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Frequently Asked Questions for Post-Secondary Institutions
Revised January 2007
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The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act aims to strike a balance between the public’s
right to know and the individual’s right to privacy, as those rights relate to information held by public bodies in
Alberta.
-
What post-secondary institutions are covered by the FOIP Act?
- The Act defines an educational body in section
1(d).
- The definition includes universities, technical institutes,
public colleges and the Banff Centre as defined in the
Post-secondary Learning Act.
- Does the FOIP Act still apply to health information held by
post-secondary institution health units since the Health Information Act
came into effect in April 2001?
- Yes. The Health Information Act applies only to health information
held by health care bodies such as regional health authorities, physicians’
offices, pharmacies and laboratories. Health information held by
post-secondary institutions is still covered by the FOIP Act.
- Is a FOIP request the only way that individuals can access information about an institution or about
themselves?
- No. A formal request under the FOIP Act should be seen as a last resort for accessing information from an
institution. The Act does not replace existing procedures for accessing personal or other information that
would normally be made available to the public or to an individual on request.
- What is a "record"?
- Section 1(q) of the FOIP
Act defines a record as "information in any form and includes
notes, images, audiovisual recordings, x-rays, books, documents, maps,
drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers and papers and any other
information that is written, photographed, recorded or stored in any manner,
but does not include software or any mechanism that produces records".
- It includes handwritten notes and electronic correspondence or messages,
which are in the custody or control of an institution.
- Not all records need to be kept by an institution. You can routinely
discard transitory records, those that have only short-term, immediate or no
value to your organization and that you won’t need again in the future. For
more information about transitory records, see the guide
Official and Transitory Records: A Guide for Government of Alberta Employees.
- If the information in a record will have some future administrative,
financial, legal, research or historical value to the institution, then you
should file the record. For example, e-mail messages that record approvals,
recommendations, opinions, decisions or business transactions have future
value, and are not transitory and should be filed. You can print and
file them in your manual filing system or store them in an electronic filing
system.
- What records of post-secondary institutions are subject to the FOIP Act?
- All records that are in the custody or under the control of the post-secondary institution are
subject to the FOIP Act (section
4(1)) unless a specific
exclusion applies.
- A post-secondary institution has custody of a record when the record is in the possession of the institution. This
includes situations where the records of a third party are kept on the premises of an institution.
- A record is under the control of an institution when it has the authority to manage the record, including
restricting, regulating and administering its use, disclosure and disposition.
- How long should a post-secondary institution keep its paper/electronic records?
- There is no simple answer to this question. Each organization should establish records retention and disposition
schedules or a retention bylaw for its records, including electronic and transitory records.
- A records retention and disposition schedule is a document that identifies and describes records, and indicates
the length of time they shall be retained as active before transfer to semi-active storage; the length of time they
should be retained as semi-active prior to final disposition; and the final disposition of the records.
- The FOIP Act allows the destruction of records in accordance with your records retention
bylaw. If an
institution does not have such a bylaw, the Act allows destruction as authorized by the board
(section 3(e)(ii)).
- Under section 53(1)(a), the Commissioner has the power to conduct
an investigation into how an institution is managing its records. Specifically, the Commissioner can check to make
sure that an institution is following any bylaw it has regarding the destruction of records.
- Post-secondary institutions are required by section 35 to keep
personal information about an individual for at least one year if that personal information has been used by the
institution to make a decision about the individual.
- Should e-mail be printed before it is deleted, or should it be saved instead of being deleted?
- The same records management principles for paper files/records should also apply to e-mail documents. Transitory
e-mails may be deleted.
- How or where the e-mail documents are retained will depend on the institution’s records and information
management program standards, and whether it has the capability of filing documents required for future use
electronically. If the institution does not have that capability, records should be printed and filed in the paper
filing system.
- Who is an "employee" under the FOIP Act?
- The definition of "employee" in the FOIP Act includes a person who performs a service for the
post-secondary institution as an appointee, volunteer or student or under a contract or agency relationship with the
institution (section 1(e)). This means that volunteers, students
on work experience arrangements, contractors, and appointed board members have the same responsibility to protect
privacy as other employees of the institution.
- Are records of contractors subject to the FOIP Act?
- The definition of "employee" in the FOIP Act includes a person retained under contract to perform
services for the public body (section
1(e)).
- A record may be under the control of an institution where a contract permits the institution to inspect, review or
copy records produced, received or acquired by a contractor.
