Employment and Social Development Canada collects personal information again despite the complainant’s previous objection
The complainant alleged that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) improperly collected his personal information a second time, despite his previous objection, through Grey House Publishing Canada for the Prime Minister’s Volunteer Awards program. ESDC maintained that it acquired the distribution list compliantly, relying on its contract with Grey House which stipulated compliance with Canadian legislation and consent. The OPC found that while ESDC was not required to collect the information directly for administrative purposes, it failed to ensure Grey House obtained proper consent as per their contract and continued to collect the complainant's information despite his explicit request to be removed. The OPC concluded that ESDC did not comply with section 4 of the Privacy Act.
- 1Whether the complainant's name, telephone number, and email address constitute personal information under the Act
- 2Whether ESDC was required to collect personal information directly from the complainant under section 5 of the Act
- 3Whether ESDC complied with section 4 of the Act regarding the collection of personal information
- 4Whether ESDC adequately ensured Grey House Publishing Canada complied with consent requirements as per their contract
- 5Whether ESDC improperly collected the complainant's information after he requested removal from the distribution list
- Collection of personal information: Collection found non-compliant with Privacy Act
- Consent for collection: Institution failed to ensure proper consent
- Compliance with Privacy Act: Institution found in non-compliance with section 4
Complaint well-founded
The OPC found that ESDC failed to ensure its third-party contractor, Grey House, obtained proper consent for the personal information collected, violating the terms ESDC itself set for the program. Furthermore, ESDC continued to collect the complainant's information despite his explicit request to be removed from the distribution list.
The OPC recommended that ESDC ensure that third parties with which it has agreements comply with the terms of the contract related to their responsibilities under the Act.
- s.3 Privacy Act
- s.4 Privacy Act
- s.5 Privacy Act
This summary is informational only and not legal advice.
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