As a statutory corporation, Carleton University enjoys a high degree of self-regulation and autonomy. However, Carleton is also a publicly funded institution. It has a responsibility to be transparent in its governance and accountable – both to its public and private funders and to the Carleton community. As a result, Ontario universities were brought under the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in 2006.
Carleton University is also accountable under other pieces of Canadian privacy legislation for the following operations:
- Financial transactions conducted as part of the operations of ancillary units such as the book store and food services. These are regulated in part by the federal Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act.
- Delivery of healthcare by Health and Counselling Services or the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities. These activities and files are mostly regulated by Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act.
- Commercial electronic messages sent by the university are subject to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation.