FIPPA BEST PRACTICE
RECORDKEEPING GUIDELINES
General
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990 chap. F-31 (the "Act") is provincial legislation that came into effect on January 1, 1988. On June 10, 2006, universities in Ontario were added to the list of public bodies to which the Act applies.The Act has two main purposes:
- To make public bodies more open and accountable by providing the public with the right of access to records; and
- To protect personal information from unauthorized collection, use or disclosure by public bodies.
What is a record?
A record includes information recorded in various formats, for example, paper record, electronic record, hand written notes, audio, voicemail, video, photograph and so on.The Act applies to records in the custody or control of the university. Upon request, certain records must be made available, subject to limited exemptions as provided for in the Act.
Creating and maintaining a record with access in mind
It is important to create records with the expectation that they may be disclosed under FIPPA.The following tips can apply to all types of records and will allow a consistency in the disclosure of records and prevent unintended disclosure of records:
- Exclude unnecessary information. Create and maintain information that is required to accomplish a task only.
- Avoid including various subject matters in one record.
- Avoid “strings” of e-mails; this includes numerous responses and forwards.
- State views, comments and opinions as objective as possible. Note that individuals can view their personal information which can consist of an opinion of a person about the requestor.
- Take care of the content of your e-mail to ensure that you are using proper language, style and correct information so that the disclosure of the record won’t embarrass you.
- Reduce mailing lists to a minimum.
- Use brief but informative subject lines.
- Note that not all records marked as confidential will be exempted from disclosure under the Act. To be exempt, the confidential information must fall within one of the specific exemptions provided for within the Act, such as personal information and information subject to solicitor/client privilege.