Skip to main content
Client Work

Air Canada v. Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec

Fasken
Reading Time 1 minute read
Share
  • LinkedIn

Overview

Client

Air Canada

Successfully represented Air Canada before the Superior Court of the district of Montreal in a case about the application of the Quebec statute related to the protection of personal information, and in particular the selection and hiring of flight attendants. The Superior Court found that the Quebec Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector cannot apply to those management aspects of a federal undertaking and does not apply to cases involving the selection and hiring of flight attendants. The ruling found that the process of Air Canada's flight attendant selection and hiring is inextricably linked to the main objective of the company: aircraft operation. This Superior Court ruling is also noteworthy because it decided that the personnel files of a federal undertaking which relate to labour relations and working conditions are no longer subject to provincial laws protecting personal information, but are subject only to the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. AIR CANADA v. COMMISSION D'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION DU QUÉBEC, S.C. Montreal, September 3, 2003 (The Honourable Justice Clément Gascon, J.S.C.)