Backgrounder
Findings of a 2007 poll commissioned by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Ottawa, May 31, 2007 – The Office of the Privacy Commissioner
commissioned Ekos Research Associates to undertake a survey of Canadian
businesses on a number of issues relating to privacy and the implementation
of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
(PIPEDA).
Some of the key findings of the poll, conducted in March, are:
- Many businesses (86 per cent) recognize taking privacy seriously
today is just good business.
- A majority of businesses (55 per cent) believe their customers
are more concerned about privacy related issues today than in
the past.
- With the implementation of PIPEDA (and comparable
provincial legislation in a few provinces), businesses across
the country have certain responsibilities in terms of how they
collect, use and disclose any personal information from customers.
While the majority of businesses that collect personal information
have fully implemented these provisions (67 per cent), there
are a small but not insignificant number that are only in the
process of implementing (16 per cent) and others that are not
in the process of doing so (15 per cent).
- One in two businesses report they have a high awareness of
their responsibilities under Canada’s privacy laws. The
findings suggest there is a clear need to raise awareness of
responsibilities under Canada’s privacy laws as similar
numbers report either low or moderate awareness.
- Only a third of all businesses report having trained staff
about the practices and responsibilities under Canada’s
privacy laws, although it is much more pronounced among larger
businesses. At the same time, only one in five has sought clarification
of their role (although this is also much higher among larger
business).
- Most businesses do not point to particular difficulties
when it comes to complying with privacy laws. A small minority – less
than one in 10 businesses – do report having had difficulties
doing so, but the overwhelming majority indicate it was either
easy, or neither easy nor difficult.
- A third of companies report they don’t collect personal
information about customers.
- Personal information is being stored almost as frequently on
paper (74 per cent) as it is being stored electronically (79
per cent).
The Ekos poll involved an 11-minute telephone survey with
1,033 businesses in Canada from March 12th to March 29th 2007. Given the
focus was on the adoption of privacy laws, the survey was designed to contact
senior decision makers with responsibility for knowledge of their company’s
privacy and security practices. Since medium- and large-sized businesses
together account for less than 15 per cent of all businesses, the sample
was stratified by company size (based on number of employees) and regions
to ensure there were enough respondents from those size segments from across
the country. The poll is considered accurate to within plus or minus
3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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