News Release
Ottawa, August 20, 2007 – Retailers now have
a free, do-it-yourself interactive tool to help them bring their
privacy practices and policies in line with the law, the Privacy Commissioner
of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, announced today.
“Small businesses often don’t have the money to hire privacy
specialists or lawyers to help them figure out how to comply with Canada’s
privacy legislation,” says Commissioner Stoddart. “Nor is
it always necessary. Good privacy compliance doesn’t have
to be expensive or time-consuming”.
The new e-learning tool created by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner
of Canada (OPC) provides retailers with the information they need to
set up their business to meet their obligations under Canada’s
privacy laws and provide customers with the privacy protection they’re
guaranteed under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic
Documents Act (PIPEDA).
“Protecting customers’ information is an increasingly
important part of running a business today and the online training is
a valuable tool to help our members build solid privacy practices into
their operations,” says Catherine Swift, President and CEO of
the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
Derek Nighbor, Vice-President, National Affairs with the Retail Council
of Canada (RCC) agrees. “With the proliferation of identity thieves
and online fraudsters, members of the RCC who do not always have the
time or the resources to learn about PIPEDA requirements will
be pleased with the user-friendliness of this e-learning tool. Ultimately,
their customers will find this a rewarding tool in the protection of
their personal information” says Mr. Nighbor.
The OPC, in a joint initiative with the RCC, recently mailed privacy
information kits to some 3,000 retailers in provinces where businesses
are governed by PIPEDA. The kit includes a guide entitled Your
Privacy Responsibilities: A Guide for Businesses and Organizations.
(The kits will not go out to Retail Council members in the three provinces
which have adopted their own private-sector privacy laws, B.C., Alberta
and Quebec.)
“Some small businesses have been very proactive in developing
good privacy practices, while many others still have a ways to go,” Ms.
Stoddart says.
“Protecting customers’ personal information is the law,
and it’s also good for a company’s reputation and bottom
line,” the Commissioner adds, noting that research has shown it
costs far less to adequately protect personal information in the first
place than to clean up after a data breach.
The online retailer training session takes only about 30 minutes to
complete. At the end, retailers will have: an information audit
of their business; consent provisions required specifically for their
business; a security plan; a sample privacy brochure for customers;
and a training needs assessment. The interactive training is available
online at http://www.privcom.gc.ca/privacy_comm/0001_home_e.asp.
New information for other types of small businesses is also available
on the OPC’s web site.
Companies – large and small – in all but three provinces
are subject to PIPEDA. The law imposes obligations on
how those businesses must handle personal information such as names
and addresses.
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is mandated by Parliament to
act as an ombudsman, advocate and guardian of the privacy and protection
of personal information rights of Canadians.
For more information and/or media interview requests, contact:
Colin McKay
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tel: (613) 995-0103
E-mail: cmckay@privcom.gc.ca
