Tobacco and Vaping Regulatory Initiatives: Handling of information and privacy notice

The following notice explains how Health Canada will handle information from meetings and correspondence with Industry Representatives related to tobacco and vaping regulatory initiatives.

Canada's commitment to open government is part of the federal government's efforts to foster greater openness and transparency, providing opportunities for Canadians to gain insight into the shaping of policies and decisions while creating a more efficient and responsive government.

As part of this commitment, Health Canada adheres to these principles of openness and transparency, as well as evidence-based decision making.

Consultation activities on Health Canada's tobacco and vaping regulatory initiatives have been designed to promote the involvement of, and consider the views and perspectives of, a wide variety of participants who are interested in or affected by Health Canada's tobacco and vaping related programs and initiatives. This includes but is not limited to: citizens, industry, non-governmental organizations, professionals, academia, and professional associations.

Please be advised that Health Canada will publish a table of all meetings with Industry Representatives in which information is relayed. The table will include the date, industry name, and purpose of the disclosed meetings. Canadians are able to view full-page meeting summary reports^{Footnote 1} which are published four times a year. These summary reports will include the name of the industry representatives in attendance.

Oral or written communications that consist of simple enquiries or requests for information and that are not (in Health Canada's view) relevant to the development of regulations and related tobacco and vaping initiatives, will not be published.

Personal information will be treated in accordance with the Privacy Act.

For the purpose of this notice, Industry Representatives are defined as employees of the tobacco and vaping industry and/or their representatives plus groups that adopt or defend positions that support tobacco or vaping industry interests, such as industry associations, tobacco growers associations or governmental bodies.

The definition excludes individuals representing themselves, other levels of government and foreign governments.

No Confidentiality

Information, views and opinions intended to inform the development of regulations beyond what is part of a written submission to a formal consultation, will not be treated confidentially by HC. The department will accept correspondence or documents marked as confidential, but will not treat them as such. In line with information provided to the Industry Representative before, during and after submitting correspondence, all meeting notes or documents provided to HC within this context will be released, including in the context of requests under the Access to Information Act.

Privacy Notice

“The personal information you provide to Health Canada is collected pursuant to section 4(1) of the Department of Health Act and is governed in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Purpose of collection: Personal information is used for communications related to Health Canada tobacco and vaping programs and initiatives. Your identifiable information associated with the views and opinions that you provide will be publicly disclosed, including on Canada.ca.

Other uses or disclosures: In addition, in certain circumstances, your personal information will be publicly disclosed without your consent in accordance with subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act.

For more information: This personal information collection is described in Info Source, available online at infosource.gc.ca. Refer to the standard Personal Information Bank on Outreach Activities PSU 938 and Public Communications PSU 914.

Your rights under the Privacy Act:

In addition to protecting your personal information, the Privacy Act gives you the right to request access to and correction of your personal information. For more information about these rights, or about our privacy practices, please contact Health Canada's Privacy Management Division at privacy-vie.privee@hc-sc.gc.ca. You also have the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you think your personal information has been handled improperly.