The British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”) provides that personal information in the custody or control of a public body must be stored and accessed in Canada and disclosed only as permitted by FIPPA.
These data localization requirements have been to date, the strictest in Canada. Many public bodies have articulated the challenges of working within the legislative restrictions which prevented the use of common technological products and services currently available.
The provincial government introduced Bill 35, the Miscellaneous Amendment Act #2 (the “Act”) on October 7, 2019. The Act proposed amendments to Section 33 of FIPPA to allow increased access and storage of personal information outside of Canada in specific prescribed circumstances. The amendments propose to facilitate use of certain cloud computing services for public bodies governed by FIPPA.
The Act passed 3rd Reading October 29, 2019 and received Royal Assent October 31, 2019. The new provisions are now in force. See Part 3 – Citizens’ Services Amendments – found on page 6 of Bill 35 – 2019_ Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2019 .
If you have any questions about this legislative change, please reach out to Keri L. Bennett at kbennett@ropergreyell.com.