Canadian private sector — outside Quebec

PIPEDA — federal and
provincial compliance.

Canadian businesses outside Quebec are subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) or, in certain provinces, to equivalent provincial laws (PIPA Alberta, PIPA British Columbia).

Synéra supports Canadian private-sector businesses in implementing PIPEDA's 10 fair information principles, assessing cross-border transfers, managing incidents and upgrading for the proposed federal Bill C-27 (CPPA).

Free assessment See the 10 principles →
01 · Canadian legal framework

Which law applies to your business?

Federal

PIPEDA

Applies to commercial activities and the interprovincial/international transfer of personal information. Covers most Canadian businesses outside QC, AB and BC.

Provincial — Alberta

PIPA Alberta

A provincial law deemed "substantially similar" to PIPEDA. Governs the private sector in Alberta. Breach notification to the provincial commissioner is mandatory.

Provincial — British Columbia

PIPA British Columbia

Governs the private sector in BC. Notably requires that a privacy officer be appointed and that personal information protection policies be made public.

In preparation

Federal Bill C-27 — CPPA

The proposed bill to replace PIPEDA. It will strengthen obligations and further align Canada with the GDPR. Synéra monitors developments to anticipate the transition.

02 · At the heart of PIPEDA

The 10 fair information principles for handling personal information.

PIPEDA requires every business to respect ten fundamental principles in the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

01

Accountability

A designated person must be answerable for the organization's compliance.

02

Identifying purposes

The purposes of collection must be identified before or at the time of collection.

03

Consent

Any collection, use or disclosure generally requires informed consent.

04

Limiting collection

Only the personal information necessary for the stated purposes may be collected.

05

Limiting use

Personal information may not be used for other purposes without renewed consent.

06

Accuracy

Personal information must be accurate, complete and up to date for the intended purposes.

07

Safeguards

Protections appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information must be in place.

08

Openness

Policies and practices must be readily accessible to the public.

09

Individual access

Every individual has the right to access and correct the personal information about them.

10

Challenging compliance

Every individual must be able to challenge compliance with the principles above.

03 · Our support

Synéra mobilizes the ecosystem for your Canadian compliance.

Assessment — Mapping personal information

An inventory of the personal information collected, its purposes, cross-border flows, subcontractors involved, and processing register.

Documents — Policies and registers

Drafting of public policies, consent forms, incident registers, and subcontractor agreements for cross-border transfers.

Legal counsel — RB Avocats

Our partner RB Avocats handles legal opinions, crisis management and defence in the event of a complaint to the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Follow-up — Privacy Officer

An outsourced Privacy Officer service for businesses that prefer not to hire in-house. Packages tailored to the size of the business.

Compliance assessment → See our partners
— Do you operate elsewhere in Canada?

Let's discuss your obligations.

Whether you are based in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia — or transferring personal information between provinces — Synéra coordinates the support to bring you into compliance.