Privacy Law Spurs Jump in Shredding Business:
"Proshred Sees Accelerated Expansion of Its Door-to-Door Shredding Services As Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act Takes Full Effect

TORONTO, March 23 /CNW/ - With the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Act now in full effect in Canada after a three-year phased-in program, Canadian businesses are increasingly turning to shredding services for assistance in complying with the law's prohibition against disclosing personal information collected during the normal course of commercial activities.

Proshred Security International Inc., Canada's largest mobile shredding service with offices in 350 cities across the country, has seen surging interest in the use of its door-to-door document destruction services by companies and organizations wishing to avoid potential liability under the privacy law.

The company's client roster has expanded by 15 percent in the last six months, with a majority of new customers citing the law as a key reason for coming on board. Inquiries have continued to flow in since January 1 as businesses that had delayed changing their document retention and destruction procedures are scrambling to protect themselves.

'We had a number of proposals with large companies that didn't go anywhere for months or even years because there appeared to be no pressing need for a shredding service,' said Ron Campbell, Proshred President and CEO. 'Now we're seeing those proposals being funded because of this privacy legislation.'

Privacy without tears: In addition to helping uphold the law's ban on unauthorized personal information disclosure by ensuring that information is destroyed before it can be used for illicit purposes, shredding can minimize the burden created by the provision of the law that requires companies to supply all information they have on a specific individual upon request."