Introduction
In August 2019, the federal government announced funding to assist dairy producers under supply management adapt to market changes, as there is an expected negative impact to the Canadian dairy market as a result of market access commitments made under recent international trade agreements, namely the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
The Dairy Direct Payment Program (DDPP) is a one-year program ending on March 31, 2020; however, there is a possibility that the program will be extended in time and financial commitment.
Objective
The DDPP involves the collection and management of personal information. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) was therefore conducted to identify potential privacy risks, and make recommendations to mitigate these risks.
Description
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) involvement is limited to sending out the initial Registration Form letters, answering program questions via its already existing Call Centre, and issuing mandatory tax forms. The PIA was written after the majority of information was collected from farmers and program funding disbursed. A December 2019 meeting was held with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner advising them of the program, the personal information collection by both institutions, and the status of the PIA.
If the DDPP is continued after March 2020, this PIA has appropriately assessed the manner in which the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will collect information in the future. No future updates are expected.
This Privacy Impact Assessment has been authored to assess the privacy risks related to the implementation of a new payment program directed at dairy producers. The collection of personal information of dairy producers by the Canadian Dairy Commission and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is to support the co-administered program. The scope of this PIA is limited to the DDPP application process and fund disbursement process.
The Personal Information Bank is pending PPU registration.
Conclusion
As a result of the PIA, measures have been determined to mitigate any risks associated with the collection of personal information. These include ensuring that the collection is compliant with the Treasury Board Secretariat policy requirements, limiting the collection, ensuring records are safeguarded for an appropriate time frame and creating a personal information bank (PIB).
For further information please contact the Access to Information and Privacy Office.