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The federal government is in the final stages of enacting legislation that will require all businesses in Canada to report any cyber security breach as soon as they become aware of it.

It’s a step meant to close what critics say has been a major gap in this country’s protection of personal and financial data.

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The new laws were passed as part of the Digital Privacy Act in 2015, but have not yet come into effect due to the need for “related regulations outlining specific requirements.”

Industry stakeholders had also asked government for a “transition period” allowing them to better prepare their computer systems and internal policies to report hacking attempts and issues pertaining to computer viruses on their networks.

That pause is about to expire, according to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, which wrapped up a series of public consultations in the fall.

A spokesman said a summary of those consultations was posted to the federal department’s website in October. Draft regulations, outlining exactly when and how business must report data breaches, are expected to appear in the Canada Gazette, the official publication of the federal government, in the coming weeks. Those draft regulations will be opened for another round of public consultations before they are forwarded to Parliament for approval.