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Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
July 21, 2011

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
– Report P-2011-001 Released

The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ed Ring, has released his Report P-2011-001 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. A summary of the Report is included below.

Please note that given the circumstances of this case, the name of the town involved has been deliberately omitted in order to further protect the identity of the Complainant.

To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/privacyreports.htm 

Report:          P-2011-001
Report Date:  July 14, 2011
Summary:

The Complainant submitted a Privacy Complaint alleging that a Town had disclosed his personal information when his name appeared on the agenda for a public meeting regarding a letter that had been written to him by the Town Manager, and furthermore that his personal information was also disclosed when his name was included in the minutes of that meeting and again when the letter itself was tabled for discussion at a public Council meeting. In addition, as the minutes of a public meeting and all documents tabled for discussion at a public meeting must be made available for public viewing in accordance with section 215 of the Municipalities Act, the Complainant maintains that his personal information continues to be disclosed, as the letter that was written to him and the minutes of the meeting continue to be available for public viewing. The Commissioner found that while it was reasonable in the circumstances to share the Complainant’s personal information with the Councillors, the personal information did not need to be tabled or discussed at the public meeting, and thus the Town had breached section 39 of the ATIPPA. Such a disclosure of personal information was not the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose for which it was disclosed. It was the Commissioner’s view that since the Councillors already knew the details, the letter could have been discussed and presented at the public meeting in a de-identified manner, and the minutes and the agenda could have also been prepared with the personal information severed. This would have allowed the Town to conduct its necessary business while still protecting the privacy of the Complainant. The Commissioner found that although the Municipalities Act required certain documents to be made available for public viewing, it was silent with respect to the disclosure of personal information that might be contained in these documents. Therefore, it was the Commissioner’s view that the requirements of both the Municipalities Act and the ATIPPA could be met if documents containing personal information were severed to remove the personal information prior to being tabled at a public meeting. The Commissioner also found that minutes and agendas for public meetings could also be prepared in a de-identified manner, unless the disclosure was necessary as per section 39(1)(c) and 40(b). Where this practice was not reasonable in the circumstances of a particular situation, the Commissioner concluded that personal information should be discussed at a privileged meeting of Council.

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Media contact:
Ed Ring
Information and Privacy Commissioner
709-729-6309

2011 07 21                                                                          11:10 a.m.

 
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