The Government of Canada is taking action to protect Canadians’ privacy, protect children and protect Canadians’ personal information – while giving companies clearer rules to innovate responsibly and build trust in the digital economy.
Canada’s current private sector privacy law is more than 25 years old. It was written before large-scale artificial intelligence (AI), before deepfakes, before algorithmic decision-making, and before children’s data was collected so widely online. The digital world has changed. Canada’s data protection law must therefore change.
Today, the Honorable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, announced the introduction of Bill C-36, the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act (PPCDA), to modernize Canada’s private sector privacy law for the digital age.
This legislative proposal is a cornerstone of Canada’s recently launched national artificial intelligence strategy: AI for All. Canadians will only trust digital services or AI if they know their privacy is protected, their children’s information is treated responsibly, and companies are responsible for how they collect, use and share data.
The PPCDA will implement new requirements to:
- Recognition of privacy as a fundamental right of all Canadians
- Set higher standards for organizations when managing children’s information
- require meaningful consent to the use of personal data and understandable explanations on how personal data is handled
- Ensure organizations are transparent about how they use automated decision-making to make important decisions about individuals
- Give Canadians the right to request deletion of their personal information to better protect their privacy and reputation
- Ensure that personal data is used responsibly, transparently and for appropriate purposes, and prevent unfair or inappropriate uses such as monitoring prices
- Support data mobility so that Canadians can securely transfer their personal data between organizations covered by a framework
- Strengthen Canada’s digital sovereignty by requiring strong data protection safeguards and risk assessments before personal data is transferred outside of Canada
- Establish strong enforcement mechanisms, including significant penalties for non-compliance
The PPCDA will be administered by the new independent Digital Security and Privacy Commission of Canada, which will ensure appropriate regulatory oversight and effective enforcement. The Commission will also be responsible for the recently announced Digital Safety Act. This dual mandate will support greater coherence and consistency in the regulation of digital and data-driven technologies, including on complex and cross-cutting issues such as age security and protecting children’s safety online.
The Commission will have the ability to issue binding orders to ensure that organizations comply with the law, including significant consequences for non-compliant organizations, with penalties of up to $10 million or 3% of global turnover, whichever is greater, and fines of up to $25 million or 5% of global turnover, whichever is greater, for the most serious violations.
Together, the PPCDA and the National AI Strategy reinforce Canada’s commitment to responsible innovation, economic growth and protecting the rights of Canadians in the digital age.
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