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PIPEDA Compliance Guide for Ontario Small Businesses

Plain-English guide to what PIPEDA requires, what a data breach obligates you to do, and how proper IT infrastructure keeps your business protected and compliant.

Ontario does not have its own substantially similar private sector privacy law, so PIPEDA applies federally. Healthcare in Ontario is also covered by PHIPA (Personal Health Information Protection Act), which has additional requirements.

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— is Canada's federal private sector privacy law. It applies to organizations that collect, use, or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities.

In plain terms: if your business handles names, emails, health records, financial data, or any other information that can identify a person, PIPEDA applies to you.

Under PIPEDA, if your business experiences a breach involving personal information that poses a "real risk of significant harm," you must act on all four of these.

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Directly, as soon as feasible. The notice must be conspicuous and in plain language describing what happened and what steps you're taking.

You handle client names, emails, payment info, health data, or any personally identifiable information as part of running your business.

We work with law firms, accounting practices, dental offices, and healthcare providers across the GTA. Let's find out where you stand.

You can't protect what you can't map. A record of what personal data you hold and where it lives is the foundation of compliance.

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Every breach, even those that don't require reporting, must be logged and retained for two years in case the OPC requests them.

As soon as feasible after you determine a reportable breach has occurred. No hard deadline, but delays can increase penalties.

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PIPEDA requires "appropriate safeguards" — which means your IT infrastructure is directly tied to your compliance posture.