Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 137 the collection. Upon investigation, the Commissioner found that FOIP applied, and that the Commissioner had jurisdiction to investigate the matter. The Commissioner also found that although the Complainant signed a consent form, there were issues with the consent form. The consent form appeared to allow SGI to collect any and all information in order to adjudicate an injury claim. The Commissioner also found that SGI over collected the Complainant’s personal information and personal health information in this matter. The Commissioner recommended that SGI not use the consent form because it confused claimants by allowing them to think they had some measure of control over the collection of their personal information when in fact SGI had authority to collect personal information without consent under the AAIA. Alternatively, the Commissioner recommended that if SGI chose to continue using the misleading consent form, that it respects the need-to-know and data minimization principles and not collect personal information or personal health information that was not needed or relevant for processing an injury claim. In Investigation Report 212-2016, the Commissioner investigated a complaint alleging that the Ministry of Social Services (MSS) over collected an individual’s personal information. The Complainant was concerned with MSS wanting to know where she shopped for her groceries in order to receive social assistance benefits, querying numerous financial institutions to determine if she held any accounts with them, and viewing a business bank account of the Complainant from 2014. MSS provided its reasoning to the Commissioner for collecting the personal information. It indicated that individuals must provide sufficient documentation to validate that they meet the eligibility criteria for income assistance. Upon investigation, the Commissioner found that the Complainant had signed a consent form allowing MSS to collect her personal information, so MSS had authority to collect the Complainant’s personal information. The Commissioner also found that MSS did not over collect the Complainant’s personal information. The Commissioner recommended that MSS modify its consent form to be clearer for individuals what will be collected and from where. Unsolicited Information An individual may submit personal information on their own initiative without the information being requested by a local authority. Receipt of this information is not considered a collection unless the local authority keeps or uses the information.381 In other 381 Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Information, Privacy and Archives, Freedom of Ontario Information and Protection of Privacy Manual at p. 140. Available at https://files.ontario.ca/books/foi_privacy_manual_-_final-v02-2018-03-08-en-accessible.pdf. Accessed December 1, 2022. See also SK OIPC Investigation Reports F-2012-002 at [61] and F-2012-004 at [77].
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