Canada Post Sharing Personal Information with Credit Bureau
A man complained that Canada Post checked his credit rating when he requested an online change of address. The OPC investigated whether Canada Post's practice of using Equifax for identity verification in online change-of-address requests violated the Privacy Act. The OPC found that Canada Post has a legitimate need to confirm identity to prevent identity theft and that it does not conduct a credit verification. However, the OPC was concerned that individuals were not adequately informed about the sharing of their personal information with Equifax. Canada Post implemented the OPC's recommendations to improve transparency.
- 1Whether Canada Post's use of Equifax for identity verification constituted a credit check
- 2Whether Canada Post had the statutory authority to collect personal information for identity verification
- 3Whether individuals were adequately informed about the sharing of their personal information with Equifax
- Identity verification: Practice found legitimate
- Credit check: No credit check performed
- Transparency of information sharing: Transparency found inadequate
- Recommendations implemented: Recommendations implemented by institution
Complaint not well-founded, but recommendations made and implemented
The OPC found no violation of the Privacy Act regarding the credit check claim, as Canada Post did not conduct a credit verification. However, the OPC identified a lack of transparency regarding information sharing with Equifax, leading to recommendations that Canada Post subsequently implemented.
The OPC recommended that Canada Post clearly state on its website that an individual's personal information will be disclosed to Equifax, list the personal information that will or may be disclosed, and clarify its identification requirements for online applications. Canada Post implemented these recommendations.
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