Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Government Operations is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of Bill 29: An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and commends it to the House.
The Standing Committee on Government Operations ("the committee") is pleased to report on its review of Bill 29: An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act or ATIPP Act.
Bill 29: An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act was sponsored by the Department of Justice and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. The bill proposes to:
- Provide for the application of the act to municipalities that are designated in regulations;
- Clarify the types of records exempted from disclosure because they would reveal Cabinet or Financial Management Board confidences and provide for a similar exemption for municipal records;
- Allow for a compelling public interest to override particular statutory grounds providing that a record is to be exempt from disclosure;
- Revise time limits by restating them as business days rather than calendar days, shortening some turn-around times, and adding time limits for certain actions required under the act that did not previously have them;
- Set out a process for the Information and Privacy Commissioner, or IPC, to consider requests from heads of public bodies to extend time limits for responding to requests for access;
- Address the privacy and access considerations related to human resources documents, including employee evaluation and workplace investigation documents;
- Clarify exemptions from disclosure relating to business interests;
- Permit the collection and disclosure of information for the delivery of common or integrated programs and services;
- Update the general powers of the IPC;
- Provide for a review of the act by the Minister every seven years; and
- Make other adjustments intended to improve language and enhance clarity in the act.
Now in its 23rd year, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act came into force on December 31, 1996. The stated purposes of the act are to make public bodies more accountable to citizens and to protect the privacy of personal information held by public bodies. Public bodies include the Government of the Northwest Territories and its agencies, boards, commissions, and corporations, as set out in the regulations. The act achieves its purposes by:
- Giving individuals the right to access and the right to request the correction of personal information about themselves held by public bodies;
- Setting out limited exceptions to the right of access;
- Preventing the unauthorized collection, use, or disclosure of personal information by public bodies; and
- Providing for an independent review of decisions made under the act by the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
Although the act has been amended from time to time to respond to specific issues raised by stakeholders and standing committees, the act had never subjected to a comprehensive review until the Department of Justice committed to undertake this work in 2012. The results of that review informed the development of Bill 29.
Bill 29 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on October 30, 2018, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review.
The work of the standing committee to amend Bill 29 is set out in this report. The report contains recommendations to government on the implementation of the revised legislation. It also provides a rationale for the motions moved by the committee to amend specific provisions in the bill. These motions are listed in Appendix 1 in order of their appearance in the bill and are referred to in this report by their number assigned in the appendix.
The Public Review of Bill 29
In this digital age, where data of all descriptions is easily accessible by personal computer and phone, people have become increasingly aware of the need to protect their personal information and the potential impacts of failing to do so. At the same time, the public is demanding more accountability and openness from government. Citizens want access to documents held by government, so they may determine if government decision-making is reasoned, defensible, and being carried out in accordance with the legislative and policy framework that government has put in place.
In this environment, it is vitally important to have strong access and privacy legislation governing how the public sector collects, manages, and discloses personal information. Committee was pleased to see the Minister of Justice bring forward Bill 29, in accordance with mandate commitment 5.3.1.
In addition to soliciting input through letters sent to stakeholders, the committee travelled to, and held public hearings on Bill 29, during the week of January 21, 2019, in Fort Smith, Inuvik, and Fort McPherson. A final public hearing was held in Yellowknife on January 24, 2019. Committee thanks everyone who attended these meetings or provided written submissions to the committee for sharing their views on Bill 29.
Committee noted a great deal of public interest in Bill 29. In addition to the input received from residents in the communities we visited, committee received both verbal and written submissions from:
- The City of Yellowknife;
- The NWT Association of Communities;
- OpenNWT; and
- The Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts, who was accompanied by former British Columbia Information and Privacy Commissioner, Mr. David Loukidelis.
Committee also received written submissions from the Hamlet of Tulita and the Northwest Territories Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.
Given the breadth of input and the complexity of the legislation, public input is noted in greater detail under the topic headings below.
At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to hand the reading of the report over to my colleague, the honourable Member from Deh Cho.