Canada Post demands too much information for leave requests
An individual complained that Canada Post collected excessive personal information for special paid leave requests to care for an ailing relative. The application form, intended for supervisors, was mistakenly given to the complainant to complete, requiring extensive personal information about herself, the ill person, and third parties. Canada Post argued that arbitration rulings and fraud prevention concerns necessitated the collection of substantial information. The OPC found that more personal information was collected than necessary to establish leave entitlement, particularly regarding third parties. The complaint was upheld as well-founded, and the OPC recommended measures to address privacy concerns. Canada Post agreed to some changes, but insisted on collecting information about other family members working at Canada Post, which the OPC still had reservations about.
- 1Whether Canada Post collected excessive personal information for special paid leave requests
- 2Whether the information collected about third parties was necessary
- 3Whether the collection of information about other family members working at Canada Post was justified for fraud prevention
- Collection of personal information: Excessive collection found
- Collection of third-party information: Excessive collection found
- Complaint outcome: Complaint upheld as well-founded
- Recommendations: Recommendations made to address privacy concerns
- Compliance with recommendations: Partial agreement by institution, some reservations by OPC
Complaint well-founded — corrective measures recommended, some accepted
The OPC found that Canada Post collected more personal information than necessary, particularly regarding third parties, to establish entitlement for special paid leave. While Canada Post agreed to some corrective measures, it maintained the collection of certain information that the OPC still had reservations about, leading to a conditionally resolved outcome.
The OPC recommended that Canada Post collect only the personal information absolutely necessary for proper administration of the program, update its procedural guidelines for supervisors, and find less privacy-intrusive ways to address fraud concerns regarding other family members working at Canada Post.
This summary is informational only and not legal advice.
Related by meaning
Decisions with similar reasoning and facts — found by AI across statutes and jurisdictions, not just keywords.
Coverage — 13 of 14 jurisdictions searchable
Fully searchable: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba.
Partial (recent decisions only): Federal (Canada) (651 of 1,631), Nova Scotia (49 of 472), Quebec (6 of 7,090), Prince Edward Island (2 of 279), Yukon (1 of 75).
Coming soon: Nunavut — being re-processed for AI search.
Find decisions like this one — by meaning, not keywords.
Related by meaning is a Pro feature. Upgrade to surface conceptually similar decisions across the corpus, powered by AI.
Upgrade to Pro