- Often post-secondary institutions have contracts with an organization to provide some kind of service to
individuals. Services such as meal preparation or janitorial services may be provided through contracts. The
contractor is functioning in the place of the institution; the records the contractor creates are subject to the
same privacy and access rules as records of the institution. As a result, contracts need to include privacy
protection clauses, as well as clarity on control of and access to records.
- The
Managing Contracts under the FOIP Act, A Guide for Government of Alberta Contract Managers and FOIP Coordinators addresses these issues in detail
and may be referred to for more information.
- Does a post-secondary institution have any control over how records that have been released in response to a
FOIP request are used by the applicant?
- No. A post-secondary institution does not have any control over the use of information once it is released to an
applicant.
-
Can student information be disclosed to the local police?
- Yes, when the police are investigating a particular incident or
the possibility that a criminal offense has been committed, the
disclosure of personal information of a student is permitted under
section 40(1)(q). The Law Enforcement Disclosure Form in
Appendix 5 of the FOIP
Guidelines and Practices manual can be used
for this purpose.
- Can a student, in a FOIP request, gain access to a closed letter
of reference of which he or she is the subject of the information?
- Generally yes, since the letter would contain personal opinions
about the student. In
Order 2000-029, the Information and Privacy
Commissioner determined that letters of reference written in support
of an application for admission to a graduate program should be
disclosed because it affected a student’s career opportunities, the
student had asked the third parties to write the letters, the third
parties may refuse the student’s request, and that the student
already knows who the third parties are because they asked the third
parties to write the letters in the first place. The Commissioner
also found that the letters contained personal information about the
student and the third parties but it would not be an unreasonable
invasion of the third parties’ privacy to disclose their personal
information contained in these letters. He also found that the
letters did not constitute privileged information and that
section 19 (confidential evaluations) could not be applied as
all the criteria of that section was not met.
- However, under section 19 of the Act, the institution may refuse to
disclose evaluative or opinion information collected for the purpose of
conferring a benefit (e.g. a scholarship or other award) to an individual if
the information was supplied in confidence. This is a narrow exception to
disclosure of the information under the Act that would not apply to letters
of reference in every situation.
- Can personal information of students be disclosed to potential employers who are making reference checks?
- Only if the student consents to writing to the disclosure of opinions about his/her grades, performance and
suitability for the job. This consent may take the form of permission to contact the institution or a named
individual as a part of the student’s application for employment.
- Can a student, in a FOIP request, gain access to an evaluation
form completed by an employer who accepted the student on placement?
- Generally this would be released to the student since the
evaluation form would be part of the student’s educational history
and would be the personal information of the student (section
1(n)(vii) and (viii)). However, if the evaluation
contained personal information about other people, this might have
to be severed first.
- Can a Registrar disclose a student’s address/phone number to a
faculty member who is teaching the student or to a Counsellor at the
institution?
- Yes, but only on a "need to know" basis.
Section 40(1)(h)
allows for disclosure to an employee of the institution if the
information is necessary for the performance of his or her duties.
The onus is on the employee to show why the disclosure of this
information is necessary and a notation about the disclosure should
be placed on the student’s file.
- Can an institution disclose to a parent or spouse information
about whether their child or spouse is enrolled as a student at the
institution?
- Yes. Such disclosure would not be considered an unreasonable
invasion of the student’s personal privacy unless the student has
asked that this information not be disclosed (sections
40(1)(b)
and 17(2)(j)).
- Can an institution disclose information about the student’s
attendance, progress, grades, payment of fees, etc. to a parent, spouse, employer, or
sponsor?
- No. This is personal information that should not be disclosed without the
consent of the student unless it may be disclosed in accordance with
section 40(1).
- Can the Registrar confirm that a student is registered in a
specific program at the institution in response to a third party
inquiry?
- Yes. Under sections 40(1)(b) and
17(2)(j), this
disclosure would not be seen as an unreasonable invasion of the
student’s privacy, provided the student has not asked that this
information not be disclosed.
- Can an employee of the institution ask a student for personal
information about the student?
- Yes, but only in accordance with sections
33(c) and
34(2) of the Act. The employee would have to show that the
information relates directly to and is necessary for an operating
program or activity of the institution. He or she would also have to
inform the student of this purpose and the use to which the
information was going to be put.
