The report is available on the Legislative Assembly's web site at

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1 FOIP News Issue No. 7, September 6, 2002 FOIP News is an electronic newsletter produced by Information Management, Access and Privacy (IMAP), to highlight news relating to Alberta s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. FOIP News is issued as needed. Web site links are provided to allow you to easily obtain more information on a news item. FOIP Act Review The Select Special Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Review Committee has been meeting over the summer. A total of 128 submissions were received: 47 were from local public bodies, 22 from the general public, 17 from business and professional associations, 17 from businesses, 11 from selfgoverning professional associations, 6 from other individuals or groups, and 8 from the government. The committee has issued its Preliminary Report. Anyone who wishes to comment on the committee s recommendations should reply to the committee by September 27, The committee will table its final report in the Legislative Assembly in November. The report is available on the Legislative Assembly's web site at OIPC Web Site Gets a New Look The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta web site has been redesigned and it looks great. Check it out at The address for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has changed from ipcab@planet.eon.net to generalinfo@oipc.ab.ca. The old e- mail address will remain operational for a while. Municipalities are Getting Together Two new networks of municipalities have had a first meeting. These meetings are a good opportunity to meet your fellow FOIP Coordinators, share solutions to access and privacy issues, and keep up-to-date with the world of FOIP. Most meetings will include updates from IMAP and/or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

2 The Southern Alberta FOIP Regional Alliance met on May 9, 2002 at the City of Lethbridge building with 16 members in attendance. Kathy Wolansky, Records and Information Manager for the City of Lethbridge, chaired the meeting. The group agreed to meet every two months or so, in Lethbridge. Some topics that were identified for future agendas included public disclosures, database collection, surveys, and in-house training needs. Meetings are open to all interested municipalities. The next meeting is scheduled for September 12, 2002 at City Hall in Lethbridge. If you are interested in attending the next meeting or in suggesting an agenda item, contact Kathy Wolansky at or at The Central Alberta Network of Information Management met in Red Deer on August 7, 2002 with 11 members. Steve Neilly, Records and Information Coordinator for the City of Red Deer chaired the meeting. The group will focus on FOIP and Records Management at each meeting. The group plans to meet about four times a year, and the location will vary as municipalities offer to host a meeting. Meetings are open to all interested municipalities. The next meeting is scheduled for October 30, 2002 at City Hall in Rocky Mountain House. If you are interested in attending the next meeting or in to suggesting an agenda item, contact Steve Neilly at or at steven@city.red-deer.ab.ca or Velma Keeler at or vkeeler@rockymtnhouse.com. New Networks? Would your group of public bodies like to set up a new FOIP network? If you are thinking about it, you can call the FOIP Help Desk for assistance. Hilary or Eileen would be happy to provide advice and support. Meeting Calendar Municipal - Southern Alberta FOIP Regional Alliance Health Sector Information Access and Privacy Network Post-Secondary FOIP Network September 12, 2002 Lethbridge September 23, 2002 Edmonton September 27, 2002 Calgary School Jurisdictions FOIP Network October 18, 2002 Nisku Municipal - Central Alberta Network of Information Management October 30, 2002 Rocky Mountain House Municipal Edmonton Area FOIP Regional Alliance Health Sector Information Access and Privacy Network Municipal - Central Alberta Network of Information Management November 21, 2002 Sherwood Park December 2, 2002 Edmonton January 31, 2003 Banff

3 FOIP 2002 Conference The annual FOIP conference was held on June 13-14, 2002 at the Mayfield Inn & Suites in Edmonton. The two-day conference again offered a variety of thought provoking speakers, information sessions, and good food and entertainment. Roger Jackson, Deputy Minister of Government Services, provided the opening remarks, which was followed by a keynote address by George Radwanski, Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Other key speakers included Andre?e Delagrave, Chair of the Government of Canada s Access to Information Act Task Force Review Committee, Frank Work, Q.C., Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, Guy Herriges, Ontario Management Board Secretariat and Dave Hudson of the CGI Group. A wide variety of sessions was offered ranging from a primer on FOIP for those new to the topic, to advanced topics such as FOIP and litigation, privacy impact assessments, fees, technology, video surveillance, and the Internet. This year s entertainment at the second day luncheon provided attendees an opportunity to experience the hot seat by participating in the Who Wants To Be A FOIP Millionaire challenge. Several brave foipers volunteered for the hot seat while the audience members played along. Information & Privacy Commissioner Orders & Investigation Reports Have you noticed that the 2002 orders and investigation reports include the prefix H or F before the year? Do you know why? Well here is the scoop F indicates the order or report refers to the FOIP Act and H refers to the Health Information Act. Many orders and reports have been issued over the summer. A few of them are highlighted here Municipality of Crowsnest Pass The applicant requested access to information related to four projects in the Municipality, and also included a series of questions the applicant wanted the Municipality to answer. The applicant submitted that the Municipality had not fulfilled its duty to assist because it had failed to answer the applicant s questions. The Commissioner found that the Municipality did not tell the applicant whether it had records that were responsive to some aspects of the applicant s access request and ordered that the Municipality do so. The Commissioner stated that the Municipality was not required to answer the applicant s questions. The FOIP Act does not impose a duty on a public body to answer questions put forward by an applicant or to create records to answer an applicant s questions.

