Commission d’accès à l’information supervision, administrative and penal sanctions, punitive damages
CQLR c P-39.1, ss. 90.1-90.17, 91-93, 93.1
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In force since 22 September 2023.
An enforcement supervision rule binding private bodies.
As of 24 September 2026.
What it requires
- Expect the Commission d’accès à l’information to investigate a suspected failure to comply with this Act and, through a person it designates, to impose a monetary administrative penalty of up to $50,000 for a natural person or, in any other case, up to $10,000,000 or 2% of worldwide turnover, whichever is greater.
- Expect the same conduct to be prosecutable as a penal offence carrying a fine of $5,000 to $100,000 for a natural person or, in any other case, $15,000 to $25,000,000 or 4% of worldwide turnover, whichever is greater.
- Expect a court to award punitive damages of at least $1,000 to a person whose right under this Act, or under articles 35 to 40 of the Civil Code, is infringed unlawfully and either intentionally or through gross fault.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
A statutory offence under s. 91 (unlawful collection, use, communication, retention or destruction of personal information; failure to give required notice; failure to report a confidentiality incident; among other listed failures), prosecuted under Québec's penal procedure rather than the Criminal Code, carries a fine of $5,000 to $100,000 for a natural person and, in any other case, $15,000 to $25,000,000 or, if greater, 4% of worldwide turnover for the preceding fiscal year.
Penalty structure
Figures are for the s. 91 penal offence, applicable to any person other than a natural person; a natural person's penal fine is $5,000 to $100,000, a fixed range with no turnover component. A parallel administrative track under s. 90.1-90.17 lets the Commission impose a monetary administrative penalty of up to $50,000 for a natural person or, in any other case, up to $10,000,000 or 2% of worldwide turnover, whichever is greater; a payment agreement or the payment of an administrative penalty is not an admission of the facts for a later penal prosecution on the same conduct, but s. 90.11 bars an administrative penalty for a failure already the subject of a statement of penal offence for the same provision, the same day, on the same facts.
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- 24 September 2026
- Currency
- CAD
- Fixed cap
- 25,000,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 4
Statutory damages
Available only where the infringement of a right conferred by this Act, or by articles 35 to 40 of the Civil Code, causes an injury and is intentional or results from a gross fault; ordinary negligence does not trigger this remedy.
- As of
- 24 September 2026
- Currency
- CAD
- Per person minimum
- 1,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Commission d’accès à l’information
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
The Commission d’accès à l’information, the same body established under the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information, oversees and enforces this Act.
A person designated by the Commission may impose a monetary administrative penalty of up to $50,000 on a natural person and, in any other case, up to $10,000,000 or, if greater, 2% of worldwide turnover for the preceding fiscal year, for a failure such as not informing persons concerned as required, unlawfully collecting, using, communicating, keeping or destroying personal information, or not reporting a confidentiality incident.
The same conduct, prosecuted as a penal offence, carries a fine of $5,000 to $100,000 for a natural person and, in any other case, $15,000 to $25,000,000 or, if greater, 4% of worldwide turnover for the preceding fiscal year. Separately, a court that finds an unlawful infringement of a right under this Act, or under articles 35 to 40 of the Civil Code, causing injury and either intentional or resulting from gross fault, must award punitive damages of not less than $1,000.
When LexLint raises it
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Read the law
official consolidated statute text, LégisQuébec (Éditeur officiel du Québec)
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.