- Can the finance department of an institution disclose student
information to a collection agency when a student has outstanding
accounts with the institution?
- Yes. Section 40(1)(k) permits disclosure for the purpose
of collecting a fine or debt owing by an individual to the
institution or to an assignee of the institution.
- However, the institution should release only the information
needed by the collection agency to do its job. This would likely
mean name, home address and telephone number and, if the student is
working, business address and telephone number, as well as the
amount owing.
- Can an institution disclose a student’s timetable without
consent?
- No. A timetable is information about a student’s educational
history (section 1(n)(vii)). It would also contain the
student’s name and likely the student’s ID number (section
1(n)(i) and (iv)). Consent should be obtained before
disclosure unless discretion can be exercised under
section 40(1).
- Can an institution share information about students with its
student association?
- Yes, but only to the extent that an agreement between the
institution and the Student Association requires information sharing
(section 40(1)(e)). Sharing personal information without an
agreement is likely not a consistent use of information collected
from students by the institution.
- However, an institution can’t enter or uphold an agreement that
breaches an individual’s privacy under the Act. Other information
sharing should only be done with the consent of the student. Consent
could be gathered at the time of registration.
- Can a student, in a FOIP request, receive a copy of his or her
own completed examination papers?
- The answers to examination questions are a part of the student’s
educational history and are personal information (section
1(n)(vii)). However, if the examination paper is going to be
used again in the near future and the institution can document this
fact, then the questions may be severed from the record before
releasing the answers to the student (section 4(1)(g) and
section 26(b)).
- Order F2002-012 contains the first consideration of
section
4(1)(g). A school’s English 10-H final exam questions,
instructions and the reading passages on which the exam questions
were excluded from the application of the FOIP Act by
section
4(1)(g), the exclusion for a question that is to be used on an
examination or test.
- Is it permissible to post in the halls of the institution the
student names and numbers of those who are "eligible to graduate" to
ensure that students know whether or not they have successfully
completed or are registered in all the courses required for
graduation?
- No, lists cannot be posted without the institution being able to
guarantee anonymity, unless students have previously consented to
this use/disclosure. An institution can post this information by
student numbers if the numbers do not identify students.
- What responsibility does an institution have to ensure that the
student has actually signed a consent to release personal
information?
- Generally, the institution will assume the consent is valid. It
should ask for a copy of the consent statement and identification of
the person holding the consent, and should keep these on file with a
notation of disclosure. If there is any reason to suspect that the
consent may not be valid, the student should be contacted to confirm
consent.
- Students often ask for copies of documents they submitted in
support of their application. This could include high school,
college or university transcripts, medical information or reference
letters. Does the institution have to supply such copies?
- Yes. A student has a right to the record even though in some
cases the documents are ones they originally submitted. It is not
automatic that they get the full record as the institution has to
ensure that it does not disclose personal information which would be
an unreasonable invasion of the privacy of a third party or
confidential information supplied directly to the institution.
- Is there a limit on how many additional copies of unofficial
transcripts a student can ask for or can the institution charge for
re-issuing the statement?
- The institution is only required to provide one copy of any
record in response to a request for personal information. However, a
student can submit the same request a second or subsequent time. If
the institution believes that the student is abusing the right of
access by making repetitious requests for the same information, the
Head of the public body can ask the Commissioner for permission to
disregard repetitious requests (section 55).
- How should a public body deal with telephone inquiries from
students about information about their own record?
- The institution should satisfy itself of the identity of the
person calling, perhaps through questions based on the student
record the answers to which only the student is likely to know (e.g.
courses taken, name of faculty, student number). Address and phone
number are not sufficient proof of identity, as they could easily be
known by others.
- Can a high school counsellor obtain information on the status of
a high school student’s application to an institution?
- Yes, if the student has actually been enrolled in the
institution. Disclosure of the fact that the student is enrolled
could be disclosed since it would not be considered to be an
unreasonable invasion of the student’s personal privacy (sections
40(1)(b) and
17(2)(j)). However, it would be better for
the student to obtain the information needed and provide it to the counsellor.
- Can a post-secondary institution disclose student marks and
attendance to a funding agency?
- Only if the student consents to the disclosure.
Generally the lending agency (i.e. Students Finance Board) obtains
the student’s consent in writing to disclose certain personal information such
as marks and attendance with the institution the student will be
attending at the time of application for funding by the student.
