BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
OPC Federal Privacy Act Complaints
Federally, applicants have the right to make a complaint to either the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) or the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (“OIC”) depending on whether they submitted their initial request through the Privacy Act or the Access to Information Act (“ATIA”). The Privacy Act is for personal information and privacy issues, while the ATIA is for general information requests.
As per section 29 of the Privacy Act, you have the right to make a complaint to the OPC if:
- Your personal information has been collected, used, or disclosed in a way that is not allowed under the Privacy Act (Canada);
- You have been refused access to your personal information, the government has refused to make a correction, or if you have any other complaint about requesting or accessing your personal information;
- You believe time limits for responding to your request have been extended unreasonably;
- You have not been given access to your personal information in the official language or alternative format you requested; or
- You wish to make a complaint about any other matter relating to the collection, use, disclosure, retention, or disposal of personal information by the government institution, or about a personal information index under section 11 of the Privacy Act.
Alternatively, you may authorize another person to submit a complaint on your behalf.
The Investigations and Inquiries Branch of the OPC is responsible for investigating complaints under the Privacy Act. They consider the complaint, investigate the facts, interview individuals, and review documents and other records to determine if the complaint is well founded.
If the investigation shows your privacy has been violated, the investigator will attempt to find a remedy and prevent further violations through mediation and other cooperative approaches.
If you were refused access to your personal information, a complaint was submitted, then received the Commissioner’s report, you may apply to the Federal Court for a review. Typically, the time limit to apply for a review is within 45 days of receiving the Commissioner’s report, but that time may be extended by the Court.
Please find more information on how to make a complaint and access complaint forms under the OPC’s “File a Complaint About a Federal Institution” page. Alternatively, you may mail a letter to the Commissioner explaining your problem and, if possible, the name of the government institution, title and number of the information banks, and other relevant details. Include copies of all letters written or received about the request and a return address and phone number so the Commissioner’s office has contact information. Please keep in mind that the OPC does not accept complaints by email.
OPC Federal Privacy Act Complaint Process
Before You File
The first step in filing a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) is to determine that the complaint is covered under section 29 of the Privacy Act and that the initial Privacy Act request was valid. For more information about the validity of an initial request, please refer to our [FEDERAL PRIVACY ACT HELP PAGE].
Federal public bodies are required to responsibly handle personal information and if they are not, then you should generally try to resolve the issue directly with the federal public body in order to resolve the issue more quickly. Please refer to the OPC’s “Tips for raising your privacy concern with a federal government institution” page for guidance on directly contacting the federal public body.
If you are still unsatisfied with the response or lack of response from the Federal public body, then you are entitled to file a free formal complaint to the OPC. It is recommended that you read the OPC’s “What to expect during a complaint investigation under the Privacy Act” and “File a privacy complaint about a federal institution”.
If you ultimately decide not to file a complaint, you still have the ability to report a Privacy Act related concern to the OPC through the OPC’s “Tell the OPC about a privacy issue” page.
When You File
When you file a complaint to the OPC, you inherently must share personal information. The OPC lists a range of examples of how they will protect your personal information at step 4 on their “File a privacy complaint about a federal institution” page.
Applicants may file a complaint either through the OPC’s online form or through their mailable form.
After You File
The OPC notes that complaints will be investigated in a timely manner. Depending on the case, some complaints may take more resources than others. However, the OPC notes that the typical investigation timeline is several months.
The OPC lists the following as timeline factors:
- the volume of complaints and resource availability;
- the complexity of a case, or the number of issues to be investigated;
- the level of cooperation or ease of communication with the parties;
- the availability of witnesses and documentary evidence;
- the completeness and quality of the information provided by the parties;
- the presence of a legal issue that may need to be examined and settled;
- and/or the opportunity during the course of investigation for early resolution.
In extremely rare situations where there is denial of access to personal information, you may be able to apply for court review following the OPC’s investigation. For more information about court reviews, please visit the OPC’s Federal Court applications under the Privacy Act.
These pages were last updated and reviewed in August of 2022.
The information on these pages only contains general information and guidance; none of the information constitutes legal advice. If you have a specific issue that you believe is a legal problem, the best practice is to consult a lawyer.
The information is non-partisan, dynamic and ever changing. It is the result of FIPA’s research and public education programs.
If you note something that needs to be added, corrected, or removed, please contact us by email: fipa AT fipa.bc.ca.
