PIA Summary

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is the lead federal government department responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada’s economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland waters. This mandate includes responsibility for the conservation and sustainable use of Canada’s fisheries resources while continuing to provide safe, effective and environmentally sound marine services that are responsive to the needs of Canadians in a global economy.

East Coast harvesters who are highly dependent on lobster and who normally have relatively low overall harvest landed value have experienced a significant decrease in their landed values in 2009.  On September 22, 2009, $15 million was dedicated to a program to provide immediate one-time assistance to those fishers most affected by the global economic downturn and resulting collapse of lobster prices.  This program will continue until March 31, 2010.

DFO officials have demonstrated through the design of the STTM program that they wish to incorporate privacy and security as core elements of the program. For example, STTM applicants will be asked to provide consent for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information.

One low risk identified was that formal Privacy Impact Assessment Guidelines have not formally been put in place by the department and this may result in inconsistent Privacy Impact Assessment practices.  An action plan is in place to address this concern.