Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner – Report P-2019-002 Released

  • Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner

November 5, 2019

The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Michael Harvey, has released his Report P-2019-002 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. A summary of the Report is included below.

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

Report: P-2019-002
Report Date: November 4, 2019
Public Body: The Town of Aquaforte
Summary: The Complainant submitted a privacy complaint against the Town of Aquaforte (the Town) under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 (ATIPPA, 2015). The complaint was in relation to the Town’s decision to send a letter to the property owner of the property where the Complainant resides with respect to taxes owing. In addition to the amounts due, the Town, without explicitly naming the individual, included in this letter personal information of the Complainant, including that the Complainant had a previous privacy complaint with this Office involving the Town, and its assertions regarding alleged lying and character assassination by the Complainant to the Town. The Commissioner determined that the Town breached the Complainant’s privacy by disclosing personal information to the property owner in contravention of section 68(2) (disclosure of personal information) of ATIPPA, 2015. This breach was exacerbated by the Town’s failure to implement policies and procedures and to educate staff and Council about how to best protect personal information from improper collection, use and disclosure. The Commissioner made recommendations to the Town relating to its need for greater caution when handling personal information in similar circumstances in the future.

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Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research & Quality Assurance
709-729-6309

2019 11 05 10:05 am