Regulations Amending the Privacy Regulations: SOR/2026-147

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 13

Registration
SOR/2026-147 June 22, 2026

PRIVACY ACT

P.C. 2026-636 June 22, 2026

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Privacy Regulations under paragraph 77(1)(d) of the Privacy Act footnote a.

Regulations Amending the Privacy Regulations

Amendments

1 Item 13.1 of Schedule II to the Privacy Regulations footnote 1 is repealed.

2 Schedule II to the Regulations is amended by adding the following after item 18:

Coming into Force

3 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Three entities that are already investigative bodies under their enabling statute must be added to Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations to allow government institutions to disclose personal information to them for the purposes of enforcing the law or for carrying out lawful investigations in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act. These entities are the Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate of the Department of the Environment, and the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency.

Schedule II must also be amended to remove the reference to the former Security Intelligence Review Committee, which no longer exists as a result of the repealing of section 34 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act. This reference is therefore spent.

Background

Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations lists investigative bodies within federal government institutions that have been specified as such for the purposes of paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act. This designation makes it possible for government institutions to disclose personal information to the designated investigative bodies for the purposes of law enforcement or carrying out a lawful investigation without having to obtain consent from the concerned individuals. It does not compel government institutions to disclose personal information but enables them to exercise their discretion to disclose it for these purposes.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has designated enforcement officers within the Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate to carry out lawful investigations and/or enforce federal environmental and wildlife legislation, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the Species at Risk Act and the Canada Wildlife Act. In carrying out investigations and enforcement actions, these officers may need personal information held by other federal institutions. The fact that the Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate are not listed as investigative bodies limits other institutions’ ability to disclose relevant personal information to support their investigative and enforcement activities.

The High Net Worth Compliance Directorate is one of the directorates within the Compliance Programs Branch of the Canada Revenue Agency and is responsible, under the Canada Revenue Agency Act, for coordinating compliance and audit programs that ensure high-net-worth residents and non-residents meet their reporting obligations under the Income Tax Act. Through this Directorate, personal information from Canada Revenue Agency records and from other federal institutions is collected and assessed to verify the accuracy of returns, determine filing obligations, and assess tax residency and worldwide income. The High Net Worth Compliance Directorate is not listed as an investigative body in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations, which limits other institutions’ ability to disclose relevant personal information to support its investigative and enforcement activities.

Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations still lists the former Security Intelligence Review Committee as an investigative body. That Committee was established under former section 34 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act. This provision was repealed by the National Security Act, 2017 (S.C. 2019, c. 13, s. 22), and thus the Committee no longer exists, and the reference to it in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations is spent.

Amending the Privacy Regulations to add the Environmental Enforcement Directorate, the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate and the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate as investigative bodies would align the Regulations with current institutional mandates and enable federal institutions to exercise their discretion to disclose personal information under paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act to support lawful investigations and law enforcement. Removing the reference to the Security Intelligence Review Committee would ensure that the Regulations accurately reflect changes made to other legislation.

The list of investigative bodies in Schedule II was last updated in 2022, when the Regulations Amending the Privacy Regulations (SOR/2022-151) came into force.

Objective

The amendments ensure that federal departments and agencies are authorized to disclose personal information to the listed directorates, for the purpose of enforcing the law or carrying out a lawful investigation, under paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act. With this designation, these investigative bodies will be able to collect the personal information that they are already authorized to collect for law enforcement purposes, because the government institutions that hold the personal information would have the discretion to disclose it in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act.

Description

The regulatory amendments will add three directorates as investigative bodies to Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations:

The regulatory amendments also remove the reference to the Security Intelligence Review Committee from the list in Schedule II to the Privacy Regulations.

