Privacy

Privacy impacts all of Health Canada's programs and operations. The Department's privacy responsibilities are governed by the  Privacy Act and the  Treasury Board Privacy Protection Policy. They govern the way the Department collects, uses, discloses and retains personal information.

As directed by the Treasury Board Secretariat, Health Canada strengthens privacy protection through the development of Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs).

Privacy Impact Assessments

A PIA refers to a comprehensive process for determining the effects of program and service delivery initiatives on individual privacy. The PIA process is a useful methodology to ensure that privacy is built in at the outset of any new program or service and to assure the public that their privacy is safeguarded.

The PIA Process

Institutions must develop and maintain PIAs to evaluate whether program and service delivery initiatives involving personal information comply with privacy requirements and to resolve privacy issues that may be of potential concern.

Under Treasury Board Policy, all departments and agencies must conduct PIAs for proposals of all new programs and services that raise privacy issues. The PIA goes through an internal approval process before being signed-off on by the Deputy Minister and sent to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for review.

For more information, please refer to the following Treasury Board policies:

• Privacy Impact Assessment Policy
• Privacy Impact Assessment Guidelines

Privacy Impact Assessment Summaries

• (2007) Drug Exception Centre (DEC) Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Summary
• (2007-2008) Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Preliminary Privacy Impact Assessments (PPIAs)
• (2006-2007) Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Preliminary Privacy Impact Assessments (PPIAs)
• (2004) Canadian Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Program
• (2004) US FDA - Derived Adverse Event Reporting System & Database

Privacy Initiatives

• Electronic Health Information and Privacy Survey: What Canadians Think (PDF Version - 551 K) | Executive Summary
• Pan-Canadian Health Information Privacy and Confidentiality Framework - A guide to assist organizations that handle personal health information in putting in place sound privacy practices. It will also serve as a reference point for broader policy initiatives, such as updating legislation.
• Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act Awareness Raising Tools (PARTS) - Awareness raising initiative for the Health Sector.

More Information

• Contact us - We are ready to assist those seeking advice or wishing to file a request for personal information.
• Reports and Publications - Access to Information and Privacy
• Info Source - Info Source provides details on the Government of Canada's information holdings.
• Legislation and Resources - Links to federal, provincial and territorial legislation and other resources related to access to information and privacy.
• Request Access to Information or Personal Information - Instructions on how to file a request for records or personal information.