Privacy Commissioners Of Canada And Ontario Update MOU For Sharing Information

On September 11, 2025, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (collectively, the “Commissioners”) signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding Between the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on Mutual Assistance and Information Sharing in the Administration and Enforcement of Laws Protecting Personal Information (the “Memorandum”) to facilitate information-sharing between their Offices on issues of common interest.

The purpose of the Memorandum is to create a framework that enables the Commissioners to assist, consult, cooperate and exchange relevant information on matters that arise under Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), as well as Ontario’s privacy legislation.

This Memorandum updates a memorandum signed between the two Commissioners’ Offices in 2014 that focused on cooperation with respect to matters arising under PIPEDA and Ontario’s Personal Health Information Act. This revised Memorandum includes the ability for the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario to share information relating to two additional Ontario statutes: the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Child, Youth and Family Services Act.

The Memorandum also provides guidance for effective collaboration, including procedures for mutual assistance, limits on information sharing, and rules regarding the confidentiality and retention of shared information. Notably, the Memorandum does not impose any legally binding obligations.

The full Memorandum can be accessed here. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has also entered into similar memorandums of understanding with other provincial and territorial privacy commissioners, available here.

Summary By: Victoria Di Felice