Regulatory development

Consultation

Written consultations were undertaken by the Department of Justice with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on the proposal to list the Environmental Enforcement Directorate, the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate and the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada indicated that it was not opposed to the assessment that these three directorates should be added to Schedule II. However, it reiterated concerns, previously raised in relation to other Schedule II amendments, about the sharing of personal information between government institutions in light of jurisprudence under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the broad, open-ended nature of paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act. In the Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s view, paragraph 8(2)(e) permits disclosure of personal information in certain defined circumstances, but it is not, by itself, a lawful authority for an investigative body to obtain information over which there is a reasonable expectation of privacy; in such cases, an independent lawful authority must be identified.

To mitigate these concerns, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada was pleased to note that these entities would seek a warrant or production order to obtain any information to which a reasonable expectation of privacy attaches. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada encouraged the Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate to provide guidance to their enforcement officers on when a reasonable expectation of privacy may exist, and to adopt policies and procedures to limit the use of paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act in such circumstances. Although the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada did not provide comments with respect to guidance for the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canada Revenue Agency has committed to developing updated guidance for its officers on the use of investigative body status and the circumstances in which paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act may be relied upon.

These regulations were not prepublished in the Canada Gazette, Part I, given the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada was consulted on the proposal, and it is otherwise unlikely to attract interest from the general public or other stakeholders.

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

Following the completion of the assessment of modern treaty implications, no adverse impacts on potential or established Indigenous or treaty rights, which are recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, were identified.

Instrument choice

A regulatory instrument is the only option considered appropriate. A regulatory amendment is the only legislative mechanism to list the three directorates as investigative bodies so that federal departments and agencies are authorized to disclose personal information to these enforcement directorates in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

Benefits

The Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate of Environment and Climate Change Canada and the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency are already investigative bodies under their enabling statutes. Their designation under paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act does not alter their investigatory powers but would permit federal institutions to disclose personal information to them for law enforcement and lawful investigative purposes.

Listing the Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations is expected to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of enforcement activities by allowing officers to obtain relevant personal information more quickly. This should support earlier interventions, help prevent or stop environmental and wildlife contraventions, and improve overall legislative compliance, with a net positive impact on the environment and public health. It is also expected to enhance coordination with other government institutions, support more unified enforcement strategies, and improve the management of cases and the safety of enforcement officers through more timely access to information.

Similarly, designating the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate as an investigative body will facilitate timely access to relevant personal information from other federal institutions to support audits and related enforcement activities. Designation under paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act provides clear legal authority for such disclosures, reducing administrative burden and delays associated with negotiating information sharing agreements, and thereby enhancing the efficiency, timeliness and overall quality of compliance and enforcement activities without creating new costs.

Costs

The implementation of the proposed amendments will entail some costs for the Government of Canada, primarily in the form of employee time. Government officials will need to undertake activities, such as updating guidance documents and training materials, making changes to information technology systems and websites, and revising forms and related tools. These activities represent an opportunity cost, as time spent on implementation could otherwise be allocated to other program or policy priorities.

The new designation does not pose any costs to individuals or businesses with respect to having their information shared more broadly. The ability of the federal institution to share this information is already permitted under existing authorities and does not involve any new or additional costs. On the contrary, the new designation is expected to facilitate administrative processes and increase efficiency in program delivery.

While these implementation activities are necessary to ensure effective and consistent application of the amendments, they are not expected to generate significant incremental costs. Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency do not anticipate any significant costs related to new or upgraded information technology hardware or software as a result of the proposal. Any required updates are expected to be made within existing systems and absorbed within current operating budgets.

Small business lens

Analysis under the small business lens concluded that the amendments will not impact Canadian small businesses.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there is no impact on business.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The proposal to list the Environmental Enforcement Directorate, the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate and the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate as investigative bodies in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations aligns with approaches used in other relevant jurisdictions, such as Canadian provinces and territories, the United States, the European Union, international organizations or a standard-setting body.

International obligations

The regulatory proposal is not related to an international agreement or obligation.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental and economic assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

Overall, no disproportionate gender-based or diversity- related impacts have been identified that would be created or exacerbated by the amendments to the Privacy Regulations.

The Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate constitute integral components of the Enforcement Branch. The Branch recognizes that enforcement activities can have different impacts on different Canadian communities, including specific equity seeking groups, such as visible minorities, linguistic groups, and/or Indigenous Peoples. Since 2021, to align with the requirements of Bill C-226, An Act respecting the development of a national strategy to assess, prevent and address environmental racism and to advance environmental justice, the Enforcement Branch has been working in cooperation with departmental colleagues to further research and analyze the intersection between environmental justice considerations and the application of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s legislation.

To further advance environmental justice, the Enforcement Branch is conducting additional analysis to verify where correlations between non-compliance detection rates and gender, income levels, equity-seeking groups, and environmental quality exist. Where correlations are identified, additional qualitative research will be conducted, and where correlations are determined to be inconsistent with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Compliance and Enforcement policies, they will review and modify their planning as required. To date, the findings are preliminary and will require further analysis and actions to address any gaps or differing outcomes from enforcement activities, including the policies for conducting investigations.

The Canada Revenue Agency’s Compliant Program Branch is also aware that enforcement activities can have different impacts on different Canadian communities, including specific equity-seeking groups, such as visible minorities, linguistic groups, and/or Indigenous Peoples. The Canada Revenue Agency’s Compliance Programs Branch collects data from groups that have no notable characteristics beyond those of the Canadian population as a whole. As well, the focus of the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate audit programs and workloads is on ensuring that residents and non-residents in the high-net-worth population comply with the reporting obligations imposed on them under the Income Tax Act.

Rationale

As the Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate of Environment and Climate Change Canada and the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency are already investigative bodies under their enabling statutes, listing them in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations would permit federal institutions, pursuant to paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act, to disclose to them the personal information they require for law enforcement and lawful investigative purposes, in circumstances where other disclosure authorities are impractical.

Adding Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Environmental Enforcement Directorate and Wildlife Enforcement Directorate as investigative bodies in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations would assist in disclosing to these entities the personal information they require to carry out investigations that maintain the integrity of the environmental and wildlife legislation they enforce.

Furthermore, adding the Canada Revenue Agency’s High Net Worth Compliance Directorate as an investigative body in Schedule II of the Privacy Regulations would support this Directorate’s mandate to effectively administer the audit program pursuant to the Income Tax Act. The designation would assist the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate in exercising its inspection and requirement powers in respect of individuals who are not physically present in Canada or whose location is unknown. This limitation is compounded by the global mobility of high-net-worth individuals, who often maintain residences and business interests in multiple jurisdictions, making it difficult to establish tax residency and determine worldwide income. Access to relevant information from other federal institutions is therefore essential for the effective administration of the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate’s audit program.

These amendments clarify that government institutions may exercise their discretion to disclose personal information to the three listed entities for the purposes of carrying out lawful investigations or enforcing laws, in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

The amendments come into force upon registration. The Environmental Enforcement Directorate, the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate and the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate already carry out investigations and law enforcement activities, and will continue to do so using their existing operational processes.

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Enforcement Branch will develop and issue new guidance and modified directives for the Environmental Enforcement Directorate and the Wildlife Enforcement Directorate on the use of investigative body status, including how and when officers may request personal information under paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act. This guidance will be incorporated into training for new officers and will also be provided to existing enforcement officers, supported by online reference materials that will be accessible at all times.

Similarly, the Compliance Programs Branch at the Canada Revenue Agency will develop guidance and provide training to officials in the High Net Worth Compliance Directorate on their responsibilities and new duties associated with the designation, including the appropriate use of investigative body status when requesting personal information. No new service standards are required as a result of these amendments.

Contact

Carolina Mingarelli
Director and General Counsel
Centre for Information and Privacy Law
Department of Justice
Telephone: 343‑997‑5607
Email: cipl-cdiprp@justice.gc.ca