You want to request a record held by a city's planning department. Which law applies?
Ontario Private Investigator overview
Ontario Private Investigator: Privacy law: PIPEDA, FIPPA and MFIPPA
How PIPEDA's consent rules limit what personal information an investigation business can collect, use and disclose, the exceptions for publicly available information and investigations, access to government records under FIPPA and MFIPPA, and industry practice on expectations of privacy, hidden cameras, audio and GPS trackers.
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Study reference: Ontario Private Investigator Study Guide (ontario.ca, October 2021), Ch. 3 Provincial and federal statutes — Privacy laws, PIPEDA, FIPPA, MFIPPA, Industry standards; PIPEDA s. 7(3); SOR/2001-7
All 13 questions in this test
Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.
You want to request a record held by a city's planning department. Which law applies?
- PSISA
- PIPEDA
- FIPPA
- MFIPPA
What kind of law is PIPEDA?
- An Ontario regulation on licence renewals
- A federal law on intercepting phone calls
- An Ontario law on access to records held by municipalities and boards
- A federal law on how businesses handle personal information
Your subject is walking in a public park. What may you do?
- Ask park staff for the subject's home address
- Nothing, because people keep full privacy in parks
- Photograph or video record the subject's activities
- Approach and question the subject about the claim
Your subject is inside their house. Where should you observe from?
- From the back deck, as long as you stay quiet
- From the street or other public property
- From the side yard, close to a window
- From the subject's driveway behind a parked car
Without lawful authority or a signed release, which records must an investigator not try to obtain?
- Small Claims Court files
- Bank, tax or credit records
- Land registry and corporate searches
- Newspaper archives at the library
PIPEDA is described as a consent-based statute. What does that mean for an investigation agency?
- It may never collect information without the subject present
- It is limited in what it may collect or share without consent
- It may collect anything about anyone once a client has signed a contract
- It must get a court order before collecting any information
You plan to video a subject's conversation with a friend outdoors. What is the study guide's best practice?
- Record both, since the place is public
- Record audio only, since video is more intrusive
- Record video without audio
- Record both and delete the audio before reporting
Which information can be collected without consent under the Regulations Specifying Publicly Available Information?
- Some publicly available records, such as certain judicial records
- A subject's bank statements obtained from a helpful teller at their branch
- Medical records requested from a family doctor
- Tax returns obtained from a former accountant
When may an organization disclose personal information to another organization without consent for an investigation?
- Only when the person has already been charged with an offence
- When it is reasonable to investigate a breach and consent would compromise it
- Whenever the requesting organization holds a valid PI business licence in Ontario
- Only when the information is more than seven years old
Which law governs access to records held by Ontario government ministries?
- The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
- The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
- The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
- The Private Security and Investigative Services Act
You install a wireless camera that sends images to another location. What privacy issue should you consider?
- Whether the subject's employer has a camera policy
- Whether the lens is wide enough to show the whole room
- Whether the camera brand is approved by the Registrar
- Whether the signal is encrypted and could be intercepted
When may an investigator place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle?
- Only at night when the vehicle is on a public street
- Whenever the driver is the subject of the file
- Whenever the client is paying for the investigation
- Only with the permission of the vehicle's owner
A client wants a credit check on a job applicant. According to the study guide, when can it be done?
- With the consent of the person being checked
- Only after the person has been hired
- Only with a warrant from a justice of the peace
- Whenever the client has a business reason
Privacy law: PIPEDA, FIPPA and MFIPPA: key rules to remember
Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗
Privacy laws
- PIs routinely collect, store, share and destroy highly sensitive information; they must know the rules for handling it and how to request government records under freedom of information laws.
- PIs working for organizations are limited in what third-party personal information they can collect, use and disclose.
PIPEDA
- PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) is federal; it governs how organizations in commercial activities collect, use and disclose personal information.
- A licensed business entity doing PSISA-regulated work is likely subject to PIPEDA.
- PIPEDA is consent-based: without the person's consent, what can be collected, used or disclosed is limited.
- Much of a credit report is personal information; a credit check can be run with the subject's consent.
- Exceptions exist: the Regulations Specifying Publicly Available Information (SOR/2001-7) list publicly available records (for example some judicial records) that can be collected, used and disclosed without consent for related purposes.
