Confidentiality of business information - IRAP

The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) provides you with the professional advice and assistance to develop and use technology. Because we work closely with your firm which may involve access to sensitive business information, we take steps to ensure confidentiality.

Built-in safeguards

Federal legislation provides for the protection of your proprietary business information held by the National Research Council. Our employees have confidentiality requirements as part of their employment agreements, and only ask you for the information they need to do their job.

Your firm's trade secrets and confidential financial, commercial, scientific or technical information are protected from third-party access. They receive information on a need-to-know basis and solely for the purpose for which it was originally collected. We take appropriate measures to prevent unauthorized access to your confidential information whether it is physically or electronically stored.

Confidentiality agreement

We cannot agree to your firm's confidentiality agreements, namely the non-disclosure clauses. Legislative reasons require the Crown (Federal Government) to disclose information unless it may fall under one of the exceptions as stated under the Access to Information Act. Furthermore, the return or destruction clauses on firms' confidentiality agreements may breach the Crown obligations under the Library and Archives of Canada Act.

Protect your information

You can help us safeguard your business information:

• Only provide the information we request.
• Clearly mark sensitive information as Confidential or Protected.

To engage with NRC IRAP, and to reach one of our Industrial Technology Advisors located in your community, please call our toll-free number at 1-877-994-4727.