Freedom of information and protection of privacy : guidelines and practices

518 Pages·2000·35.2 MB·English

Freedom
of
Information
and
Protection
ofPrivacy
Guidelines
and
Practices
2000
/dlberta
GOVERNMENTOFALBERTA

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
GUIDELINES AND PRACTICES
September 2000
m
ydlborra
GOVERNMENTOFALBERTA
1
Producedby
Information Management and Privacy
Alberta Municipal Affairs
201, 10808 -99 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T5K 0G5
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web site: http://www.gov.ab.ca/foip
©Government ofAlberta ISBN 077851000X
INTRODUCTION
Thispublicationprovides acomprehensivereference tool forthe applicationofthe
Freedom ofInformation andProtection ofPrivacy (FOIP) Actby all organizationsthat
are subjectto theAct inAlberta. It interprets theActandthe FOIP Regulation, sets out
roles andresponsibilities, and offers guidance on approaches andprocedures. It is
intendedto be used by staffwho will beprocessing FOIP requests and carrying out
privacy protectionmeasures.
Thispublication isprovided as informationonly, and is intended to serve as a supplement
to theFOIPActand Regulation. The information contained in it is provided as a
guideline, not as binding rules, except fora limited numberofpolicy statements that are
clearly indicated in bold text.
All examples used areprovided as illustrations and should not be used as authority for
any decisions made undertheAct. This publication is notto be used as a substitute for
legal advice. In case ofany doubt as to the proper application oftheAct please referto
,
the FOIP Coordinatorofyourpublic body.
This edition ofFreedom ofInformation andProtection ofPrivacy: Guidelinesand
Practices incorporates amendments to the FOIP legislationup to July 1, 2000, including
the amendments introduced intheFreedom ofInformation andProtection ofPrivacy
AmendmentAct, 1999. References to the FOIPActandthe FOIP Regulation appear in
boldtext. Referencesto other legislationare inplaintext.
The Office ofthe Information and Privacy Commissionerpublishes Orders, Practice
Notes and Investigation Reports. Alberta Municipal Affairs, InformationManagement
and Privacy, publishes FOIP Bulletins and other guidelines. Thispublicationreferences
policy and guideline information, and Commissioner’s Orders released upto July 1,
2000.
Forfurther information aboutthe administration oroperation oftheAct please contact:
,
Information Management and Privacy
Alberta Municipal Affairs
201, 10808-99 Avenue*
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 0G5 *
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Web
site: http://www.gov.ab.ca/foip
* Effective October 2000, ourmailing address will be 16th Floor, Commerce Place,
10155 - 102 Street, Edmonton, T5J4L4.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2016
in
https://archive.org/details/freedomofinforma00unse_0
Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy
Guidelines and Practices
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Overview 1
1.1 Purposes ofFOIPAct 1
1.2 Public Bodies Within the Scope ofthe Act .....1
1.3 Organizations NotWithin the Scope ofthe Act 3
1.4 Scope ofthe Act 4
1.5 Records Covered by the Act 5
1.6 Custody or Control ..6
1.7 Records Excluded from the Act 7
1.8 Accessing Information 14
1.9 Routine Access to Information 15
1.10 Practices for Routine Disclosure and
Active Dissemination 18
Chapter 2: Administration ofthe FOIPAct 23
2.1 Public Body - Roles and Responsibilities ..23
2.2 Delegation of FOIP Responsibilities .26
2.3 Province-Wide Administration ofthe Act 27
2.4 Liability, Sanctions and Penalties 29
Chapter 3: Access to Records 31
3.1 Who Has a Right ofAccess 31
3.2 Access Tools 31
3.3 Receiving a FOIP Request 33
3.4 Processing a FOIP Request 46
3.5 Responding to a FOIP Request 62
