Report: P-2008-004

Report Date: September 26, 2008

Public Body: Department of Municipal Affairs

Summary: The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner received a complaint under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the "ATIPPA" or the "Act") regarding the Department of Municipal Affairs. The Complainant stated that his personal information had been improperly disclosed when the Department responded to a letter of complaint that he had written to the Department regarding the actions of the Town in which he resided, and copied that response to the Town.

The Commissioner found that in the course of carrying out its investigation, and in its response to the Complainant, the Department had disclosed some of the Complainant�s personal information to the Town, including his name and his issues and concerns. However, the Commissioner found that the Complainant had written to the Department for the specific purpose of having his concerns addressed, and that the Department could not deal with those concerns without disclosing the details, including his identity, to the Town. The Commissioner concluded that, for the most part, the information was disclosed either for the purpose for which it was obtained or for a use consistent with that purpose, pursuant to section 39 of the ATIPPA, and that therefore the disclosure did not violate the privacy provisions of the Act. The Commissioner expressed the view that an individual who writes to a Department expressing concerns or making a complaint of this particular nature should understand that it is unreasonable to expect that such matters can be addressed anonymously.

The Commissioner observed, however, that while the Department acted reasonably in disclosing the information that it was necessary to disclose in dealing with the complaint, it was not necessary to disclose certain items of information, such as the complainant�s fax number. The Commissioner recommended that in such circumstances public bodies be mindful of the need to limit disclosure of personal information to the minimum required to accomplish legitimate purposes. The Commissioner also recommended that in circumstances where it appears that an individual has written to a public body with some expectation of confidentiality, the public body should, whenever possible, advise the individual that it may be necessary to disclose personal information, before actually doing so.