This Working Group was formed in November 2003 to enable Ryerson to comply with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). PIPEDA was enacted on January 1, 2001 to guide and direct private sector organizations in the collection, use and disclosure of personal information during the course of commercial activities. On January 1, 2004, the Act applied to all commercial activity within each province -- including provincially regulated organizations -- particularly if a province had no privacy laws (as in Ontario). Thus, Ryerson became subject to the federal legislation and had to formulate guidelines to deal with personal information protection, especially with regard to any commercial activities it may be involved in.

The Working Group, comprised of a cross-section of Ryerson individuals who were deemed to have a particular interest or expertise in this matter, sat for approximately four months, from November 2003 to February 2004. It produced final documents for consideration by the University's senior administration, which in turn issued a final draft entitled, "Personal Information Protection Guidelines", along with a companion document, "Freedom of Information Guidelines".