines on PIAs provide a step-by-step process for completing a PIA.
There are many other federal policies and legislative documents that may have an impact on privacy-related issues.
All provinces and territories have privacy legislation that may also have an impact on privacy-related issues.