- Sometimes post-secondary institutions are under contract with
federal agencies (i.e. Employment Insurance) to provide training to
certain individuals. In such cases the funding agency generally
makes it a condition of lending that in order for the individual to
be fully funded throughout the term of the program, they must meet
certain requirements such as attend class regularly, maintain a
passing grade etc., and in these cases the student signs a consent
allowing for the institution to disclose the marks and attendance to
the agency.
- Can the Registrar refuse to release an official transcript to a
student who owes money to the institution for tuition fees, library
books or equipment that has not been returned?
- Yes. The institution can refuse to issue an official transcript
or official diploma unless the student settles the outstanding
account but should issue a statement of grades to the student,
instead.
- However, if the student submits a FOIP request for a copy of
his/her own official transcript or diploma, the institution would
not be able to withhold this personal information on the basis that
the student owes the institution money.
Section 6 provides an
applicant with a right of access to records in the custody or
under the control of the institution, subject to specific and narrow
exceptions. The institution would not issue an official transcript
or diploma, only a photocopy of it.
- Can student grade lists be posted?
- Not unless anonymity can be guaranteed. There are many ways to
allow students to access their own grades while ensuring the
personal privacy of the other students in a class. If a class is so
small that grade holders could be easily identified despite any
process to conceal identities, then grade lists should not be
posted.
- Can an institution disclose information on former
students/graduates?
- Yes. Section 40(1)(b) permits disclosure of personal
information if it would not be an unreasonable invasion of a third
party’s personal privacy. Under
section 17(2)(j), it would
not be considered an unreasonable invasion of a former student’s
personal privacy to disclose that he/she had been enrolled in the
institution or in a particular program; that he/she had received an honour or award (including a degree, diploma or certificate) granted
by the institution; that he/she had attended or participated in a
public event or activity related to the institution (e.g. an open
house, sporting event or competition, fund-raising activity or
cultural event); or that he/she graduated from the institution.
- However, this type of information should not be disclosed if the
former student or graduate has asked that the information not be
disclosed (section 17(3)).
- Can an institution disclose the hometowns of its graduates to the
media?
- No. The institution can disclose the names of graduates to the
media. Under sections
40(1)(b) and
17(2)(j), the
disclosure of this information would not be considered an
unreasonable invasion of the graduates’ personal privacy.
- However, disclosing the names of their hometowns would require
the graduates’ consent. Consent for publication can be obtained at
the time students apply for graduation.
- Can the names of staff be disclosed to the local police?
- Yes, when the police are investigating a particular incident or
the possibility that a criminal offense has been committed, the
disclosure of personal information of a staff member is permitted
under section 40(1)(q). The Law Enforcement Disclosure Form
in
Appendix 5 of the FOIP Guidelines and Practices
manual can be used for this purpose.
- Can the salary information of institution employees be released
in response to a FOIP request?
- Not entirely. Information about an officer or employee’s
classification, salary range and discretionary benefits would have
to be disclosed. This disclosure would not be seen as an
unreasonable invasion of personal privacy (section 17(2)(e)).
- Specific salary information for senior officials of institutions
is disclosed to government as required information in their
financial statements. The financial statements are then published in
Volume 4 of the government’s Public Accounts.
- If a post-secondary institution receives a FOIP request for the
severance package given to an employee, does the information have to
be released?
- In Order 2001-020, the City of Calgary received a request for all
information related to a buy-out for managers since 1999.
- The Information and Privacy Commissioner upheld the City’s
decision to release standard clauses from the severance agreements,
the individual’s job title or position, and the amount of severance
paid. This information could be released in accordance with
section 17(2)(e).
- The City withheld the individuals’ names and signatures (section
17(4)(g)(i)), and employee numbers, and termination and
retirement dates as employment history (section 17(4)(d)).
- It is not clear how the order would apply if the applicant had
asked for the severance package information of a named individual.
However, it appears that the same considerations of sections
17(2) and
17(4) may apply and the outcome may be the
same.
- Does an applicant in a FOIP request have the right to access
confidential reviews about him/herself from peers concerning a
tenure application?
- Normally, an applicant can gain access to information about
him/herself. However, in some cases, if the information was provided
explicitly or implicitly in confidence by the third party, the
institution may refuse to release that information (section 19).
If the applicant agrees to the public body approaching the referee,
and the referee agrees to the release of the information to the
applicant, the institution would release it.