Disclosure for investigations (current Justice Laws text, 2026)
- An organization may disclose personal information without knowledge or consent to another organization if it is reasonable for investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of a federal or provincial law, and asking for consent would compromise the investigation.
- s. 7(3)(d.2): similar rule for detecting, suppressing or preventing fraud.
FIPPA and MFIPPA
- FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) covers records held by the Ontario government, designated agencies, colleges of applied arts and technology and universities; hospitals were added on January 1, 2012.
- MFIPPA (Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) has the same purpose for records held by municipalities and some related institutions.
- PIs should know how to file access requests under these acts; PIs working for institutions covered by them may be limited by them.
Industry standards on privacy
- A person in a public place has no reasonable expectation of privacy; their actions may be photographed or filmed.
- A person at home does have a reasonable expectation of privacy; a PI must not go onto the property to look in windows — observe from the street or other public property.
- Privacy concerns grow with the setting: a bathroom more than a living room; use judgment at gravesites, religious services and where minors may be present.
- A planted wireless camera: consider whether the signal is encrypted and whether someone else could intercept it.
- When videotaping, the original must never be altered; Criminal Code s. 184 restricts recording private conversations, so best practice is to record video without audio.
- GPS trackers go on a vehicle only with the vehicle owner's permission, e.g. a company owner may give written permission for a company car driven by an employee.
Locating and restricted records
- A PI must not try to obtain credit records, income tax or bank records without lawful authority (and a signed release).
- Keep searches as non-intrusive as possible; prefer covert, low-impact methods over overt ones.
Study the Privacy law: PIPEDA, FIPPA and MFIPPA rules as flashcards →
Other topics
- The PI industry and getting licensedWho needs an Ontario private investigator licence under the Private Security and Investigative Services Act, 2005, who is exempt, the six licence types, eligibility (age 18, clean criminal record, right to work, training and testing), the 50-hour training syllabus, approved training providers and the licence term.
- PSISA rules, Code of Conduct and complaintsCarrying and producing your licence, the undercover exception, the ban on badges and on words such as detective and officer, the Code of Conduct (O. Reg. 363/07), public complaints and facilitation, refusals and appeals, work a PI may not do, and the penalties for breaking the Act.
- Evidence: types, Evidence Acts and chain of custodyDirect, circumstantial, hearsay, documentary (illustrative), real, trace, opinion and unsworn evidence, admissions, business records under the Ontario Evidence Act and Canada Evidence Act, and the six core steps for containing evidence and keeping a chain of custody.
- Trespass to Property Act and other statutesOccupiers and authorized persons, the three ways to commit trespass, notice by voice, writing, signs and red or yellow markings, arrest and handover to police, the $10,000 maximum fine, and the other Ontario statutes the syllabus names, including the Highway Traffic Act on surveillance.
- Criminal Code: arrest, force and offencesWhy a PI has only a citizen's powers, arrest without warrant under section 494, delivering a person to police, use of force under sections 25 to 27, defence of person and property, Charter rights on arrest and detention, and the offences the study guide names: theft, false pretences, fraud and kidnapping.
- Courts, intimidation, harassment and civil lawThe Canadian court system, burden of proof in criminal and civil cases, intimidation under section 423, criminal harassment under section 264, interception of private communications under section 184, tort, libel, slander and perjury, and the parties to a civil action.
- Locating, research and surveillanceSetting a justifiable mandate, basic locator techniques, public records and research sources such as PPSR searches, the purposes of covert surveillance, what to know before you start, standard equipment, detection, and solo versus team surveillance methods.
- Interviews, statements and reportsPreparing for and conducting interviews, taking and correcting a witness statement, confessions and youth interviews, writing objective surveillance reports, correcting notes and using notes when you testify.
- Undercover work, email monitoring and serving documentsWhen undercover operations are used, briefing and supervising an operator, conduct that protects credibility in court, monitoring employee email, and serving civil documents under Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, including personal service, substituted service and the Affidavit of Service.
- Ethics, communication and self-managementEthical decision-making, duty of care, prejudice and the Ontario Human Rights Code, clear and unbiased communication, tactical communication, and managing stress, time, teamwork and changing conditions on assignments.