Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 1, Purposes and Scope of FOIP. Updated 7 March 2023 25 The IPC has issued a resource to assist with subsection 3(4) of FOIP. It is intended to assist members of the Executive Council (Ministers) and their offices with protection of personal information. It is titled, A Minister’s Guide to Protecting Personal Information. Subsection 24(1.1) Interpretation 24(1.1) Subject to subsection (1.2), “personal information” does not include information that constitutes personal health information as defined in The Health Information Protection Act. Subsection 24(1.1) of FOIP simply clarifies that FOIP does not apply to personal health information. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that two different laws do not apply to the same information at the same time.48 The practical effect of subsection 24(1.1) is that if personal health information is in the custody or control of a trustee and therefore subject to The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA), it cannot simultaneously be personal information subject to FOIP. The purpose of the Legislative Assembly in enacting subsection 24(1.1) was presumably to avoid duplication in legislative coverage.49 Government institutions should be aware that two acts could apply to the same records (not information) at the same time. For example, if a record contains both personal information and personal health information, FOIP and HIPA could both be engaged.50 If records in the possession or control of a government institution contain what appears to be personal health information, the test is to first see if the information fits within the definition of personal health information at subsection 2(m) of The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA). If the information qualifies as personal health information under subsection 2(m) of HIPA, then HIPA applies to that information and not FOIP. 48 SK OIPC Investigation Report F-2010-001 at [31]. 49 SK OIPC Investigation Report F-2010-001 at [31]. 50 For an example of this, see SK OIPC Review Report F-2012-006 at [162] to [178].
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