Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and commends it to this House.
Introduction
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) Act came into force on December 31, 1996. The law was created to promote government accountability by balancing access to government information with the protection of individual privacy rights related to that information.
Under the act, the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC or Commissioner), Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts, is appointed for a five-year term as an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly. The act requires the Commissioner to file an annual report on her activities and authorizes her to include recommendations for amending the legislation to improve the act’s efficiency and effectiveness.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations (SCOGO or the committee) conducted a review of the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on November 4, 2014, Tabled Document 173-17(5). This report summarizes that review.
Members would like to thank Ms. Keenan Bengts for her report and for her appearance before the committee at the public review held on January 16, 2015. The committee also wants to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Keenan Bengts for her continued commitment and dedication to all matters relating to access to information and the protection of privacy by public agencies in the Northwest Territories. Mahsi.