Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 1, Purposes and Scope of LA FOIP. Updated 7 March 2023. 5 Since the Access to Information Act came into force, provincial and territorial governments have enacted their own access to information and protection of privacy legislation. Many of those provincial instruments have included a more comprehensive purpose clause. Those purpose clauses tend to reflect and reinforce the approach taken by the federal Information Commissioner and numerous decisions of superior courts in Canada. A good example is section 2 of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: 2(1) The purposes of this Act are to make public bodies more accountable to the public and to protect personal privacy by (a) giving the public a right of access to records, (b) giving individuals a right of access to, and a right to request corrections of, personal information about themselves, (c) specifying limited exceptions to the rights of access, (d) preventing the unauthorized collection, use or disclosure of personal information by public bodies, and (e) providing for an independent review of decisions made under this Act.11 This summarizes and clearly identifies the purpose of legislation such as LA FOIP and FOIP. The IPC deals with requests for review and privacy breach complaints by reference to these same five purposes, which are outlined below.12 1. The Right of Access to Records LA FOIP establishes a right of access by any person to records in the possession or control of a local authority, subject to limited and specific exemptions, which are set out in LA FOIP. See Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 3, “Access to Records” for more information about the right of access. 2. Access to an Individual’s Own Personal Information LA FOIP provides individuals with the right to access their own personal information. See Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 3, “Access to Records” for more information on what section 30 of LA FOIP requires. 11 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSBC 1996, c 165 at subsection 2(1). 12 SK OIPC Review Report F-2004-003 at [9].
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTgwMjYzOA==