Which of the following provincial health acts is NOT considered substantially similar to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)?

While Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) is deemed substantially similar to PIPEDA for general commercial activities, its Health Information Act (HIA) is not. The federal government has only declared specific provincial health information laws in Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia as substantially similar to PIPEDA. Therefore, for health information custodians in Alberta, PIPEDA may still apply to their activities, particularly concerning interprovincial or international transfers of personal health information. Alberta's HIA governs the collection, use, and disclosure of health information within the provincial health system but has not been officially recognized as a complete replacement for PIPEDA in that sector.

A. New Brunswick's PHIPAA was declared substantially similar to PIPEDA for health information custodians by a Governor in Council Order in 2011.
B. Ontario's PHIPA was declared substantially similar to PIPEDA for health information custodians by a Governor in Council Order in 2005.
C. Nova Scotia's PHIA was declared substantially similar to PIPEDA for health information custodians by a Governor in Council Order in 2016.

1. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. (2023, September 21). Provincial and territorial privacy laws. "The following provincial laws have been declared substantially similar to PIPEDA... For personal health information: Ontario... New Brunswick... Newfoundland and Labrador... Nova Scotia." Alberta's HIA is absent from this list.

2. Exemption Order, SOR/2005-309 (declaring Ontario's PHIPA substantially similar).

3. Exemption Order, SOR/2011-233 (declaring New Brunswick's PHIPAA substantially similar).

4. Exemption Order, SOR/2016-53 (declaring Nova Scotia's PHIA substantially similar).

5. Government of Canada. Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 139, No. 18. (Contains the original order for Ontario's PHIPA, demonstrating the official process for declaring substantial similarity).