Canada’s Chartered Accountants on Wednesday released a resource package to help businesses large and small meet new federal privacy rules.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) comes into effect Jan. 1, 2004, and with it new rules for protecting the privacy of personal information. Every Canadian will be protected by the legislation, and every organization involved in commercial activities will have to be privacy compliant. The new legislation applies to online commerce as well as paper-based information.

To help businesses comply, the CA profession has developed CD-ROM and Web-based materials, which are now available, free of charge.

“Despite the fact that the legislation will affect every commercial organization and by extension every Canadian, our sense is that most businesses are still unaware of their obligations or what steps they need to take to meet those obligations,” said David Smith, president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. “This is a risk management issue, and many organizations look to the CA profession to help them manage privacy risks. So we believe this is the right time to be making this comprehensive package available to organizations and CA practitioners in this area.”

The CD package, Solutions for Today’s Privacy Issues, includes:

  • a manual, Privacy Compliance: A Guide for Organizations & Assurance Practitioners
  • the PIPEDA legislation and supporting regulations
  • FAQs, and
  • Several instructional booklets, including 20 Questions Directors Should Ask About Privacy; 20 Questions a Small Business Should Ask About Privacy; and Canada’s Privacy Legislation – What it means for your organization

With the Canadian Bankers Association, the CICA is also holding across-country series of free educational seminars in May and June to help organizations become compliant. As well, the CICA has formed a task force with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to develop a framework of best practices for businesses to follow in order to protect the personal information of their customers.

The privacy package is available online at the CICA’s Online Privacy Resource Center (www.cica.ca/privacy).