September 2000 Page
i
Table ofContents
Chapter 4: Exceptions to the Right ofAccess 67
4.1 Overview .67
4.2 Relationship to OtherActs 72
4.3 Disclosure Harmful to Business Interests of a Third Party....73
4.4 Disclosure Harmful to Personal Privacy 82
4.5 Disclosure Harmful to Public or Individual Safety ....98
4.6 Confidential Evaluations 102
4.7 Disclosure Harmful to Law Enforcement .....................105
4.8 Intergovernmental Relations .............119
4.9 Cabinet and Treasury Board Confidences 124
4.10 Local Public Body Confidences 130
4.1 1 Advice from Officials 135
4.12 Economic and Other Interests ofa Public Body
orthe Government ofAlberta 145
4.13 Testing Procedures 152
4.14 Privileged Information 153
4.15 Disclosure Harmful to Historical Resources, Rare,
Endangered orVulnerable Life 164
4.16 Information That Is orWill Be Published 165
Chapter 5: Third Party Intervention and Notice 167
5.1 Overview .....167
5.2 When is Third Party Notification Required? .....167
5.3 How is a Third Party Notification Process Carried Out? 168
5.4 Content ofThird Party Notice 169
5.5 Notice to Applicant 170
5.6 Response from Third Party 170
5.7 Notice of Decision 171
5.8 Time Limits 172
5.9 Time Extension 174
Chapter 6: Disclosure in the Public Interest 179
6.1 Overview 179
6.2 Disclosure 179
6.3 Public Interest 181
6.4 Determination of Public Interest 182
6.5 Scope 183
6.6 Notification 183
6.7 Review 184
6.8 Disclosure to the Commissioner 184
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FOiP Guidelines andPractices
Chapter 7: Protection of Privacy .187
7.1 Overview 187
7.2 Purposes ofCollection 189
7.3 Manner of Collection 192
7.4 Accuracy and Retention 201
7.5 Correction of Personal Information 203
7.6 Protection of Personal Information 208
7.7 Use of Personal Information ....21
7.8 Disclosure of Personal Information 215
7.9 Consistent Uses .....237
7.10 Disclosure for Research or Statistical Purposes .238
7.11 Disclosure of Information in Archives .........242
7.12 Record of Purposes 245
7.13 Exercise of Individual Rights by Other Persons 246
Chapter 8: Records and Information Management 249
8.1 Overview 249
8.2 Scope 249
8.3 Powers ofthe Commissioner 250
8.4 Records Issues Relating to Access Requests .250
8.5 Records and Information Management Principles 253
8.6 Records and Information Management
Policy Components ..254
Chapter 9: Privacy and Information Management 261
9.1 Overview ............261
9.2 Privacy and Security ImpactAssessments 263
9.3 Checklist forthe Review of Personal
Information Systems 266
9.4 Review of Forms .....274
9.5 Security Policy and Practices .....277
9.6 Data Sharing and Data Matching 281
Chapter 10: Information and Privacy Commissioner .....287
10.1 Overview 287
10.2 Appointment 287
10.3 Mandate and Powers 287
10.4 Monitoring Role 289
10.5 Provision ofAdvice 290
September2000 Page
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Table ofContents
10.6 Disclosure to the Commissioner 291
10.7 Powers 291
10.8 Access to Information 291
10.9 Powerto Disregard Requests.... 292
10.10 Statements Provided to the Commissioner 294
10.11 Protection from Liability 294
10.12 Delegation ofthe Commissioner’s Powers 295
10.13 Reviews and Investigations 295
10.14 Adjudicator Process 302
10.15 Judicial Review 303
APPENDIXES:
Appendix 1: Definitions .....305
Appendix 2: Delegation Table 317
Appendix 3: Model Letters 323
Appendix 4: Privacy Reviews and Compliance Audits 369
Appendix 5: Model FOIP Request Charts 379
Appendix 6: Freedom ofInformation andProtection
ofPrivacyAct Forms 389
INDEXES:
Index of Freedom ofInformation and Protection ofPrivacyAct and
Regulation Citations.... 393
Index of Information and Privacy Commissioner’s Order and
Investigation Report Citations 403
Index ofWords and Phrases Discussed or Defined 407
Subject Index 415
Page iv September 2000