Canada Quebec CAI News

Quebec Privacy Law Private Sector Anonymization Regulations

Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (P-39.1) establishes rules governing the collection, holding, use, and communication of personal information by enterprises operating in Quebec. The law requires every enterprise to designate a privacy officer, implement governance policies and practices for personal information, and conduct privacy impact assessments for any acquisition, development, or redesign of information systems. The table of contents references a companion anonymization regulation (A-2.1, r. 0.1) and a confidentiality incidents regulation (A-2.1, r. 3.1).

Loi sur l'accès aux documents des organismes publics et sur la protection des renseignements personnels

This is Quebec's foundational access to information and privacy protection statute (chapter A-2.1), establishing the regime governing public document access and personal information protection by public bodies. The law applies to documents held by all designated public organisms — government, ministries, municipal bodies, school boards, and healthcare and social services institutions — regardless of format (written, graphic, sound, visual, computerized, or other). Professional orders are also subject to the Act as specified under the Professional Code. The Commission d'accès à l'information (CAI) oversees compliance and exercises the powers assigned to it under the Act.