Call off the strike, some trade unions are protecting more than their members’ collective bargaining rights. In fact, many unions have taken a proactive approach to privacy by creating policies that attempt to comply with the benchmarks set out in the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA). However, there hasn’t yet been a case summary or court action under PIPEDA that definitively determines whether a union that collects personal information in their general capacity is obligated to observe the rules outlined in the legislation. As a result, some unions are complying with PIPEDA’s obligations to protect their members’ privacy and, regrettably, some unions are not.
The application of PIPEDA is dependent on the existence of a “commercial activity.” Although this term is vague, the case is strong that most union activities are, in fact, captured by PIPEDA. What is certain is the application of Alberta’s privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection Act (“Alberta’s PIPA”), to the management of personal information by unions. The application of Alberta’s PIPA is not dependent on the existence of a “commercial activity”. As a result, a 2006 Investigation Report from the Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner found that the collection of personal information by unions in their general capacity subjects them to the requirements found in Alberta’s PIPA. Manitoba’s Bill 219, The Personal Information Protection and Identity Theft Protection Act (the “Manitoba Bill”) is modeled after Alberta’s PIPA. Similar to Alberta’s PIPA, the application of the Manitoba Bill does not depend on whether an organization is engaged in a “commercial activity.”
As I’ve argued in previous posts, the Manitoba Government should support the Manitoba Bill (which was introduced as a private member’s bill by opposition member, Mavis Taillieu). The Manitoba Bill creates a level of certainty with regards to the privacy rights of union members. That’s one of the many reasons why the Manitoba government should ”cross the picket lines” to privacy and support the Manitoba Bill in this fall session of the Manitoba Legislature.
