Changes

At the Canadian federal government level, the terms electronic signature, digital signature and secure electronic signature are all present in Government of Canada (GC) legislation.  The purpose of this post is to help clarify these terms so that they can be used consistently throughout the GC.  This post is primarily based on the [https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/online-security-privacy/government-canada-guidance-using-electronic-signatures.html Government of Canada Guidance on using Electronic Signatures] but provides a more condensed tutorial on the terminology.

At the Canadian federal government level, the terms electronic signature, digital signature and secure electronic signature are all present in Government of Canada (GC) legislation.  The purpose of this post is to help clarify these terms so that they can be used consistently throughout the GC.  This post is primarily based on the [https://www.canada.ca/en/government/system/digital-government/online-security-privacy/government-canada-guidance-using-electronic-signatures.html Government of Canada Guidance on using Electronic Signatures] but provides a more condensed tutorial on the terminology.

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<div style="line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 175%; color:navy; font-family:'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif;">'''GC e-signature legislation and terminology'''</div>

<div style="line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 175%; color:navy; font-family:'Helvetica Neue', 'Lucida Grande', Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif;">'''GC e-signature legislation and terminology'''</div>

Part 2 of the [https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/p-8.6/FullText.html Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)] defines an electronic signature as follows:

Part 2 of the [https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/p-8.6/FullText.html Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)] defines an electronic signature as follows:

“a signature that consists of one or more letters, characters, numbers or other symbols in digital form incorporated in, attached to or associated with an electronic document.”

“a signature that consists of one or more letters, characters, numbers or other symbols in digital form incorporated in, attached to or associated with an electronic document.”

    

    

Essentially, an electronic signature (also denoted as “e signature” for short ) can be virtually any form of electronic representation that can be linked or attached to an electronic document or transaction.  Although not intended to represent an exhaustive list, examples of e-signatures include:

Essentially, an electronic signature (also denoted as “e signature” for short^{<small>1</small>} ) can be virtually any form of electronic representation that can be linked or attached to an electronic document or transaction.  Although not intended to represent an exhaustive list, examples of e-signatures include:

*user authentication combined with a mouse click on some form of acknowledgment button to capture intent (i.e., “click to sign”)  

*user authentication combined with a mouse click on some form of acknowledgment button to capture intent (i.e., “click to sign”)  

*using a stylus on a tablet touchscreen to write a signature by hand and capture it in electronic form

*using a stylus on a tablet touchscreen to write a signature by hand and capture it in electronic form