How to Choose a Law 25 Consultant in Quebec

Law 25 compliance is not limited to publishing a privacy policy or completing a few forms. It requires understanding how your organization collects, uses, communicates, retains and protects personal information.

For a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) or nonprofit, choosing the right consultant can help clarify the duties that apply and support their implementation. Here are the criteria to review before entrusting your process to a provider.

1. Verify the consultant’s knowledge of Quebec’s legal framework

A Law 25 consultant should understand Quebec’s personal information protection rules and be able to distinguish legal duties from good practices.

They should be able to explain, among other things:

• the role of the person in charge of personal information protection;
• privacy governance policies and practices;
• management of confidentiality incidents;
• consent and transparency rules;
• retention and destruction of information;
• situations requiring a privacy impact assessment (PIA);
• requirements relating to certain providers and communications of information outside Quebec.

The exact duties depend on your organization’s activities and the applicable legal regime. Question to ask: How do you determine the duties that actually apply to our organization?

2. Prefer an approach based on your actual practices

A package of generic policies may not be enough to address your organization’s needs.

Before drafting documents, a consultant should seek to understand the categories of information handled, the people concerned, the systems in use, providers and practices already in place.

An approach may include an assessment, personal information mapping, gap analysis and a prioritized action plan. Question to ask: How do you tailor documents and recommendations to the way we operate?

3. Ask which deliverables will be provided

Consulting offers do not necessarily include the same services. Depending on your needs, deliverables may include:

• an inventory or map of personal information;
• a provider and information-flow matrix;
• a public privacy policy;
• internal governance and security policies;
• a retention and destruction schedule;
• a confidentiality incident register;
• privacy impact assessments;
• forms, notices and consent mechanisms;
• an action plan with responsibilities and priorities.

Not every deliverable is automatically required in every situation or included in every service offer. Question to ask: Which documents and tools will we actually receive at the end of the engagement?

4. Distinguish legal, organizational and technology expertise

Personal information protection draws on several complementary skills.

A governance and compliance consultant can support the organization in analyzing its practices, documenting them, structuring responsibilities and implementing measures.

A lawyer can provide legal opinions tailored to a situation, interpret applicable duties and assist with matters requiring reserved legal services.

An IT or cybersecurity specialist can assess and improve technical controls, access, configurations, backups and system security.

Strong support recognizes the limits of each expertise and brings in other professionals where needed. Question to ask: Which activities do you carry out directly, and which call for complementary expertise?

5. Check how providers and digital tools are reviewed

Organizations often use management software, cloud services, communication platforms and artificial intelligence tools.

The consultant should be able to explain how they review personal information flows, access, purposes, contracts and possible communications outside Quebec.

Some situations require a PIA or other particular measures. The analysis should be adapted to actual activities and applicable requirements. Question to ask: How do you assess risks connected to our providers and digital tools?

6. Compare the total cost and what is actually included

The cost of Law 25 support can vary according to the size of the organization, information handled, systems used, the complexity of activities and the scope of the engagement.

Before comparing two proposals, ask:

• Which assessments are included?
• How many meetings are planned?
• Are documents tailored?
• Are PIAs included or billed separately?
• Is training or implementation support included?
• Which services are offered after delivery?
• What additional work could be billed?

The lowest price does not necessarily correspond to the most suitable offer. The important point is to compare scope, deliverables and responsibilities.

7. Check what support is available after delivery

Personal information protection requires continuing attention. Practices may evolve when an organization adopts new software, changes providers, modifies its activities or encounters an incident.

Ask how the consultant plans to support the application of measures, document updates and evolving practices. Question to ask: What happens when our needs change after the engagement ends?

8. Who remains responsible for compliance?

Working with a consultant does not automatically transfer an organization’s legal responsibilities.

For a private enterprise, the person exercising the highest authority is by default responsible for the protection of personal information. This function may be delegated in writing, in whole or in part, under the applicable rules. The person exercising the highest authority nevertheless remains accountable for compliance with and implementation of the law.

A consulting engagement should therefore specify the respective responsibilities of the provider, management and people designated internally.

How Exact HR can support your organization

Exact HR supports Quebec SMEs and nonprofits in structuring and implementing their personal information protection process.

Its Law 25 Evolution approach can address mapping, technology practices, providers, PIAs, retention, policies and consent, depending on the organization’s needs and the scope of the engagement.

The goal is to help organizations move from understanding duties to concrete, documented practices adapted to their reality. Explore our Law 25 support or contact our team to discuss your situation.