5 records to check in a Canadian platform network catalog before you cite it

What to take away

Why a Canadian catalog needs records, not links

A platform network catalog collects platform records: who runs the service, where it operates, which rules apply, when someone last checked. In Canada those records get cited by researchers, librarians and analysts, and a citation inherits whatever weakness the record has.

Most directories fail on this. They list a brand, a website and a category. No legal entity, no policy version, no regulator, no date. That is a link list wearing a catalog's clothes.

Canada is not one jurisdiction either. The CRTC oversees broadcasting and telecommunications. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada handles federal privacy complaints under PIPEDA. Quebec adds Law 25 on top. A record that names none of them cannot be verified by anyone.

Availability splits the same way. A service live in Ontario may never have launched in Newfoundland and Labrador. "Available across Canada" is a claim. A province list is a fact.

Field 1: Corporate registration and the Quebec Enterprise Number

Registration ties a platform name to a legal entity, and the legal entity is who you can actually check. Without it you cannot confirm who is responsible for the service or whether the company still exists.

In Quebec the key is the Quebec Enterprise Number (NEQ), a ten-digit identifier assigned at registration with the Registraire des entreprises. It stays with the entity across filings, which is what makes it useful for matching.

Outside Quebec, look for the federal corporation number or the provincial registry number. Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia each run their own registry, and a credible entry names the one it used.

Check the legal name, not the brand. Platforms trade under names the corporation does not hold, so the record should carry both.

An entry showing only a brand and a website is unverified. See how the community platforms directory handles this field.

Quebec register searches are public. You can find an enterprise in the enterprise register to confirm the legal name and current status.

Field 2: Privacy policy version and the governing law

A privacy policy version is a dated, numbered snapshot of the terms that applied at a point in time. Without a version number you cannot tell whether the platform changed its terms after you cited it, and that is the whole point of the field.

PIPEDA applies to private-sector organizations that collect personal information in commercial activity across Canada. The record should say whether PIPEDA governs, or whether a provincial law replaces it in substance.

Quebec's Law 25 amends the provincial private-sector privacy law and adds duties that go beyond PIPEDA. Alberta and British Columbia have private-sector laws the OPC recognizes as substantially similar. The record names the regime, not just "privacy policy."

"Privacy policy available on request" fails this check. You cannot verify a version that was never published.

Field 3: The regulator reference

The regulator reference tells you who has jurisdiction. Broadcasting and telecom services fall under the CRTC. Privacy practices fall under the OPC. A streaming service may carry a CRTC registration, licence or exemption; a data-handling platform carries the OPC's role and any reported breach or finding.

Other bodies apply to narrower questions. The Competition Bureau Canada handles deceptive marketing. Canadian Heritage administers the Online News Act, Bill C-18. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre collects platform fraud reports. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages oversees language duties.

An entry does not need every body. It needs the right one, named correctly and linked to the decision, licence or finding. "Regulated in Canada" is not a reference.

When you search community platforms, check whether the entry names a regulator at all. If it does not, the field is missing and the record is partial.

Field 4: Provincial availability and language

Regional availability is the list of provinces and territories where the service actually operates. Services commonly launch in Ontario and Quebec first, then British Columbia and Alberta, and sometimes never reach the smaller provinces.

The record should name each province where the service is live and each one excluded. It should also note supported languages, since the Official Languages Act shapes service expectations in federally regulated sectors.

Province-specific rules change how a platform operates for residents there. Quebec's Law 25 is the clearest case. Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia may add consumer protection or licensing requirements for particular services.

If the catalog cannot produce the province list, mark the entry partial rather than citing it as national.

Field 5: Last-verified date and update log

A last-verified date is the day a person or a documented process checked the record against its sources. It is not the publish date and not the launch date, and catalogs that blur the three produce entries nobody can date.

The update log shows what changed and when. Platforms change names, policies and ownership. Without a log you cannot tell whether last year's entry still describes the same company.

Date the verification, name the checker or the method, and list the sources. If the entry rests on a register search, note the search date, because register records change.

Stale entries are the main failure in platform directories. A record verified two years ago may describe a dissolved company or a replaced policy. Treat any entry without a last-verified date as unverified.

The discipline is the same one behind the community platforms rankings 2027, where dated checks separate a usable record from a dead one.

Worked example: cross-checking one Quebec entry

Cross-checking means matching the catalog's claims to primary sources. The sequence below takes about twenty minutes for a single entry.

For Quebec entities, you can find information about an enterprise to confirm the legal name and status, and Access my Enterprise's Files to review the enterprise's own filings and any change to its record.

A catalog entry that cannot survive this sequence should not be cited. Keep your own log alongside it: the entry, the date, the sources, the discrepancy.

Common questions

What is a Quebec Enterprise Number?

It is a ten-digit identifier assigned to a business registered in Quebec, issued through the Registraire des entreprises. It stays with the entity across filings, which lets you match a catalog record to the provincial register years later.

Does PIPEDA apply to every platform in a Canadian catalog?

No. PIPEDA covers private-sector organizations in commercial activity across Canada, but Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia have private-sector laws the OPC treats as substantially similar. The record should name which regime governs.

Why name the CRTC or the OPC in a platform record?

Those bodies handle broadcasting, telecom and privacy complaints. Naming the right regulator tells you where a complaint or decision would be filed, and gives you something specific to check.

How old can a last-verified date be before the record is stale?

There is no fixed rule, but an entry without a date is unverified. Re-check before citing, especially where ownership, policy or availability may have changed. The 5 things to check in any platform record apply here too.