Federal (Canada) Privacy Decisions

This investigation examined the COVID-19 vaccination attestation requirements for federal public servants. The OPC found that the collection of vaccination status was directly related to the employer's health and safety obligations. However, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) contravened the Act by failing to update its index of personal information banks within the required timeframe. The OPC also assessed the necessity and proportionality of the measures, concluding they were justified given the pandemic context, though TBS's documentation and response during the investigation were found to be lacking.

• Whether the collection of employee vaccination status was directly related to an operating program or activity.
• Whether institutions met transparency requirements under the Act.
• Whether disclosures of personal information were authorized.
• Necessity and proportionality of the vaccination attestation measures.

The spouse of a Correctional Services Canada (CSC) employee complained that the employee's manager inappropriately collected personal information about them from their public Facebook page in relation to the employee's use of "Other leave with pay (699)". The OPC found that CSC contravened section 4 of the Privacy Act by collecting information that was not related directly to an operating program or activity of CSC. The OPC also noted that CSC's ATIP office incorrectly advised the complainant on how to raise a privacy concern.

• Whether the collection of personal information from a public Facebook page was related directly to an operating program or activity of CSC.
• Whether information collected from a public source is exempt from the collection provisions of the Privacy Act.
• Whether CSC's ATIP office provided appropriate guidance to a member of the public wishing to raise a privacy concern.

An individual complained that Transport Canada failed to publish a description of the Personal Information Bank (PIB) for its Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program. The investigation found that Transport Canada did not submit the PIB description for approval until 19 months after the program launched, and it was still not approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) by the time the OPC's report was issued. Transport Canada has since confirmed the PIB has been approved and published.

• Failure to publish a Personal Information Bank (PIB) description for a program
• Timeliness of PIB approval and publication by government institutions and TBS
• Adequate notification to individuals about the collection and use of their personal information

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada investigated Home Depot for disclosing customer email addresses and purchase details to Meta (Facebook) through Meta's "Offline Conversions" tool without valid consent. Home Depot used this tool to measure the effectiveness of its Facebook ads. The OPC found that Home Depot's privacy statement and Meta's policy were insufficient to obtain implied consent for this disclosure, as customers were not reasonably expected to understand that their data would be shared for these secondary purposes. Home Depot has since discontinued the use of the tool and agreed to implement recommendations for obtaining express consent should they restart the practice.

• Whether Home Depot obtained valid consent for disclosing customer purchase data to Meta.
• Whether the information disclosed was sensitive.
• Whether Home Depot's privacy statement and Meta's policies provided sufficient notice and clarity.
• Whether express opt-in consent should have been obtained.