Privacy, like the related issue of Freedom of Information, is all about information. It is governed by several statutes (and more), as follows:
privacy over Ontario government-controlled information is governed by the latter half of the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) (and it's separate municipal version, MFIPPA);
privacy over Canadian government-controlled information is governed by the federal Privacy Act;
privacy over privately-held commercial personal information is governed by the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA);
privacy over personal medical information is governed by Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA).
Privacy law is recently the subject of a new tort: 'intrusion upon seclusion'. Privacy has also long been a part of the Charter s.8 search and seizure protection through the "reasonable expectation of privacy" criminal standard.
