Notice and Consent Guidelines

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the privacy of Canadians and to taking concrete measures to ensure that personal information is handled responsibly across all service channels.

These guidelines are aimed at building trust and confidence in Government of Canada Web sites through demonstrating openness and accountability for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

The federal Privacy Act states that a government institution shall inform any individual from whom the institution collects personal information about the individual of the purpose for which the information is being collected.

To accomplish this in an on-line environment, Standard 5.4 of Common Look and Feel for the Internet requires that Government of Canada Web sites include a Privacy Notice Statement at each Web page preceding an  opportunity for visitors to input personal information.

These guidelines provide direction on how best to create and present Privacy Notice Statements and obtain informed consent to Web site developers and administrators, program and service content managers, privacy coordinators and other relevant Government of Canada officials involved in providing services on-line.