Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to oral question asked by Mrs. Groenewegen on May 13, 2011, concerning consent form policy regarding MLA requests for information for constituents.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act provides that a government office or public body may disclose personal information to a Member of the Legislative Assembly who has been requested by the individual to whom the information relates to assist in resolving a problem. The discretion to disclose rests with the public body, and the practice has been where the request is relatively straightforward, the information can typically be disclosed to the MLA. But when dealing with requests of a particularly sensitive nature such as personal information pertaining to medical, financial or legal matters, public bodies may elect to seek the written consent of the individual concerned before releasing the information to the MLA.
This practice is consistent with the ATIPP Policy and Guideline Manual first drafted in 1996 and made available to all access coordinators across government. The Minister of Justice has agreed to bring this issue to the interdepartmental Access and
Privacy Administration Committee to review the existing guidelines and practices to ensure the GNWT procedures and practices are helpful to NWT people, while also meeting our requirement to demonstrate due diligence in safeguarding personal information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.