Questions & Answers

Does a non-profit organization, selling tickets to an event, need to request permission from the patron at the time of sale in order to contact that patron at a later date with information about other events?

A non-profit organization is defined in the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) under section 56. Briefly, to fit the definition, the organization must be incorporated under the Societies Act or Part 9 of the Companies Act. If this is the case for your organization, then PIPA would only apply to personal information collected, used and disclosed in connection with a "commercial activity" (also defined in PIPA).

The selling of tickets would most likely be considered "commercial activity" in this case. As such, you would be required to obtain consent from the patrons to contact them at a later date to promote other events. There are different forms of consent - please see our website, under "Publications" to view an information sheet on consent under PIPA.

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