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Staying Onside with Canadian Privacy Legislation


Toronto, Canada - January 21, 2009

Many Canadian organizations that host client information with service providers are concerned with staying onside with Canadian privacy legislation. This concern heightened considerably after the Patriot Act was passed by the US government. Below are a number of points put together by Tenzing to help its customers understand the issue and the associated risks. Please note: this information is not meant to substitute for advice given by your own legal counsel. If you have any questions we encourage you to speak to a lawyer.

  • It is important to acknowledge that, prior to the passage of the Patriot Act, Canadians' personal information in the custody or control of U.S.-linked (i.e. US majority owned, US subsidiary, US registered) organizations could be accessed by U.S. authorities by other means, such as national security letters or grand jury subpoenas, or through governmental channels. The Patriot Act has simply broadened the scope and lowered the standard for the issuance of such orders. As a result, we believe the potential risk of unwanted disclosure has increased.
  • As a result of the secrecy in which the Patriot Act is applied, little information is available on how its provisions have been used. Furthermore, there is a prohibition on an organization from disclosing that it has received or disclosed information under the Act. This means that a U.S.-linked company receiving the order may not tell the organization or relevant individuals that gave it the information that the information was requested by or disclosed to U.S. authorities.
  • Once Canadians' personal information is transferred to the United States, it is subject to U.S. law, including the Patriot Act.
  • Whether the Patriot Act could be used to compel a U.S. parent to disclose records held by a Canadian subsidiary is questionable. However, the B.C. Privacy Commissioner found that it is a "reasonable possibility" that the Act could be used to order production of documents that are within the custody or control of a U.S. company, such as a U.S. parent with access to records held by a Canadian subsidiary.
  • If a U.S.-linked company makes a disclosure to U.S. authorities without the consent of the Canadian individuals named, this could result in the Canadian organization that transferred the information breaching Canadian privacy legislation.
  • According to the Privacy Commissioner, a company in Canada that outsources information processing to the United States, where it will be subject to U.S. laws, should notify its customers that the information may be made available to the U.S. government or its agencies.
  • Overall, until the U.S. government releases more information about the uses it makes of the Patriot Act powers, it will be difficult to determine how concerned Canadian businesses should be. However, it is clear that the risk is dramatically reduced if personal information is kept away from US-controlled service providers and US Data Centres.

Consequently, Canadian companies that want to remain onside with Canadian Privacy Legislation can lower their risk by doing business with Canadian-owned and registered hosting providers, such as Tenzing, that can guarantee your company's information will be stored in a Canadian Data Centre. This is true even if the Canadian service provider is doing business in the US as long as its Canadian client's information is not stored in a US Data Centre.

About Tenzing

Tenzing was founded in 1998 as Canada Web Hosting. The company launched Tenzing to better communicate its award-winning approach to hosting business-critical Internet applications. Canada Web Hosting will continue to provide dedicated hosting services. Tenzing has customer service centers in Kelowna, BC and Toronto, Ontario and Data Centres in Canada's primary NAPs: 151 Front Street, Toronto and the Harbour Centre, Vancouver.

Visit www.tenzing.com for more information or call toll free 1.877.767.5577

For more information, please contact:
Barry Cohen
Tenzing Managed IT Services
sales@tenzing.com
1.877.767.5577

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