Privacy Act

Marginal note:Definitions

3 In this Act,

administrative purpose

fins administratives

administrative purpose, in relation to the use of personal information about an individual, means the use of that information in a decision making process that directly affects that individual; (fins administratives)

alternative format

support de substitution

alternative format, with respect to personal information, means a format that allows a person with a sensory disability to read or listen to the personal information; (support de substitution)

Court

Cour

Court means the Federal Court; (Cour)

designated Minister

ministre désigné

designated Minister, in relation to any provision of this Act, means such member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada as is designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of that provision; (ministre désigné)

government institution

institution fédérale

government institution means any department or ministry of state of the Government of Canada listed in the schedule or any body or office listed in the schedule; (institution fédérale)

head

responsable d’institution fédérale

head, in respect of a government institution, means

• (a) in the case of a department or ministry of state, the member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada presiding over that institution, or

• (b) in any other case, the person designated by order in council pursuant to this paragraph and for the purposes of this Act to be the head of that institution; (responsable d’institution fédérale)

personal information

renseignements personnels

personal information means information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing,

• (a) information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age or marital status of the individual,

• (b) information relating to the education or the medical, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved,

• (c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,

• (d) the address, fingerprints or blood type of the individual,

• (e) the personal opinions or views of the individual except where they are about another individual or about a proposal for a grant, an award or a prize to be made to another individual by a government institution or a part of a government institution specified in the regulations,

• (f) correspondence sent to a government institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature, and replies to such correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence,

• (g) the views or opinions of another individual about the individual,

• (h) the views or opinions of another individual about a proposal for a grant, an award or a prize to be made to the individual by an institution or a part of an institution referred to in paragraph (e), but excluding the name of the other individual where it appears with the views or opinions of the other individual, and

• (i) the name of the individual where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the individual,

but, for the purposes of sections 7, 8 and 26 and section 19 of the Access to Information Act, does not include

• (j) information about an individual who is or was an officer or employee of a government institution that relates to the position or functions of the individual including,

  • (i) the fact that the individual is or was an officer or employee of the government institution,

  • (ii) the title, business address and telephone number of the individual,

  • (iii) the classification, salary range and responsibilities of the position held by the individual,

  • (iv) the name of the individual on a document prepared by the individual in the course of employment, and

  • (v) the personal opinions or views of the individual given in the course of employment,

• (k) information about an individual who is or was performing services under contract for a government institution that relates to the services performed, including the terms of the contract, the name of the individual and the opinions or views of the individual given in the course of the performance of those services,

• (l) information relating to any discretionary benefit of a financial nature, including the granting of a licence or permit, conferred on an individual, including the name of the individual and the exact nature of the benefit, and

• (m) information about an individual who has been dead for more than twenty years; (renseignements personnels)

personal information bank

fichier de renseignements personnels

personal information bank means a collection or grouping of personal information described in section 10; (fichier de renseignements personnels)

Privacy Commissioner

Commissaire à la protection de la vie privée

Privacy Commissioner means the Commissioner appointed under section 53; (Commissaire à la protection de la vie privée)

sensory disability

déficience sensorielle

sensory disability means a disability that relates to sight or hearing. (déficience sensorielle)