Privacy impact assessment summary for wildland fire management

Description

Parks Canada’s Fire Management Program has its origins in the early days of national park administration. Since then, Parks Canada has been responsible for managing and responding to wildfire on federal lands under its jurisdiction. These responsibilities arise from the Canada National Parks Act, the Parks Canada Agency Act and Canadian Common Law.

The National Fire Management Program supports the Parks Canada mandate by restoring and maintaining ecological integrity and cultural landscapes, minimizing wildfire risk, and providing unique visitor experiences and educational opportunities.

This program is coordinated by the Resource Conservation function at national and site levels. In order to be successful and sustainable, its delivery is integrated across agency functions and geographically across national office, parks and sites.

The program integrates Indigenous fire stewardship practices and emphasizes ecosystem health, public safety, and climate resilience. Today, Parks Canada maintains dedicated fire crews and incident management teams across the country, using science-based strategies to manage fire in a way that supports both conservation and community protection.

Why a privacy impact assessment was completed

A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for Wildland Fire Management is required because personal information is collected, used and disclosed for operational and administrative purposes. This personal information is about firefighters and other fire personnel related to training, fitness, qualifications, and contact details to ensure compliance with operational standards and deployment requirements. The PIA identifies and evaluates potential risks to the privacy of this information.

The information is obtained internally through various administrative and operational forms, then stored in an electronic system for which access is granted only to Parks Canada personnel who require the information to carry out their responsibilities. In some cases, Parks Canada receives personal information collected indirectly from the responsible provincial or territorial authorities and/or organizations that employ or manage the wildfire personnel, related to deployments via the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

Additional information

The PIA found that the risk levels associated with Wildland Fire Management are low or non-existent, with no compliance issues identified. Wildland Fire Management was found in compliance with the Privacy Act and the Treasury Board of Canada Policy on Privacy Protection. There are agreements (such as the CIFFC Mutual Aid Resource Sharing (MARS) Agreement) and internal guidelines in place to ensure that personal information is used only for its intended purpose and only accessed by those who require the information to carry out their duties/have received authorization to access it.

Related personal information banks

Wildland Fire Management PC PPU 001

For more information about this privacy impact assessment

In order to have access to the full PIA, please submit a formal request at the following link: Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Online Request (apps.gc.ca).