Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Recommendations

Train employees on privacy protection

The IPC's annual report identifies staff who are under-resourced, under-trained in or unaware of privacy policies as a frequent cause of privacy breaches. When he investigates breaches, the IPC frequently recommends comprehensive and regular training. He also recommends the broader publication of relevant policies.

However, there is no government-wide policy to ensure all employees receive proper training on the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information.

The issue is so important that it was the focus of the IPC's one recommendation in his appearance before committee. He said: I would urge all public bodies and health information custodians to ensure that new employees are given the appropriate training early on, both in protection of privacy and access to information, and that all employees should be given regular refreshers of that.

Committee wholeheartedly endorses the IPC's recommendation. While there are costs involved with training, the costs of not training are greater: Reviews of access decisions, privacy breaches, breach investigations, and ultimately reduced public faith in government.

Therefore, the Standing Committee on Government Operations recommends:

Recommendation 1: That the Government of the Northwest Territories, in consultation with the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and by April 1, 2023, establish a government-wide policy that ensures all employees receive appropriate training on the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. The policy should ensure that new employees receive training early on and all employees receive regular refreshers.

The committee further recommends that the Government emphasize Indigenous recruitment and retention to fill access and privacy positions.

I will now pass this over to the Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.