LINKS TO PRIVACY AND INFORMATION ACCESS LAW AND POLICY MATERIALS RELEVANT TO CANADA
A. FEDERAL CANADIAN LEGISLATION
Access to Information Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. A-1
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5
Privacy Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-21
Fighting Internet Spam Act, S.C. 2010, c. 23
B. CANADIAN INFORMATION & PRIVACY ORGANIZATIONS
Access to Information Review Task Force: although the final report was released in 2002, this still active site contains all of the Task Force’s 139 recommendations, submissions that were received in the course of its work, and the full-text of the 29 research reports commissioned by the Task Force.
Alberta – Access and Privacy Branch, Alberta Government Services: responsible for administration of Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act.
BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association: organization "dedicated to advancing freedom of information and privacy rights in Canada," the site explains how to file a freedom of information request or privacy compliant, notes news items, and has several resources in its electronic library.
British Columbia – Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia: monitors and enforces British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Personal Information Protection Act.
Canadian Bar Association National Privacy and Access Law Section: produces a newsletter with short summaries of important legal developments in Canada.
Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec: guidelines, decisions, and forms – all in French.
Information Commissioner of Canada: the independent Ombudsman appointed by Parliament to investigate and mediate complaints about denials of information, offers limited publications, speeches, annual reports, and an FAQ on using the Access to Information Act.
InfoSource: Government of Canada reference tool designed to identify government information holdings for purposes of exercising rights under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, plus an annual Bulleting summarizing relevant federal court cases and statistics of information and privacy requests made to the government.
Manitoba Ombudsman Access and Privacy Division: responsible for investigating complaints and reviewing compliance with access to information and protection of privacy rights under The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA).
Manitoba - Access and Privacy Services of the Government Records Office at the Archives of Manitoba: general information on Manitoba’s information access and privacy legislation, including how to make an application.
New Brunswick – Office of the Ombudsman: responsible under the Right to Information Act for conducting independent reviews of refusals to release information to citizens and for investigating complaints under the Protection of Personal Information Act.
Northwest Territories – Department of Justice, Policy and Planning Division: responsible for administering the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Nova Scotia – Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Review Office: conducts independent reviews of requests made to governmental bodies under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.
OECD Working Party on Information and Privacy: guidelines, policy documents and the OECD Privacy Statement Generator that can be used by organizations to generate an in-house privacy policy.
Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner: newsletters, forms, Helpful Tips to Prepare for a Review and Guidelines for Use of Video Surveillance by Saskatchewan Public Bodies.
Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner: a privacy diagnostic tool for business, a basic tool kit for new privacy co-ordinators, plus forms, orders, reports and extensive links.
Prince Edward Island Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner: legislation, forms, orders and reports.
Privacy Commissioner of Canada: an officer of Parliament who conducts audits and investigations on privacy rights and generally acts as a privacy advocate, offers limited publications, speeches, annual reports, FAQs, and Fact Sheets about protecting privacy.
PrivacyInfo.ca: run by University of Ottawa Law Professor Michael Geist, offers information on legislation, decisions and litigation.
Yukon Information and Privacy Commissioner: basic information on legislation and how to file a complaint.
C. UNITED STATES INFORMATION & PRIVACY ORGANIZATIONS
American Civil Liberties Union Privacy and Technology Site: news, reports and litigation information.
Center for Democracy and Technology: organization which "seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies," offering extensive privacy links and news.
Electronic Frontier Foundation: U.S. (San Francisco)-based digital civil liberties organization that supports litigation, offering details on current and past court cases, legislative initiatives, and other news.
Electronic Privacy Information Centre: associated with Privacy International, EPIC is a U.S.-based privacy group offering U.S. privacy news, especially on litigation issues and U.S. legislation, recent government documents relevant to privacy issues that have been obtained by EPIC under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, and policy documents.
Freedominfo.org: U.S.-based organization with a site that claims to be "a one-stop portal that describes best practices, consolidates lessons learned, explains campaign strategies and tactics, and links the efforts of freedom of information advocates around the world. It contains crucial information on freedom of information laws and how they were drafted and implemented, including how various provisions have worked in practice."
International Association of Privacy Professionals: electronic library with numerous full-text papers from privacy conferences.
D. AUSTRALIAN INFORMATION & PRIVACY ORGANIZATIONS
Australian Privacy Foundation: papers, laws and links.
Electronic Frontiers Australia: with a primary goal being "to protect and promote the civil liberties of the users and operators of computer based communications systems," this organization offers codes of practices, legislative information, and submissions made to government.
Office of the Privacy Commissioner (Australia): adjudications, and approved or under consideration business privacy policies.
Privacy Law Library: part of WorldLII, this growing collection of databases contain decisions and news, particularly for Australia.
E. NEW ZEALAND INFORMATION & PRIVACY ORGANIZATIONS
Privacy Commissioner (New Zealand): extensive information indexed by area of privacy.
F. UNITED KINGDOM INFORMATION & PRIVACY ORGANIZATIONS
Information Commissioner’s Office (United Kingdom): also charged with administering data protection, offers codes of practice, tribunal decisions, annual reports, and legal guidance for particular activities.
Privacy International: U.K.-based group formed as a "watchdog on surveillance," offering privacy news and materials from around the world
United Kingdom Department for Constitutional Affairs Freedom of Information and Data Protection Site: information on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.
