Guide to FOIP Chapter-5

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, CHAPTER 5, Third Party Information. Updated 9 March 2023. 70 b. Expectations of the individual • Evaluate the conditions under which the personal information was collected and consider what expectations the collecting institution may have established for its confidentiality, including whether the possibility of disclosure is conveyed in an applicable Privacy Notice Statement. • Consider the reasonable expectations of privacy that apply to the context in which the information was collected. To determine what constitutes a reasonable expectation of privacy, courts will look at the totality of circumstances. This could include location of collection (e.g., in a private conversation as compared to a public town hall), context of collection (e.g., in a routine application for services as compared to a letter sent to several government ministers), etc. c. Probability and degree of injury • Consider the probability and degree or gravity of injury relative to the benefits of the disclosure to the public. This could include personal or physical injury, or damage to the reputation of an individual or others, which causes adverse consequences (e.g., any harm or embarrassment that negatively affects an individual's career, reputation, financial position, safety, health or well-being). • Determine the potential of injury if the receiving party wrongfully disclosed the information further.166 If disclosing under this provision, government institutions should be careful not to disclose more personal information than is necessary for the purpose (i.e., abide by the data minimization principle, see Chapter 6: Protection of Privacy for more information). Where the government institution intends to rely on this provision to release personal information in response to an access to information request, notification is required to the individual(s) pursuant to the third party notification requirements outlined at section 34 of FOIP. See Section 34: Notice to third party later in this Chapter for more on notification requirements. 166 Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Public interest disclosures by federal institutions under the Privacy Act, June 2022, available http://Public interest disclosures by federal institutions under the Privacy Act - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Accessed Sept. 1, 2022.

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