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. 39 client of a ministry that makes note of the fact that a client is eligible for specific benefits as an aboriginal person.101 Creed refers to an individual’s basic beliefs of a religion or an idea or set of beliefs that guide the actions of a person.102 The following characteristics are relevant when considering if a belief system is a creed. A creed: • Is sincerely, freely, and deeply held • Is integrally linked to a person’s identity, self-definition, and fulfilment • Is a particular and comprehensive, overarching system of belief that governs one’s conduct and practices • Addresses ultimate questions of human existence, including ideas about life, purpose, death, and the existence or non-existence of a Creator and/or a higher or different order of existence • Has some “nexus” or connection to an organization or community that professes a shared system of belief103 Religion includes all aspects of religious observance and practice as well as beliefs.104 Colour means pigmentation of the skin, especially as an indication of someone’s race.105 Colour includes, for example, being black or white.106 ‘Sex’ and ‘gender’ are often used interchangeably, despite having different meanings: Sex refers to a set of biological attributes in humans and animals. It is primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. Sex is usually categorized as female or male but there is variation in the biological attributes that 101 British Columbia Government Services, FOIPPA Policy Definitions at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/policiesprocedures/foippa-manual/policy-definitions. Accessed April 23, 2020. 102 “Creed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/creed. Accessed April 23, 2020. 103 Ontario Human Rights Commission, Policy on preventing discrimination based on creed, available at http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-preventing-discrimination-based-creed. Accessed April 21, 2020. 104 The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, 2018, SS 2018, c S-24.2 at s. 2(1). 105 Pearsall, Judy, Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Ed. at p. 282, (Oxford University Press). 106 University of Cambridge, Equality & Diversity, Race, available at https://www.equality.admin.cam.ac.uk/training/equalities-law/protected-characteristics/race. Accessed April 22, 2020.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTgwMjYzOA==