The Freight Train Of Privacy Legislative Reform Keeps Rolling

Over the past year, legislative reform has continued to be the focal point in the highly dynamic Canadian privacy arena. The first phase of the reformed privacy legislative scheme in Québec came into force, with security breach notification obligations and certain other new compliance obligations for companies becoming effective in September 2022. In September 2023, the majority of the amendments to Québec's legislative scheme will come into force, including an enforcement regime with potentially severe financial penalties.

Additionally, in 2022, the federal government re-introduced a new private sector privacy law framework. If passed, the framework will also expose companies across Canada to severe financial penalties for privacy breaches, enhanced litigation risk and significant compliance costs.