Can I email this document?

Can you email a T4 slip?

Yes, but only with the employee's prior written or electronic consent: that is the CRA rule in guide RC4120 and its "Distribute the slips" page. Without consent, two options remain: paper delivery (two copies, in person or by mail) or a secure portal with protected access, which requires no prior consent at all. The trap with regular email: a T4 contains the SIN, salary and home address — one wrong recipient or one compromised inbox becomes a confidentiality incident to document under Law 25. An encrypted link with recipient authentication checks both boxes: security and proof of delivery.

Can you email an RL-1 slip?

Revenu Québec allows the RL-1 to be sent by email only if the employee has first given written consent. The no-consent alternative: making the slip available on a secure electronic portal that meets confidentiality rules — the employee keeps the right to request a paper copy. For a beneficiary who is not an employee, written consent is mandatory in all cases, must be revocable, and you must explain how to revoke it. Since the RL-1 carries the SIN and income data, the delivery method must protect confidentiality: plain, unencrypted email is a real risk.

Can you email an RL-31 slip to a tenant?

Yes, under four conditions set by Revenu Québec: obtain the tenant's or subtenant's written consent beforehand (valid until revoked), tell them how to revoke it, protect their personal information during transmission, and be able to verify the identity of the person consenting. Otherwise, deliver copy 2 (RL-31.CS) in person or by mail by the last day of February. A regular email struggles with the last two conditions; a secure link that authenticates the tenant meets all four.

Can you email a pay stub?

Quebec's Act respecting labour standards (s. 46) requires employers to hand over a pay sheet with every pay, without imposing paper. Electronic delivery is therefore allowed, with conditions: use a secure platform that protects the information, make sure the employee can view, download and print the stub confidentially, and provide a paper version on request. A regular email to an unverified personal address is weak protection for salary data; a payroll portal or an encrypted, authenticated link satisfies both the ALS and Law 25's security obligation.

Can you email a record of employment (ROE)?

Avoid it. The record of employment contains the employee's social insurance number — exactly the kind of data the Office of the Privacy Commissioner says should never travel by unsecured email. The good news: with Service Canada's ROE Web, employers submit the ROE electronically straight into the federal database; the employee views it in My Service Canada Account and no paper copy or email is required. If the employee still asks for a copy, use an encrypted channel with authentication rather than a plain attachment.

Can you email a notice of assessment?

Not recommended. A notice of assessment (CRA or Revenu Québec) combines SIN, address, income and tax balances — a complete identity-theft kit. Governments themselves never email it: it arrives by mail or in a secure portal (My Account), and fake emailed "notices of assessment" are among Canada's most common phishing lures. When a lender or landlord requires it, Law 25 demands safeguards proportional to that sensitivity: use an encrypted link with recipient authentication rather than an unprotected attachment.

Can you email a SIN?

No. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is categorical: the social insurance number should never be sent by unsecured email. The SIN is the master key to identity theft — it can unlock credit, benefits and documents in the victim's name, and an intercepted or forwarded email never truly disappears. Organizations that collect SINs must limit their use to what the law requires and protect them with appropriate safeguards. If a SIN absolutely must be transmitted, use an encrypted channel where the recipient proves their identity before access.

Can you email a void cheque?

Strongly discouraged. A void cheque exposes the institution, transit and account numbers — everything needed for payroll or wire-transfer diversion fraud, a growing scheme where the fraudster swaps in their own banking details in place of the employee's or supplier's. Law 25 requires security measures proportional to the sensitivity of the information, and banking data is highly sensitive. The compliant method: collection through a secure HR portal, or an encrypted link that authenticates the recipient (and gives you an access trail if things are ever disputed).

Can you email an ID document?

No. A driver's licence, passport or health-insurance card is, according to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, a document of great value to fraudsters: government-issued, it lends credibility to any impersonation. Quebec's Commission d'accès à l'information also warns against needless copying and circulation of ID documents — a visual check is enough in most cases. If a copy is legally necessary (remote identity verification, for instance), send it through an encrypted channel with recipient authentication — never as an attachment to a regular email.

Can you email a patient file?

Not by regular email. Health information enjoys maximum protection in Quebec: the Act respecting health and social services information (CQLR c. R-22.1) and Law 25 require safeguards that match that sensitivity — encrypted transmission, access restricted to authorized persons, audit logging. A lab result or treatment plan sent as an unencrypted attachment to an unverified address is a potential confidentiality incident, with notification obligations. The de facto standard: an encrypted link where the patient authenticates their identity before opening the document.

Can you email a contract or a lease?

Yes, generally. Technology-based documents have full legal value in Quebec, and sending a contract to its own signatory carries limited risk. One important nuance: section 34 of the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology (ALFIT) requires that the confidentiality of any confidential information the document contains be protected by means appropriate to the mode of transmission — and that you be able to document those means. If the lease or contract includes a SIN, banking details or third-party information, switch to an encrypted, authenticated link: regular email no longer cuts it.

Can you email financial statements?

Yes, with conditions. No law forbids emailing corporate financial statements, but Law 25 applies as soon as they contain personal information (executive compensation, shareholder advances), and business confidentiality calls for the same caution: an intercepted set of statements is a gift to competitors and fraudsters. The CAI recommends encrypting communications and restricting access to authorized persons. For personal financial statements sent to a lender — often bundled with notices of assessment — treat the package as highly sensitive: encrypted link, recipient authentication, access log.