Privacy & Security Consulting in Ottawa
Practical privacy and security guidance for organizations in Ottawa — turning requirements into processes and risk into action.
Ottawa's economy is anchored by government, but a large and growing private sector — including professional services firms, technology companies, health-service providers, and government contractors — operates alongside it, each with its own privacy obligations. For most private-sector organizations, Canada's federal privacy law, PIPEDA, sets the governing standard for how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed in the course of commercial activity. Oversight sits with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which investigates complaints, audits organizations, and has the authority to refer cases to the Federal Court where organizations fail to correct findings. PIPEDA's ten fair information principles are not a compliance checklist to file away — they are ongoing accountability obligations.
Ontario's health sector adds another layer. Organizations that qualify as health information custodians under the Personal Health Information Protection Act — a defined category that includes hospitals, physicians, pharmacists, and certain other providers — are separately governed by PHIPA and overseen by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. PHIPA carries its own breach notification requirements, consent rules, and individual access rights that operate independently from PIPEDA. Ottawa's concentration of health-sector organizations, research institutions, and health-adjacent technology companies means that PHIPA is a practical reality for a meaningful share of the local private sector.
Privacy Horizon helps Ottawa organizations navigate both frameworks without building unnecessary overhead. Our work typically starts with a structured assessment that identifies where your current practices create gaps against PIPEDA's accountability and safeguard requirements — or against PHIPA's more specific obligations if you are a health information custodian. From there, we develop policies, procedures, and training programs tailored to your actual operations, not generic templates. For organizations that need sustained senior expertise, our Virtual Privacy Officer service provides a dedicated practitioner on flexible terms, available to respond to incidents, advise on new programs, and represent your organization's privacy interests at the leadership level. We also support M&A transactions, delivering the privacy due diligence that acquirers need before a deal closes.
Privacy & security regulation in Ottawa
Regulator: Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
Ottawa businesses are governed by Canada's federal private-sector privacy law, PIPEDA, overseen by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Personal health information in Ontario is separately governed by the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), with oversight 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.
PIPEDA Accountability for Ottawa's Professional Services and Technology Firms
Government contractors and technology companies in Ottawa frequently handle sensitive personal information on behalf of clients — employment data, citizen data, research data — and are expected by those clients to demonstrate privacy accountability well beyond a posted privacy policy. Privacy Horizon helps Ottawa's professional services and technology firms build the documented accountability structures, vendor management practices, and safeguard controls that sophisticated clients and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner expect to see.
PHIPA Compliance for Ottawa's Health and Research Sector
Ottawa's health sciences and research community operates under PHIPA's specific requirements for health information custodians, which layer on top of PIPEDA rather than replacing it. We help hospitals, specialty clinics, and health-adjacent organizations understand exactly which obligations apply to their role, build consent and breach notification programs that satisfy the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, and train staff who work with personal health information daily on the practical implications of their obligations.
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.