Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
April 25, 2008Office of the
Information and Privacy Commissioner � Report A-2008-003 Released
The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ed Ring, has
released his Report A-2008-003 under authority of the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act. A summary of the Report
is included below.
To view the Report in its entirety, please go to
//www.oipc.gov.nl.ca/reports.htm
| Report: |
A-2008-003 |
| Report Date: |
April 16, 2008 |
| Public Body: |
House of Assembly |
| Summary:
|
The Applicant applied on 27 November
2007 under the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act (the "ATIPPA") for "information regarding
what charities [a former Chief Electoral Officer] donated his
MHA pension to during his term as Chief Electoral Officer, as
per the terms of his accepting the position." The House of
Assembly refused access to that information, claiming that it
was the former Chief Electoral Officer�s personal information
and that therefore the House of Assembly was prohibited from
disclosing it under section 30(1) of the ATIPPA. The
Commissioner did not agree. Although the information requested
could properly be characterized as personal information, it
falls within one of the exceptions to the prohibition, section
30(2)(f), in that "the information is about a third party�s
position, functions or remuneration as an officer, employee or
member of a public body or as a member of a minister�s staff."
The Commissioner agreed that under normal circumstances what a
retired person does with his pension income is personal
information that would be exempt from disclosure. However, it
was clear from the record that the former Chief Electoral
Officer was required by the terms of his employment contract to
forego his pension income while serving as Chief Electoral
Officer, and indeed was required to provide proof to the Speaker
that he had directed his pension to a registered charity. The
Commissioner concluded that those circumstances brought the
information within the provisions of section 30(2)(f), and it
was therefore subject to disclosure. The House of Assembly also
argued that as of January 16, 2008, the protection of privacy
provisions of the ATIPPA were in force, and consequently
the House of Assembly was bound, under section 36, to protect personal information from access, and under section 38,
to use that information only for the purpose for which it was
collected. The Commissioner found that the privacy provisions of
the ATIPPA did not apply to the present case, as the
Applicant�s request had been made before the privacy provisions
came into force. The Commissioner also held, however, that even
if the Part IV privacy provisions had been in force, they would
not have prevented disclosure. For these reasons the
Commissioner recommended that the House of Assembly disclose to
the Applicant the information he is seeking. |
-30-
Media contact:
Ed Ring
Information and Privacy Commissioner
709-729-6309
2008 04 25 2:45 p.m.
|
