The Department of Justice has been a key partner with other federal departments in supporting Canada's economic agenda, particularly in an increasingly global and digitally-driven economy. Electronic commerce, broadly defined to include any transaction where the underlying means of facilitating that transaction is electronic, is also used to deliver government services. Through the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act  ( Bill C-6)  along with the Government of Canada Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) initiative, the Department is working to establish a legal framework that will give Canadians security and confidence to use the Internet as a place to communicate and to do business, and to facilitate electronic commerce nationally and internationally in a secure environment. More information about how the Government of Canada plans to become the most "connected" in the world by 2005 can be found at the Government On-line site. Federal departments and their counsel might find the compilation of references entitled Government On-Line - Checklist of Legal Issues useful. The Checklist will be updated from time to time to reflect lessons learned in the Government On-Line process.

The Department is also playing a key role in the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) in drafting the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act (UECA). The UECA is similar to Part 2 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act,  in authorizing governments to use electronic technology to deliver services and communicate with citizens.

The information presented here is intended to provide access to to current developments in the field of electronic commerce. For more information, please visit the following sections of our website:

Current Statutory Initiatives in Canada
News Releases
Consultation Papers and Reports
Other Resources