Report a concern

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) can help individuals identify, address and report concerns related to possible mishandling of personal information.

First raise your privacy concern with the organization

Always try to resolve the issue with the organization you had a problem with before reporting a concern to the OPC or other privacy-related government organizations. If you do not take this step first, we may not be able to accept your complaint.

How to raise your privacy concern with an organization

Understand what the OPC can and cannot do

The OPC can help to resolve privacy complaints, but it cannot force an organization to do certain things. Before filing your complaint, make sure you understand what the possible outcomes are.

Ways that the OPC can and cannot help resolve a complaint

Decide what action you want to take

If you have been unable to resolve your privacy concern with the organization you had a problem with, you can:

1. Ask the OPC about a privacy concern
   OPC Information Officers are available to discuss your privacy concerns and provide information that may help you resolve the problem quickly. Use this option if you’re unsure what to do.
2. File a formal complaint
   If you have contacted an organization’s privacy officer to complain about a privacy issue and they either haven’t responded or you were not satisfied with their response, then you may be able to file a formal complaint. Answer a few questions to determine what you need to do next.
   
   

   Processing time for formal complaints
   The OPC is currently experiencing a high volume of complaints. This has resulted in processing delays of several months.

   Read this additional information if your complaint relates to:
   Personal health information
   Landlords and tenants

3. Take your complaint to federal court
   If you are not satisfied with the response to your privacy concern, you may have a right to apply to the Federal Court for a hearing under Canada’s federal privacy laws.

If your complaint is related to spam, see Report spam.

For businesses and federal organizations

Report a privacy breach at your organization
Businesses and federal organizations dealing with a privacy breach can report the incident directly to the OPC.