There are penalties now, in fact. Anyone who obstructs the Information Commissioner in the performance of the commissioner's duties or functions under the act is guilty of an offence and liable upon summary conviction to a fine of $1,000. There are others. If you destroy or alter records, or falsify or make false records, there are fines for that to a maximum of $10,000. There are penalties currently. I'd be interested in how they compare with other jurisdictions. I haven't done all of that research yet.
On May 5th, 2016. See this statement in context.