The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, is an Officer of Parliament who reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate. The Commissioner is supported by Chantal Bernier, Assistant Privacy Commissioner. The OPC has also established a blue-ribbon External Advisory Committee which includes a broad spectrum of privacy interests from across Canada, drawing from a diversity of disciplines, practices and backgrounds to provide input and guidance to the Office on strategic directions and priorities.

The Commissioner is an advocate for the privacy rights of Canadians and her powers include:

• Investigating complaints, conducting audits and pursuing court action under two federal laws;
• Publicly reporting on the personal information-handling practices of public and private sector organizations;
• Supporting, undertaking and publishing research into privacy issues; and
• Promoting public awareness and understanding of privacy issues.