4 F Municipality of Crowsnest Pass An applicant applied for access to records containing specific technical information related to the municipal water system. The Municipality advised the applicant that a search failed to reveal any records responsive to the request. The applicant argued that the engineering firm or design engineer must have provided the requested records to the Municipality and that the information must have been available for the construction of the water system. An engineering firm had advised the applicant that the firm had at least some of the records sought by the applicant, but could not disclose them without the Municipality s approval. The Commissioner ordered the Municipality to conduct a further search for records in its control that may be in the custody of third parties University of Calgary The complainant alleged that the University of Calgary had breached his privacy when an conversation between the complainant and the Chair of his faculty was disclosed to a colleague. The Adjudicator determined that the complainant s opinions about the Chair and the other professor are the personal information of the Chair and the other professor respectively. The only personal information of the complainant was the complainant s name and his general opinions. Disclosure of this information was not an unreasonable invasion of the complainant s personal privacy. The University did not breach the applicant s privacy. F Calgary Roman Catholic Separate School District No. 1 An applicant requested access to a copy of her son s English 10-H final exam questions and responses with notations resulting in his final mark. The Board withheld the exam questions, instructions and reading passages on which the exam questions were based. The Board submitted that these records were excluded from the operation of the FOIP Act by section 4(1)(g), the exclusion for a question that is to be used on an examination or test. This Order contains the first consideration of this provision. The Commissioner decided that the Board had correctly applied the exclusion for examination questions. He accepted the evidence of the Board that the exam questions and related information had been used since 1997 and would be used again in June The Commissioner also accepted the Board s interpretation of the word "question" to include, in particular, the reading passages. As the questions would be used on examinations in the future they fell within section 4(1)(g). As the instructions and passages were integral to the exam questions they also fell within this exclusion. As the records were excluded from the operation of the Act, the Commissioner did not have jurisdiction to order their disclosure.

5 F2002-IR-004 Metis Settlements Transition Commission and Alberta Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Several residents of the Peavine Metis Settlements alleged that the Metis Settlements Transition Commission and Alberta Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development disclosed their personal information in contravention of the FOIP Act. The Commission was discontinued on April 1, 2002 and its records were transferred to Aboriginal Affairs. The Portfolio Officer reviewed the events leading up to the complaints. An inspector of Metis Settlements appointed by the Provincial Government carried out an investigation and prepared a report containing his findings. The report contained the complainants names and well as other personal information. Copies of the report were delivered to members of the Settlement, and later made available to the public. The Portfolio Officer found that the Commission and Aboriginal Affairs contravened the privacy provisions of the Act by disclosing the report. A public body may disclose personal information only if the disclosure is permitted by one of the provisions of section 40. The Portfolio Officer recommended that, in the future, Aboriginal Affairs review any report prior to its release to the public to determine whether there are any FOIP implications in its release. It was also recommended that Aboriginal Affairs review its file management system and schedule further FOIP training for its records management staff. FOIP Training One, two and three day FOIP training will be offered again starting in October. The calendar will be finalized soon and we will advise public bodies when it is available. Upcoming Conferences Health Information, Nisku: October 24-25, 2002, HIA This is the first Alberta Health Information Act conference. More information is available at FOIP, Toronto: September 19-20, 2002, Transparency: Foundation of Democracy is Ontario s annual access and privacy conference. More information is available at Healthcare Privacy, Toronto: September 23-24, 2002, Healthcare Privacy. More information is available at HCC FOIP & Ethics, Ottawa: September 29-October 2, 2002, The Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) 2002 Annual Conference. The Alberta OIPC is a sponsor of the conference. More information is available at

6 Records Management, New Orleans: September 29-October 2, 2002, ARMA International 2002: Celebrate the Profession. More information is available at Security, Toronto: November 7-8, 2002, Privacy & Security: Totally Committed, jointly sponsored by the Information & Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and The Center for Applied Cryptographic Research, University of Waterloo. More information is available at: Did You Know.. A new professional association has been formed especially for access and privacy administrators. It is called Canadian Association of Professional Access and Privacy Administrators (CAPAPA) and is incorporated under the Alberta Societies Act. More information about the association can be found on its web site at In June 2002, the federal Access to Information Review Task Force released its report, Access to Information: Making it Work for Canadians. The report, summaries of consultations and research, submissions and other reports can be found on the Task Force web site at Alberta Government Services FOIP Help Desk: Information Management, Access and Privacy Phone: th Floor, Street Toll free dial first Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4L4 foiphelpdesk@gov.ab.ca Phone: (780) Fax: (780) Web site: www3.gov.ab.ca/foip If you have an address, please let us know. Send an to foiphelpdesk@gov.ab.ca stating your name and organization and we will add you to our distribution list.