Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 250 Publicly available means published material, material that is a matter of public record (for example, through a public registry).700 Published material is material that is made known to people in general, an advising of the public or making known of something to the public for a purpose.701 Public record is defined as a record that a government unit is required by law to keep, such as land deeds kept at a county courthouse. Public records are generally open to view by the public.702 The government institution should assess how public the information really is. Factors such as the circumstances in which the information was released to the public or the media, when it was released, and how much information is properly in the public realm will be relevant.703 For example, a government institution should not automatically treat personal information about an individual as public and freely disclose it to others simply because the information has been published in some form in the media or in a report that has been made public. Depending on the circumstances of the publication, further disclosure may result in a breach of privacy and may even expose the government institution to legal liability (e.g., to a civil suit for defamation).704 “It goes without saying that by appearing in public, an individual does not automatically forfeit his or her interest in retaining control over the personal information which is thereby exposed.”705 If relying on this provision to disclose personal information, it is recommended that legal counsel be consulted. 700 SK OIPC Review Report LA-2012-004 at [11]. 701 SK OIPC Review Report 249-2017 at [7]. 702 Garner, Bryan A., 2004. Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th Edition. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group at p. 1301, relied on in Germain v. Automobile Injury Appeal Commission, 2009 SKKB 106 (CanLII) at [69] and [72]. Also cited in SK OIPC Investigation Report LA-2012-001 at [14] to [17]. 703 Government of Manitoba, FIPPA for Public Bodies – Resource Manual, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy at p. 6-219. Available at Chapter (gov.mb.ca). Accessed December 15, 2022. 704 Government of Manitoba, FIPPA for Public Bodies – Resource Manual, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy at p. 6-219. Available at Chapter (gov.mb.ca). Accessed December 15, 2022. 705 Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401, 2013 SCC 62 (CanLII), [2013] 3 SCR 733, at [27].
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