Privacy Act

The Privacy Act gives any Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada the right to access personal information about them that is held by the federal government.

The Privacy Act includes a description of what is considered personal information. The Act is available on the Department of Justice Canada website.

This law also protects against unauthorized disclosure of personal information and strictly controls how the federal government will collect, use, store and dispose of any personal information.

To obtain any other information held in federal government records, you can make an Access to Information request.

Personal information available under the Privacy Act

Under the Privacy Act, you can request any personal information about you that is under the control of federal government institutions, including the CFIA.

Personal information means information about an individual that is recorded in any form and can include, but is not restricted to

• your race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age or marital status
• your education
• your medical, criminal or employment history
• any identifying number or symbol assigned to you
• the views or opinions of another person about you

Non-government institutions

The Privacy Act covers information that is held by the federal government. If you want information on the law that concerns personal information held by businesses, charitable groups and other non-government organizations, see the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

Time required to respond to a personal information request

Federal government institutions, including the CFIA, have 30 calendar days to provide the information from the time the request is received.

One extension of an extra 30 days may be taken if

• meeting the original time limit would interfere with the operations of the government institution
• consultations are required
• records must be translated or converted into an alternative format.

Making a personal information request

Your request must be made in writing. It must also include sufficient detail to allow staff to find and retrieve the information requested.

The “Personal Information Request Form”, along with detailed instructions, is available on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s website.

You should send your requests to the following address:

Access to Information and Privacy Office
Executive Support and Coordination
Corporate Secretariat
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
1400 Merivale Road, Tower 1, Room 0-149
Ottawa, ON K1A 0Y9

The CFIA’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office manages personal information requests. You can contact the office

• by phone at 613-773-5554
• by email at ATIP-CFIA-AIPRP@inspection.gc.ca

For more information

The CFIA tables annual reports in Parliament on the Agency’s activities in relation to the Privacy Act.

For general information on the Privacy Act, please visit the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website.