The privacy commissioner of Canada () is a non-partisan

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

and officer of the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

. The commissioner investigates complaints regarding violations of the federal ''Privacy Act'', which deals with

personal information Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person. The abbreviation PII is widely used in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates has fou ...

held by the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

or the ''Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Ac''t (PIPEDA), which deals with personal information held in federally regulated

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

industries. The commissioner reports to Parliament. Philippe Dufresne has served as the ninth and current privacy commissioner of Canada since he was appointed on June 27, 2022. The privacy commissioner has the authority to

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

, publish information about personal information-handling practices in the public and private sector, conduct

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

into privacy issues and promote awareness and understanding of privacy issues from the public. Since 1983, the privacy commissioner has been a seven-year

Governor in Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of app ...

appointment made after consultation with the leaders of every political party in the Senate and House of Commons, and after the approval of both chambers. Prior to the '' Privacy Act'' of 1983, which lays out the present role and appointment process of the office, the appointment was made by the

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

on the advice of the chief commissioner of the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...

. The privacy commissioner reports to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

List of privacy commissioners

There have been eight privacy commissioners since the office was established in 1977.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Privacy Commissioner of Canada Federal departments and agencies of Canada * Government agencies established in 1977 1977 establishments in Canada Officers of the Parliament of Canada Ombudsman posts Canada Privacy Commissioner

List of privacy commissioners

See also

References

External links