Guide to FOIP-Chapter 6

Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 245 • Is there already wide public coverage or debate of the issue and disclosing the records would not shed further light on the matter. Some things to consider when weighing any invasion of privacy: • Consider the representations made by the affected individual(s) arguing against disclosure. o Note that notification to the affected individual is required prior to disclosure pursuant to subsection 34(1)(b) of FOIP. An affected individual that is provided notice, has the right to make representations to the government institution as to why their personal information should not be disclosed. For more on this process see Guide to FOIP, Chapter 5 – “Third Party Information”. • Should the affected individual’s privacy rights be given preference over the public interest that exists? Government institutions should apply the “invasion-of-privacy” test to determine the level of privacy risk in the disclosure. It involves a detailed review of three interrelated risk factors that will help government institutions determine whether to rely on subsection 29(2)(o)(i) of FOIP. These three factors are the sensitivity of the information; the expectations of the individual; and the probability and degree of injury. In addition, government institutions should consider factors unique to their own operational context, as applicable:696 (1) Sensitivity of the information • Consider whether the type of information is of a detailed (e.g., name and address) or highly personal (e.g., health information) nature. • Evaluate the context in which the information was collected and determine whether any contextual sensitivities apply to the information. For example, a list of public servants may not be considered particularly sensitive, but that same list, if collected to identify employees having a specific illness would be considered sensitive based on the context. (2) Expectations of the individual 696 Adapted from Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Public Interest Disclosures by federal institutions under the Privacy Act, revised June 2022. Available at Public interest disclosures by federal institutions under the Privacy Act - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Accessed December 15, 2022.

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