Privacy & Security Consulting in Ontario
Practical privacy and security guidance for organizations in Ontario — turning requirements into processes and risk into action.
Ontario organizations operate under two distinct privacy frameworks that rarely get equal attention at the same time. Federal PIPEDA governs commercial activity across the private sector, with oversight from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. For health information custodians — hospitals, physicians, pharmacies, and a defined list of others — the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) adds a second layer, enforced by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. The two regimes have different consent models, different breach notification timelines, and different enforcement mechanisms. Organizations that touch both worlds — a healthcare-adjacent tech company, a clinic with a commercial arm, a benefits administrator — need to be clear on which rules apply to which data, and where obligations overlap.
Privacy Horizon helps Ontario organizations get that clarity and then build programs that hold up in practice. We work with businesses at every size and stage: early-growth companies establishing privacy foundations for the first time, mid-market organizations that have outgrown informal practices, and enterprises preparing for regulatory scrutiny or M&A activity. Our advisors do not parachute in, hand over a policy template, and leave. We assess your actual data flows, identify the gaps that carry the most risk, and work with your team to close them in a way that fits how your organization actually operates.
The services we bring to Ontario clients span the full range of what organizations genuinely need. Privacy and security coaching builds the internal understanding that makes compliance durable. Policy development translates legal requirements into procedures your team can follow. Virtual Privacy Officer and Virtual CISO arrangements provide ongoing senior expertise without the cost and lead time of a permanent hire. When acquisitions are on the table, our M&A privacy due diligence work brings data risk into the deal process early. Custom training ensures that the people handling personal information day-to-day understand what that responsibility means — and how to meet it.
Privacy & security regulation in Ontario
Regulator: Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC)
Ontario organizations operate under federal PIPEDA for commercial activity, with health-sector custodians additionally governed by PHIPA and overseen by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
PIPEDAPersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
PIPEDA is Canada's federal private-sector privacy law. It sets out ten fair information principles governing how organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information in the course of commercial activity. It applies wherever a province has not enacted substantially similar legislation — and, even in provinces that have (Alberta, British Columbia, Québec), it continues to apply to federally regulated businesses such as banks, airlines, and telecommunications, and to personal information that flows across provincial or national borders.
PHIPAPersonal Health Information Protection Act, 2004
PHIPA governs how health information custodians in Ontario — a defined, closed list of providers such as hospitals, physicians, and pharmacies — collect, use, and disclose personal health information. It establishes consent rules and individual access rights, and requires custodians to notify affected individuals at the first reasonable opportunity following a breach, and to report to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario in the circumstances the Act prescribes.
What Privacy Consulting includes
Privacy and security shouldn't slow your business down. Our consulting team helps you convert obligations into repeatable processes and risks into prioritized action plans, with senior guidance you can call on as needed.
Privacy & Security Coaching
Hands-on guidance to build a risk-based roadmap and prioritize what matters.
Policy Development
Practical, compliance-ready policies your team will actually use.
Virtual Privacy Officer (VPO)
Privacy program leadership without a full-time hire.
Virtual CISO (vCISO)
Strategic security leadership, posture reviews, and incident readiness.
M&A Privacy Due Diligence
De-risk transactions with a fast review of data practices and red flags.
Custom Training
Role-relevant privacy and security training for your teams.
Navigating PIPEDA and PHIPA together
Ontario is one of the more nuanced jurisdictions in Canada precisely because commercial and health-sector privacy obligations coexist under different laws and different regulators. PIPEDA governs how businesses collect and use customer and employee information in commercial contexts. PHIPA governs how health information custodians handle personal health information, with separate rules on consent, access, and breach reporting to the IPC Ontario. Organizations that operate in both spaces — or that are expanding into health-adjacent markets — need advisors who understand both frameworks and can help you design a single coherent program that satisfies each.
Building programs that scale with your business
Compliance that works at fifty employees often breaks at two hundred. Privacy Horizon designs programs with your growth trajectory in mind — not just what you need today, but what you will need to have in place when you face your first significant audit, a major customer's vendor assessment, or a data incident that requires a defensible response. Whether that means a Virtual Privacy Officer arrangement, a policy suite built from scratch, or targeted coaching for your legal and operations teams, we structure engagements around where your organization is actually headed.
Other services in Ontario
Privacy Consulting elsewhere
What's Protecting Your Business from the Next Threat?
Don't wait for a breach to expose your vulnerabilities. Let Privacy Horizon secure your data, ensure compliance, and build lasting trust.