Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 363 accounts to conduct government-related activities. The Commissioner recommended that Economy prohibit its employees from using their personal email addresses for government-related activities and require them to use government-issued email accounts only. In Investigation Report 262-2017, the Commissioner investigated a complaint involving the Ministry of Social Services (Social Services). CBC news articles reported concerns about the use of private email accounts for government business by Social Services. The Commissioner found that Social Services was using back-up tapes for the purposes of archiving official records which was not in compliance with The Archives and Public Records Management Act (APRMA). The Commissioner recommended that Social Services continue to work with Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan to develop an institution-wide records retention schedule to be compliant with APRMA and to ensure records are accessible for purposes of FOIP. In Investigation Report 350-2017, the Commissioner investigated a complaint involving the Village of Hodgeville (Village). It was alleged that the Mayor of the Village forwarded a copy of the privacy complaint to personal email accounts including those of the councillors. This included “sasktel.net” and “hotmail.com” email addresses. The Commissioner recommended the Village set up email accounts for the councillors to use when conducting business for the village to ensure the security and retention of records. In Review Report 219-2018, the Commissioner discussed how a councillor was using a personal email account to conduct City of Moose Jaw business (City). To respond to an access to information request, the City requested the councillor to conduct a search of their personal email account using specific search terms and to provide the relevant emails. Even though the Commissioner was satisfied that the City verified with the councillor that the personal email account was searched for responsive records, the Commissioner recommended that the City set up email accounts for its councillors to use for conducting City business. In Review Report 361-2021, the Commissioner discussed how the text messages between the Administrator for the Village of Neudorf (Village) and two council members were responsive to an access to information request. The text messages were regarding Village business; however, the texts were sent from personal devices. The Commissioner found that the text messages would be subject to The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and he recommended that the Village conduct a search for the responsive text messages on the personal devices. The Village had amended its
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