Section 17 — Privacy Act: Form of access

Subject to any regulations made under paragraph 77(1)(o), where an individual is to be given access to personal information requested under subsection 12(1), the government institution shall permit the individual to examine the information in accordance with the regulations; or provide the individual with a copy thereof. Where access to personal information is to be given under this Act and the individual to whom access is to be given requests that access be given in a particular one of the official languages of Canada, access shall be given in that language, if the personal information already exists under the control of a government institution in that language; and where the personal information does not exist in that language, the head of the government institution that has control of the personal information shall cause it to be translated or interpreted for the individual if the head of the institution considers a translation or interpretation to be necessary to enable the individual to understand the information. Where access to personal information is to be given under this Act and the individual to whom access is to be given has a sensory disability and requests that access be given in an alternative format, access shall be given in an alternative format if the personal information already exists under the control of a government institution in an alternative format that is acceptable to the individual; or the head of the government institution that has control of the personal information considers the giving of access in an alternative format to be necessary to enable the individual to exercise the individual’s right of access under this Act and considers it reasonable to cause the personal information to be converted.