Yes, in the three provinces the commissioner administers what is called an administrative tribunal. For those who aren't from a legal background, it's like an informal mini-court specialized in that particular issue. In some of these cases, for example in Quebec, you will have lawyers appearing, arguing the cases. In others, such as in Ontario, most of the cases have what is called a paper hearing. They're done on paper. There can be a combination of both. The parties are named, so it would be Joe Blow against ABC Corporation in terms of how it handled his personal information, and then the decision is made public on the Internet, with “J.B. v. ABC Corporation”. That's how a tribunal works. The commissioner in the tribunal or an adjudicator to whom he or she delegates their authority can then make a binding order--do this with Mr. Joe Blow's information; stop collecting this; put in proper safeguards, things like that. That order can be appealed.
On February 23rd, 2009. See this statement in context.