Since Law 25 came fully into force, every business operating in Quebec must designate a Privacy Officer — the person responsible for the protection of personal information. For many SME executives, this obligation arrived like a new chapter skimmed in passing: the president or general manager is named "by default" and everyone moves on. Yet this role, far from being a mere administrative formality, has become the cornerstone of privacy compliance.
And Quebec is not an isolated case. In Europe, since the 2018 GDPR, the equivalent function — the DPO (Data Protection Officer) — has reached a maturity we can learn from, especially when it comes to a rising trend: the outsourcing of this function, which we call here the Privacy Officer on demand.
A conductor's role, not a figurehead's
In France, the CNIL itself describes the DPO as the "conductor" of data protection compliance within the organisation. The metaphor is apt: the Privacy Officer does not carry out everything personally — they coordinate, monitor, advise and raise the alarm.
Their five core missions, as defined by Article 39 of the GDPR in Europe — and broadly echoed in the spirit of Law 25 in Quebec — break down as follows:
The CNIL stresses a fundamental point: the DPO must have professional qualities and specific expertise and must be provided with adequate material and organisational means, resources and standing. In other words, naming someone on paper is not enough. You have to give them the means to do the job.
The conflict-of-interest trap
This is probably the point most poorly understood by SMEs. In France, the CNIL has already penalised several organisations for conflicts of interest between the DPO's missions and other duties assigned to them.
According to the CNIL, the following roles create a direct conflict of interest, because they determine the purposes and means of data processing:
- Chief executive officer or general manager
- Chief financial officer
- Head of marketing
- Head of human resources
- Head of the IT department
Why? Because these roles determine the purposes and means of data processing. Yet the Privacy Officer's role is precisely to oversee them. You cannot be both judge and party.
The same principle applies in Quebec. When an SME designates its IT director or president as Privacy Officer, it exposes itself to the same kind of critical scrutiny in the event of an inspection. The Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec does not yet have the same body of case law as the CNIL, but the criteria of independence and impartiality lie at the heart of Law 25.
The reality on the ground: often insufficient means
The findings of the inspections the CNIL carried out in 2023 are revealing. In its report, the CNIL notes the significant disparity in resources between DPOs at large enterprises and those at small public bodies, with public-sector DPOs often working alone, while private-sector DPOs generally have a team.
This picture perfectly describes what we see in Quebec SMEs and municipalities: a designated Privacy Officer, yes, but alone in the face of complex regulations, without in-depth legal training, without dedicated time and often without a specific budget. The result? A façade of compliance that does not survive the first serious incident.
The Privacy Officer on demand: a pragmatic answer
This is where outsourcing makes complete sense. In France, the market for the outsourced DPO has been mature and thriving for several years. Specialised firms offer turnkey services, and some report having been designated as external DPO for more than 500 data controllers since 2018.
The model is simple: the organisation designates a legal entity (a specialised firm) as its official Privacy Officer with the supervisory authority. That firm then mobilises its team — lawyers, security experts, consultants — to carry out the function in full or to supplement an internal resource.
The proven benefits, in both Europe and Quebec:
Without the delays and costs of recruiting or training in-house. An operational specialist from day one.
Which eliminates the risk of a conflict of interest. The external Privacy Officer holds no operational role within the business.
Particularly relevant for SMEs and non-profits that do not need a full-time Privacy Officer. A predictable monthly fee rather than an annual salary of $80,000 to $120,000.
Provided by specialists for whom this is their sole occupation. Law 25, CAI guidelines, new practices — you are always up to date.
The presence of a professional Privacy Officer is becoming a criterion in calls for tenders. Municipalities and public-sector buyers are starting to require formal guarantees of Law 25 compliance from their suppliers.
In practice, what does an outsourced Privacy Officer do?
Beyond the official mission of acting as point of contact with the authority, a Privacy Officer on demand worthy of the name delivers a set of recurring services:
- Initial compliance audit to establish the starting picture and prioritise actions
- Drafting and maintenance of the processing register for personal information
- Drafting and review of policies (confidentiality, incident management, retention, destruction)
- Oversight of supplier agreements (mandatory contractual clauses, PIAs on communications outside Quebec)
- Handling access and correction requests exercised by the individuals concerned
- Management of confidentiality incidents, including notification to the CAI where applicable
- Awareness-raising and staff training
- Periodic activity report to management
What Law 25 changes compared with the GDPR
That said, you must resist the temptation to copy and paste the French model. Quebec's Law 25 has its own specifics that a competent Privacy Officer must master. A serious Privacy Officer on demand has to be grounded in Quebec legal reality and not simply recycle poorly adapted GDPR documents.
The concept of personal information is governed by the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (P-39.1) and by the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies (A-2.1), depending on whether the entity is private or public.
The obligation to carry out a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) applies in particular to projects to acquire information systems or to communicate information outside Quebec.
The obligations to notify confidentiality incidents to the Commission d'accès à l'information have their own procedures and timelines, distinct from the GDPR.
The heightened obligations in these areas under Law 25 have their own specifics, with CAI guidelines to follow rather than CNIL recommendations.
In conclusion: professionalise without adding weight
The Privacy Officer role is not a box to tick. It is a function in its own right, one that demands legal expertise, operational rigour, genuine independence and time. For the vast majority of Quebec SMEs, non-profits and municipalities, bringing this function in-house on a full-time basis simply makes no economic sense.
The Privacy Officer on demand model, proven over several years in France and across Europe, offers a pragmatic path: real, documented compliance that holds up in the event of an inspection and is calibrated to the organisation's budget.
In a context where the Commission d'accès à l'information is steadily gaining clout and where the financial penalties under Law 25 can reach $25 million or 4% of worldwide turnover, this is probably the best-value compliance investment a Quebec business can make today.
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Sources consulted:
· Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) — The data protection officer (DPO), cnil.fr
· CNIL — Review of inspections on the role and resources of the DPO (2023), cnil.fr
· CNIL — Becoming a data protection officer, cnil.fr
· General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Articles 37–39
· LégisQuébec — Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (P-39.1), legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca