Question 1

What is PIPEDA and does it apply to my business?

Accepted Answer

PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) is Canada's federal private-sector privacy law. It applies to organizations that collect, use, or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities. Most Canadian businesses are covered unless they operate solely in BC, Alberta, or Quebec, which have substantially similar provincial legislation.

Question 2

What is Quebec Law 25 and when do I need to comply?

Accepted Answer

Law 25 (formerly Bill 64) is Quebec's modernized privacy law that came into force in phases from 2022 to 2023. It applies to any business that holds personal information about Quebec residents. Requirements include appointing a privacy officer, conducting Privacy Impact Assessments, breach notification within 72 hours, and the right to data portability and erasure.

Question 3

What does Shielk do?

Accepted Answer

Shielk is an AI-powered tool that detects and protects personal information (PII) in your documents and text. Before sending content to AI tools like ChatGPT, Shielk scans for 421+ types of Canadian PII, anonymizes the sensitive parts, lets AI process the clean version, then de-anonymizes the result — so your data stays protected.

Question 4

What does Valdra do?

Accepted Answer

Valdra is an automated privacy compliance platform for Canadian businesses. It helps you comply with PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, CASL, and PHIPA through guided assessments, auto-generated privacy policies, breach notification workflows, data mapping, consent management, and ongoing monitoring — all in one dashboard.

Question 5

Is Canuckt itself PIPEDA compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Canuckt is built PIPEDA-first. All data is stored on Canadian servers. We never sell your data. We have a published privacy policy, breach notification procedures, and use encryption at rest and in transit. We use our own Shielk product to protect PII in our internal AI workflows.

Question 6

How much does Canuckt cost?

Accepted Answer

Both Shielk and Valdra have free tiers. Shielk Pro is $79 CAD/month (unlimited jobs, API 10K/mo, full PIPEDA reports EN/FR). Shielk Agency is $199 CAD/month. Shielk Enterprise is $499 CAD/month. Valdra Starter is $249 CAD/month. Valdra Professional is $599 CAD/month. Bundle pricing is available when you combine Shielk and Valdra — contact us for current bundle rates. All prices in Canadian dollars. Annual billing: pay 12 months, get 13.

Question 7

What is CASL and does it affect my email marketing?

Accepted Answer

CASL (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation) is one of the strictest anti-spam laws in the world. It requires express or implied consent before sending commercial electronic messages (CEMs) to Canadians. You must keep consent records, identify yourself in every message, and provide an unsubscribe mechanism. Violations can result in fines up to $10 million CAD.

Question 8

Can I use ChatGPT or other AI tools with customer data?

Accepted Answer

Using AI tools with unredacted Canadian customer data creates PIPEDA exposure — you may be disclosing personal information to a third party without consent. Shielk solves this: it anonymizes PII before sending to AI, then restores it after — so you get AI benefits without the privacy risk.

Question 9

What is a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA)?

Accepted Answer

A Privacy Impact Assessment identifies and mitigates privacy risks before launching a new system or product that handles personal information. Quebec Law 25 requires PIAs for any new technology project. Valdra automates the PIA process with guided questionnaires, risk scoring, and mitigation recommendations.

Question 10

How long does it take to become PIPEDA compliant?

Accepted Answer

With Valdra, most small businesses complete a baseline PIPEDA compliance program in 2-4 weeks. This includes: appointing a privacy officer, publishing a privacy policy, setting up consent records, creating a breach response plan, and documenting data flows. Ongoing compliance is managed automatically in the platform.

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