Compliance agreement between the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the World Anti-Doping Agency

WHEREAS the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the Commissioner) is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Part 1 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5 (the Act), which governs the collection, use or disclosure of personal information by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in the course of its interprovincial or international activities;

AND WHEREAS WADA is a Swiss private law, not-for-profit Foundation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec with responsibility for overseeing and monitoring compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code;

AND WHEREAS WADA, as part of its mandate, controls the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS), which contains sensitive personal information of athletes, which it then makes available to Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs), as appropriate;

AND WHEREAS the Commissioner launched an investigation into WADA on November 12, 2024, after receiving a complaint about WADA’s collection, use and disclosure practices;

AND WHEREAS WADA has disputed the allegations of the Commissioner as part of its investigation into WADA, and whereas WADA has contested the Commissioner’s statutory, territorial and/or subject matter jurisdiction over the subject matter of the investigation in a filing in Federal Court in World Anti-Doping Agency v. the Privacy Commissioner of Canada in Federal Court File #T-4971-25 (the “Federal Court Application”);

AND WHEREAS WADA is prepared to enter into this Agreement to resolve the Commissioner’s investigation, but WADA does not admit any contravention of the Act and does not waive any of its jurisdictional rights or defences in connection with the present matter and/or future complaints, investigations or proceedings under or in relation to the Act;

AND WHEREAS the Parties agree that while entering into this Agreement is voluntary, once entered into, it binds the parties to the obligations herein and failure to comply can trigger the application of s. 17.2 of the Act;

NOW THEREFORE, pursuant to ss. 17.1 and 17.2 of the Act, the Commissioner and WADA hereby agree as follows:

I. Interpretation

1. For the purpose of this Agreement, the following definitions shall apply:

1. 1. “Act” means the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5;
   2. “ADAMS” means the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System managed by WADA;
   3. “ADOs” means Anti-Doping Organizations;
   4. “Agreement” means this Compliance Agreement entered into by WADA and the Commissioner pursuant to s. 17.1 of the Act;
   5. “Commissioner” means the Privacy Commissioner of Canada appointed pursuant to s. 53(1) of the Privacy Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. P-21 and his authorized representatives;
   6. “Parties” means the Commissioner and WADA;
   7. “WADA” means the World Anti-Doping Agency.

II. Remedial Measures

2. WADA agrees to cease permitting ADOs to use personal information in ADAMS for purposes other than anti-doping.
3. By 1 month following the signing of the Agreement, WADA shall communicate to ADOs that effective January 1st, 2027, they are only permitted to use athletes’ personal information in ADAMS for anti-doping purposes.
4. By January 1, 2027, WADA shall update the World Anti-Doping Code to specify that personal information in ADAMS must only be used for anti-doping purposes.
5. By 6 months following the signing of the Agreement, WADA shall update the ADAMS Agreement template and all relevant existing agreements between WADA and ADOs to specify that ADOs are only permitted to collect, use and/or disclose personal information in ADAMS for anti-doping purposes, with such updated agreement(s) to take effect on January 1st, 2027.
6. By 6 months following the signing of the Agreement, WADA shall provide the OPC with documentation outlining the process and/or mechanism it will use to require ADOs to only collect, use and/or disclose personal information in ADAMS for anti-doping purposes. This mechanism must be in place by January 1, 2027, and WADA must take reasonable steps to ensure that ADOs are adhering to this mechanism, and only using data in ADAMS for anti-doping purposes.

III. Compliance Reporting, Monitoring and Enforcement

7. After signing this Agreement, WADA shall provide the OPC with a report on a quarterly basis commencing after the signing of this Agreement, with an update on its progress towards completion of its remedial measures set out in Part II of this Agreement. Upon completion of the remedial measures set out in Part II of this Agreement, WADA shall provide notice to the OPC.
8. The Commissioner may, at his discretion and from time to time, request information and documents from WADA for the purpose of verifying its compliance with this Agreement.
9. Following the signing of this Agreement, the investigation into the complaint will be placed in abeyance. Upon completion of the remedial measures set out in Part II of this Agreement, the investigation will be discontinued and closed. If the OPC receives any future complaints against WADA relating to the subject matter of this complaint, then the Commissioner will reasonably consider the existence of this Agreement, WADA’s satisfaction of the terms of this Agreement, WADA’s cooperation with the OPC to resolve the investigation, and such other relevant considerations in determining whether to discontinue the investigation pursuant to paragraph 12.2(1)(c) or 12.2(1)(c.1) of PIPEDA.
10. At any time, if the Commissioner is of the opinion that WADA has not completed the remedial measures set out in Part II of this Agreement or is otherwise not complying with the terms of this Agreement, the Commissioner may apply to the Federal Court for an order requiring WADA to comply with the Agreement or such other relief as may be available in law, in accordance with s.17.2(2) of PIPEDA, and/or resume the investigation into the complaint.

IV. General

11. WADA will pay the costs of its compliance with this Agreement.
12. Notices, reports and other communications required or permitted pursuant to any of the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be considered to be given if delivered, either by hard copy or electronic copy, to the following addresses:

1. 1. The Commissioner
      Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 30 Victoria Street – 1st Floor
      Gatineau, Quebec K1A  1H3
   2. WADA
      World Anti-Doping Agency 800 rue du Square-Victoria Suite 1700
      Montreal, QC H4Z  1B7

13. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent or otherwise limit the Commissioner from exercising or performing any of his powers and duties under the Act, including his duty to investigate complaints under s. 12(1), his power to initiate a complaint under s. 11(2), or his power to audit personal information management practices under s. 18(1) of the Act.
14. Nothing in this Agreement derogates from the rights and remedies available under Part 1 of the Act to any other person arising from the conduct described in this Agreement or arising from future conduct.
15. Except as set out in this Agreement, nothing in this Agreement constitutes an admission by WADA of any contravention of the Act and does not constitute a waiver of any of its jurisdictional rights or defences in connection with future complaints, investigations or proceedings under or in relation to the Act.
16. For greater certainty, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as limiting or derogating from an ADO’s obligation to comply with any applicable statutory or other legal requirement or legal process to which the ADO is subject, or from an ADO’s right to defend itself against a legal claim or proceeding.
17. WADA acknowledges that it has had the opportunity to be represented by counsel and to obtain legal advice with respect to this Agreement.
18. This Agreement comes into effect when it has been signed by both Parties.

DATED at Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, this 27 day of February 2026.

DATED at Montreal, in the Province of Quebec, this 27 day of February 2026.

DATED at Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, this 10 day of March 2026.