- In
Order F2002-027, the Adjudicator upheld the public body’s
decision to withhold a reference letter under
section 19(1)
because the letter contained personal information that was
evaluative and opinion material, it was written to help determine
the applicant’s suitability for employment, and the referee had
supplied the letter in confidence.
- Can a professor, in a FOIP request, gain access to a written
evaluation of him/herself by a student?
- Normally, since the professor is the subject of the evaluation,
he/she would have access to his/her own personal information.
Personal information about the student evaluator must be severed
before the record is disclosed.
- Can an institution confirm, in response to a telephone inquiry,
whether an individual is employed with the institution, his/her
phone number, timetable, address, specific salary, etc.?
- Section 40(1)(bb.1) allows for the disclosure of information
that is a type routinely disclosed in a business or professional
context. The disclosure is limited to an individual’s name and
business contact information, including business title, address,
telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address, and does not
reveal other personal information about the individual or personal
information about another individual.
- A staff member’s timetable could be considered to be a part of
that person’s "employment responsibilities" so disclosing it would
not be considered an unreasonable invasion of privacy (section
17(2)(e)). However, it would be prudent to consult with the
staff member involved to ensure that such release would not
reasonably be harmful to his or her health or safety (section
18(1)(a)).
- The specific salary of a staff member would be considered
personal information. The member’s salary range could be disclosed
in accordance with section 17(2)(e).
- Can an institution disclose personal information about faculty
members and non-academic staff to their respective employee
associations?
- Section 40(1)(e) authorizes the disclosure of certain
information in order to comply with the terms of a collective
agreement. The terms and conditions of those agreements would govern
what and how much personal information must be disclosed. The
collective agreements should also be reviewed (and amended through
negotiation, if necessary) to ensure that the personal information
disclosed is kept secure and confidential and only used for the
purposes stated in the agreement.
- Section 40(1)(o) allows for additional disclosure to the
representative of a bargaining agent who has been authorized in
writing by an employee to make an inquiry about the employee’s own
information.
- Is an institution required to disclose to Alberta Advanced Education the
actual salaries and benefits of its senior officers (for the
purposes of Public Accounts reporting)?
- Yes. Under a Treasury Board Directive under the Financial
Administration Act, institutions must disclose this information
to the department for reporting in Volume 4 of Public Accounts.
Since the Treasury Board Directive in this case is considered to be
an "enactment",
section 40(1)(e) authorizes the disclosure in
order to comply with the Directive.
- Can post-secondary institutions charge fees for handling FOIP requests?
- Section 93 of the FOIP Act, and sections
9 to
13 and
Schedule 2 of the FOIP Regulation set out when fees may be charged for processing FOIP requests.
- Section 95(b) of the FOIP Act says that a post-secondary institution may, by the legal instrument by which it acts, set any fees it requires to be paid under
section 93 as long as the fees do not exceed the fees provided for in the FOIP Regulation.
- What fees can be charged for handling a request for an individual's own personal information?
- Applicants are not required to pay an initial fee when requesting access to their own personal information.
- Fees may only be charged for producing a copy of the records (items 3 to 6 of Schedule 2), and then only when those fees exceed $10. When the estimated cost exceeds $10, then the total amount is charged.
- An applicant may request that the fees be waived if the applicant cannot afford payment or if for other reasons it is fair to excuse payment. These requests should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- What fees can be charged for handling a request for other records, i.e. an access request?
- Applicants are required to pay an initial fee of $25 for a one-time request, or $50 for a continuing request, before processing of the request will begin.
- When the estimated cost of processing the request exceeds $150, then the total amount is charged. When the estimated cost is less than $150, then no fee above the $25 initial fee is charged to the applicant.
- Post-secondary institutions can charge for the time to search, locate and retrieve a record; to prepare the record for disclosure (severing the record); copying costs; computer processing and programming costs; the cost of supervising an applicant who wishes to examine an original record; and shipping costs.
- Preparing a record for disclosure does not include the time the post-secondary institution takes to decide or discuss what will or will not be severed.
- An applicant may request that the fees be waived if the applicant cannot afford payment or for other reasons if it is fair to excuse payment. These requests should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Should post-secondary institutions collect GST on FOIP fees?
- No. Canada Customs and Revenue Agency does not require post-secondary institutions to collect GST on fees paid for handling a FOIP request.
- Should post-secondary institutions follow the FOIP fee schedule when releasing records outside of the FOIP Act?
