Bill 221 — First Session, 20Th Legislature, 32 Elizabeth Ii the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Bill 221 Freedom of Information and Personal Privacy Act (Legislature 20, Session 1)

L20 S1 3753

Alberta — Bills

1983 BILL 221 First Session, 20th Legislature, 32 Elizabeth II THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA BILL 221 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PERSONAL PRIVACY ACT MR. MARTIN First Reading Second Reading Committee of the Whole Third Reading Royal Assent

Bill 221 Mr.

Martin BILL 221 1983 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PERSONAL PRIVACY ACT (Assented to , 1983) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows: 1 In this Act, (a) "agency" includes any department, branch, board, com mission or other branch of the Govemment or any other body or authority performing a function of the Govemment; (b) "individual" means a Canadian citizen or a person lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence; (c) ' 'private business'' includes any item, collection or grouping of information about an individual which contains the individual's name or any other identifying reference assigned to that individ ual, including but not limited to, information regarding an indi vidual's education, property, financial transactions, medical history, criminal history or employment history; (d) "public business" includes any activity or operation carried on or performed in Alberta or elsewhere by the Govemment; (e) "record" indicates the whole or any part of any book, doc ument, paper, card, tape or other information stored or repro duced or a copy of it and, where any record does not convey the information contained in the record by reason of its having been kept in a form that requires explanation or processing, includes a transcript of the explanation or processing of the record, which is owned by or in the possession of or maintained by or for the Govemment; (f) "resident of Alberta" means an individual who either

(

i) maintains his principal residence with the Province, or (ii) has been present in the Province on 183 out of the pre vious 365 days. Apphcationfor 2(1 )(

a) Auy rcsidcnt of Alberta may apply to the Govemment for a record made in the course of public business, and (

b) any individual may apply to the Govemment for a record of his own private business, and the Govemment shall, within a reasonable time thereafter, pro vide a copy of the record to the individual who so applies, or makes the record available to him for inspection.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Govemment shall not dis close an individual's record of private business to any person without prior written consent of the individual to whom the record of private business pertains, whether or not such record forms part of a record of public business.

(3) Where a record of private business contains information con ceming the individual applying for it jointly with another individual and it is not possible to separate from the record the information relating to the other individual, the whole of the record shall be supplied to the individual applying for it without the other individ ual's consent but a copy of it shall be sent to the other individual.

(4) An individual receiving a record pursuant to subsection (3) shall not reveal the record in whole or in part to any person except for the purposes of this Act or otherwise to protect or promote that individual's legitimate interests and only to persons having a need to receive it for the protection or promotion of that individual's legitimate interests.

(5) A person receiving a record of private business from the indi vidual to whom it relates shall not, without the consent of the indi vidual or individuals to whom it relates, reveal it to any other person.

(6) Any individual may, by signing a consent in a form prescribed by the Lieutenant Govemor in Council, authorize any person to apply for and receive a record of his private business. Exceptions 3(1)

Section 2(1 )(

a) shall not apply to any record or part of it (

a) made in the course of obtaining or giving legal advice in preparation for or regarding a legal proceeding before the courts until the proceeding is concluded; (

b) which contains information, the release of which could rea sonably be expected to be detrimental to Alberta's or Canada's dealings or relationships with another province or state;

(

c) where the information on record is elsewhere provided or available to the applicant; (

d) which, if released, would result in direct personal financial gain or loss by any person other than the person to whom the record relates; (

e) which discloses information conceming the financial affairs of a person who is not a member of the Legislative Assembly or the public service; (

f) where the information or record reflects on the private affairs of any person or organization and, upon a balance between private and public interest, it is not in the public interest to provide or make the record available.

(2) Notwithstanding

section 2(2), the Govemment may disclose an individual's record of private business to the extent expressly per mitted by the statutory authority under which the record was col lected. information, 4(1) Whcrc au agcucy of Govemment requests or demands infor-records mation from an individual the request or demand shall indicate (

a) whether or not the request or demand for the information is legally enforceable and what penalty may be applied for non compliance, (

b) whether and on what conditions the agency will have the right to reveal the information to any other agency or person, and (

c) the principal purpose for which the information will be used, and any information supplied pursuant to such request or demand may only be revealed to another agency or person on the fulfillment of the conditions indicated pursuant to clause (b).

(2) Notwithstanding

section 2(2) an individual's record of private business may be used (

a) for census or other statistical purposes provided the record of private business is revealed in a form that is not identifiable as being the record of any particular individual, (

b) for the use of public archives, or (

c) by any agency for a civil or criminal proceeding against or on behalf of the person to whom the record relates or with the prior consent of a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench on appli cation or notice made to him, against a person who is his parent or child or is or has been his spouse.

Procedure on refusal of record Corrections

(3) The date, purpose, extent and recipient of every disclosure of an individual's record of private business made under

section 3(2) shall be recorded on the individual's record of private business.

(4) In the event of disclosure under subsection (2)(

c) the Govemment shad give notice to the individual concemed of the disclosure of his record of private business. 5(1) Any person who applies to the Govemment for a record of public business under the authority of

section 2(1 )(

a) and is denied it in writing, or within a reasonable time after application has been made, is not provided with the record or has not had the record made available to him for inspection, may apply: (

a) to the Ombudsman who shall give his opinion thereon to the applicant and to the Govemment, or (

b) irrespective of the findings of the Ombudsman, to a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench for an order that the Govemment comply with the application and, if it appears to the judge that the person has a prima facie right to receive the record applied for, he shall so order.

(2) An order made under this

section shall be served upon the Govemment by mailing a copy of the order to the Deputy Minister of the Executive Councd at his office by registered mail.

(3) If, within 14 clear days after the order is so maded, there is filed with the court on behalf of the Govemment a reply that the record is exempt from disclosure under

section 3(1), together with particulars in support of it, proceedings upon the order shall thereby be stayed.

(4) The judge shall examine and consider the reply and the statement of particulars and shall thereafter affirm or vacate the order made under subsection (1) or amend or vary the terms of it as he deems best in the public interest.

(5) The Govemment may, in any case where it claims that

section 3(1 )(

f) applies, file the statement of particulars in support of such claim with the reply but separately in a sealed envelope to be opened only by the judge, and the judge shall pemse the statement of par ticulars and may order it to be resealed or to be communicated to the person who applied for the order or to be otherwise dealt with as he sees fit. 6 Any individual may apply to the Govemment for an amendment of his record of private business, and within 30 days the Govemment shall (

a) make the corrections demanded, and inform the individual in question, or

Privacy Commissioner (

b) inform the individual concemed of its refusal to correct his record of private business, of the reason for refusal, and of the procedures established to request a review of the refusal pusuant to

section 8. 7 Any notice or information required to be given to any individual under this Act shall be deemed sufficiendy given when sent by single registered mail to the last address of the individual on record with the Govemment or the agency by which the notice or information is to be given. 8 The Legislative Assembly, on the recommendation of the chair man of the Human Rights Commission, may by resolution appoint a member of the Human Rights Commission to act as Privacy Com missioner, who (

a) shall receive, investigate and report on complaints from indi viduals who allege that they have not been accorded the rights to which they are entided under this Act; (

b) may order that the Govemment grant financial or other com pensation to, or to make changes in the record of private business of, any individual he deems to have a justified complaint under clause (a); (

c) shall render a decision on any complaint received within 6 months of receipt of it; (

d) shall establish reasonable and convenient procedures for indi viduals to submit complaints under clause (a); (

e) may receive a salary and expenses from money that has been appropriated to that purpose by the Legislature. 9 Any order or decision of the Privacy Commissioner may be appealed by originating notice of motion to a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench who may confirm, vary or vacate the order. 10 Upon an application made under

section 2 or

section 6, the Govemment shall appoint a member of the public service to represent the Govemment in all proceedings therein, and the person so appointed shad sign any refusal of such application or any claim of exemption under

section 5(3). 11 The Govemment shall maintain all records of private business with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure faimess to the individual and prior to disseminating any record of private business, make reasonable efforts to assure that such records are accurate, complete and relevant. Offences, penalties <• «^ is •-, 1^

(1) Every person who violates or fails to comply with any pro vision of this Act or any order made by a judge pursuant to this Act IS guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not Order of Commissioner Govemment representative Govemment responsibility in records

exceeding $1000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both fine and imprisonment.

(2) Any proceeding under this

section may be instituted only within 6 months after the time when the subject matter of the proceeding arose and may be commenced by the Attomey General or by any person claiming to have suffered from the alleged violation. Present remedies ^3 Nothing lu this Act shall bc dccmed to abrogate, abridge or infringe any of the privileges, immunities and powers held, enjoyed or exercised by a member of the Legislative Assembly. Crown bound ^4 -pjjjg ^^t bluds thc Crowu. In accordance with

section 4(1) of the

Interpretation Act. this Bill comes into force on the date it receives Royal Assent. Title: 1983 (20th, 1st) Bill 221, Freedom of Information and Personal Privacy Act

Document details

Collection	Alberta — Bills
Citation	L20 S1 3753
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	L20 S1 3753
Language	en
Format	json
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	47fa7db04a2971b6522dc9064b6d365b1aa581a7

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