As a business with a digital presence, you rely on secure and reliable storage for your website’s files; this is commonly known as hosting. Without a host, your website or application wouldn’t be visible online. While the amount of hosting you need varies depending on your traffic, online sales, security requirements, or apps, every business needs a dependable hosting provider.
Today, your options include large American hosting firms, Canadian online hosting companies, and local providers that offer personalized, high-service support. And with the current fluctuations in global politics and trade, the value of keeping your data safely within Canada has never been clearer.
In this article, we’re highlighting why Canadian businesses should prioritize data safety and choose a Canadian hosting company.
Privacy Laws
Privacy and data sovereignty should be top priorities for every Canadian business, no matter its industry or political stance. The simple truth is that hosting data within Canada offers stronger protections.
Federal Canadian Privacy Law
When you host with a Canadian company, both the host and the government must comply with Canadian privacy laws. PIPEDA is the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. PIPEDA governs the collection, use, and disclosure of data. It’s designed to protect the privacy of Canadian organizations and their customers.
PIPEDA is centred around these core principles:
- Accountability
- Identifying Purposes
- Consent
- Limiting Collection
- Limiting Use
- Disclosure and Retention
- Accuracy
- Safeguards
- Openness
- Individual Access
- Challenging Compliance
PIPEDA applies to nearly all Canadian businesses engaged in commercial online activity involving personal information. The act limits how organizations collect, use and disclose data while also protecting the personal privacy of individuals.
BC Privacy Law
It’s important to note that some provinces have their own data privacy laws, including Alberta, Quebec, and BC. In these cases, businesses may be exempt from certain PIPEDA requirements as long as their own provincial requirements are picking up the slack.
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) applies to public bodies in BC and regulates the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by public organizations. Public bodies have strict outlines around how much data they collect and what they can do with it. Individuals that interact with that public body also have the right to access and edit their personal info.
The Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) applies to the BC private sector. This act is similar, but aims to protect the individuals taking part in commercial activity online. It requires organizations to obtain consent, remain transparent, and apply appropriate security safeguards. If a business doesn’t comply with these rules, individuals are able to sue for breach of privacy.
Proposed Canadian Legislation
The Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) is proposed Canadian federal legislation that aims to modernize and replace PIPEDA. CPPA gives Canadians greater control and transparency over how their information is handled, replacing Part 1 of PIPEDA.
CPPA would allow Canadians to access, correct, or withdraw consent for their data. It also introduces clearer criteria around why data is collected and strengthens transparency around automated decision-making systems such as algorithms and AI.
Penalties are significant:
- Non-compliance with administrative requirements could cost organizations up to 3% of global gross revenue or $10 million, whichever is higher.
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Serious offenses could reach 5% of global revenue or $25 million.
American Surveillance
One of the strongest reasons to host your data in Canada is avoiding exposure to U.S. surveillance laws. If your data is stored in the U.S., it is automatically subject to American legislation, regardless of whether your business is American.
Here are a few major laws your data becomes vulnerable to when hosted in the U.S.:
- Patriot Act. The Patriot Act passed after the September 11th attacks with an aim to enhance national security powers. Unfortunately, the Patriot Act ended up being used on its own citizens as well, which came to light in the Edward Snowden leak, revealing the NSA was collecting phone metadata of citizens. But if you host in the US, you’re subject to American laws like this one.
- DMCA Requests. This is a formal legal process allowed under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) where copyright holders will request the removal of infringing content. This request is often sent to a social media company, search engine, or website host. Upon receiving that request, the service provider is obligated to remove it in order to avoid liability.
- FISA. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was enacted in the 70s, and essentially allows the government to gather intelligence from data hosted in the US.
- Executive Order 12333. Ordered by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, Executive Order 12333 allows the government to collect communications and metadata without a warrant.
Hosting in Canada keeps your data protected under Canadian privacy standards.
Website Performance
Hosting your data in Canada comes with other benefits besides just privacy and security. It can significantly improve website performance, especially if your audience is Canadian.
Latency is the delay before the transfer of data. With a data hosting centre located geographically closer to your website visitors, that latency can be decreased. Lower latency means faster loading times and a smoother user experience.
Compliance
For some organizations, hosting data within Canada isn’t just recommended, it is required for compliance reasons. Because of the sensitive nature of certain information, the government urges specific sectors to keep their data within Canadian borders.
Examples include:
- Government agencies, which must prioritize hosting in Canada. Federal Policy on Secure Containerized Application Hosting
- Financial institutions, which face strict privacy and hosting regulations for web hosting.
- Healthcare organizations, which are strongly advised to host locally due to the sensitivity of their data.
- Telecommunications companies, which are encouraged to host domestically because of the volume of user data they collect.
Local Support
Finally, support is a crucial consideration when choosing a hosting provider. Customer service often becomes an afterthought—until you’re dealing with unexpected downtime or a data issue and struggling to reach someone.
Large companies, in the US and in Canada, manage millions of domains, making individualized support difficult. Response times can be slow, and assistance may come from outsourced call centres far from your time zone.
When you choose a local hosting provider like Caorda, you get access to a local support team. Not only do they answer the phone, but they’ll get to know you by name. It is good to ask if they also have additional resources, like developers, designers, and SEO specialists who may be able to help if needed. Plus, with an added security and maintenance program, you will have greater peace of mind knowing that your website or application will stay up-to-date, secure, and fully backed up.
Contact Caorda today to discuss bringing your data hosting back home to Canada.