Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, CHAPTER 2, Administration of LA FOIP. Updated 2 March 2023. 54 2. Offences arising from not cooperating with the Commissioner or another person performing the duties of the Commissioner. Privacy and Access Offences Section 56 of LA FOIP provides that it is an offence: • To collect, use or disclose personal information in contravention of LA FOIP or The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations [s. 56(1) of LA FOIP]. • To willfully destroy any record that is governed by LA FOIP with the intent to evade a request for access to the record [s. 56(3)(d) of LA FOIP]. • For an employee of either a local authority or an information management service provider to knowingly disclose or direct another person to disclose personal information in contravention of LA FOIP or The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations [s. 56(4) of LA FOIP]. • For an employee of a local authority to willfully access, use or direct another person to access or use personal information that is not reasonably required to carry out a purpose authorized under LA FOIP. In other words, if it is not needed to do the job, it is likely snooping, and snooping is an offence [s. 56(6) of LA FOIP]. • For an employee of an information management service provider to willfully access, use or direct another person to access or use personal information in contravention of subsection 23.2(1) of LA FOIP. In other words, if it is not needed to do the job of an information service provider as outlined at subsection 23.2(1) of LA FOIP, it is likely snooping, and snooping is an offence [s. 56(8) of LA FOIP]. The penalties for doing any of the above is a fine of up to $50,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both.92 Subsections 56(5), 56(7), and 56(9) of LA FOIP provide that an employee who contravenes subsections 56(4), 56(6) and 56(8) of LA FOIP is liable on summary conviction to the above fine or imprisonment even where the local authority or information service provider has not been prosecuted or convicted under LA FOIP. In other words, employees of local authorities or information service providers can be prosecuted independently from their employers. 92 The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, SS 1990-91, c L-27.1, s. 56(1), (3), (9).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTgwMjYzOA==