The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is a non-partisan ombudsman and officer of the Parliament of Canada that investigates complaints filed by Canadians who feel their privacy rights have been violated and reports to Parliament on whether there has been a violation of the Privacy Act, which deals with personal information held by the Government of Canada, or the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which deals with personal information held in federally regulated private sector industries.
The Privacy Commissioner has the authority to audit, publish information about personal information-handling practices in the public and private sector, conduct research into privacy issues and promote awareness and understanding of privacy issues by the public.
The current Commissioner is Daniel Therrien, who was appointed on June 5, 2014.
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada reports to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
There have been eight Privacy Commissioners since the office was established in 1977.