- No. The FOIP Act does not replace existing procedures for access to information or records, and does not change the fees post-secondary institutions may be charging for these services. This is in
section 3 of the FOIP Act.
- Can an applicant request an accounting of public fund
expenditures, including expense account information?
- FOIP allows for the routine disclosure of the expenditure of
public funds including detailed expense account information of
institution staff where those expenses were paid for by the institution
(section 17(2)(e) or
(h)).
- Who can photograph students involved in performing
arts or competitive teams?
- Students involved in performing arts or competitive teams perform
or compete in public venues and it is reasonable to expect that
photographs may be taken by spectators and by institutions.
- Anyone may take photographs of students participating in a public
event. These photographs may be disclosed for promotion of the
institution or the institution’s activities.
- Can a Fund Development Office indirectly collect personal
information about a potential donor from public sources?
- Yes. Section 34(1)(f) allows for the indirect collection
of personal information from published or other public sources for
the purposes of fund-raising. These would include such things as
newspaper reports; birth, marriage or obituary notices; biographical
dictionaries; donor lists printed in programs for sporting or
cultural events; information available on the Internet; records of
attendance at public events; or honours or awards granted by or
through a public body.
- Can an institution disclose names of graduates to its Alumni
Association or to its Fund Development Office?
- Yes, in accordance with sections
39(2) and (3) and
40(2). Under
section 39, unless an individual has
requested that his/her personal information not be disclosed, an
institution may disclose the names of graduates to its Alumni
Association for alumni purposes (e.g. providing information about
discounted services; benefits; travel, educational or cultural
events; seeking feedback on institutional issues).
- Under section 39(2), but always subject to
sub-section
(3), an institution may also use personal information in its
alumni records for the purpose of its own fund-raising activities.
- Under section 40(2), an institution may disclose personal
information in its alumni records for the purpose of its own
fund-raising activities if the institution and the person or entity
to whom or which the information is disclosed enter into a written
agreement that requires the institution to stop using an
individual’s personal information at the individual’s request.
- Can copies of contracts with consultants, engineers or other
contractors be released in response to a FOIP request?
- Not entirely. Copies of contracts can be disclosed after they
have been awarded on the premise that the public has the right to
know who has been engaged to do work for the institution and how
much is being paid for the work.
- However, some information in the contract, or in supplementary
documentation, must be withheld if it meets the three-part test in
section 16 for harm to business interests of the contractor.
- Information may also be withheld if the institution can show that
its disclosure could reasonably harm its economic interests, result
in financial loss or interfere with negotiations (section 25).
Examples of such information might include unit pricing, actual
wages paid to employees of the contractor or proprietary information
(e.g. trade secrets).
- Can a supplier, in a FOIP request, gain access to evaluation or
rating documents used to determine who is the successful bidder?
- Partly. Public tender documents and evaluation criteria are
routinely available. Evaluation notes, summaries, weighting factors
and other evaluation documents based on information supplied by the
contractor but created by the institution may be withheld under
section 19 if they include references given in confidence about
the contractor’s suitability or confirmation of qualifications.
- There may also be reason to withhold parts of the record if they
reflect the advice or recommendations of employees as to a suggested
course of action (section 24(1)(a)). The names and position
titles of employees who conducted the evaluation would not be
considered personal information because they performed the
assessment as a part of their duties.
- Can a researcher use institution records?
- Yes, but only in accordance with
section 42 of the Act and
the institution’s policy on research and data sharing. When records
contain personal information that can identify individuals, they
must be stripped of any personal identifiers or the researcher has
to apply to the institution for permission to use the records.
- The researcher will have to show that the research purpose cannot
reasonably be accomplished unless the information is provided in
individually identifiable form; that the record linkage will not be
harmful to the individuals the information is about; and that the
benefits to be gained are clearly in the public interest. The
researcher will then have to sign a research agreement.
- What is a "personal information bank" (a PIB)?
- Section 87.1(5) of the FOIP Act contains the definition of a
PIB. Basically it is any collection of personal information where
information about an individual can be found using the individual's
name or a unique identifier, such as social insurance number, client
number or employee number.
- Post-secondary institutions are required to compile and maintain
a list of their PIBs to have available at their offices, and provide
to the public upon request.
- Refer to the publication entitled
Guide to Identifying
Personal Information Banks for more information.
For more information contact:
- FOIP Help Desk
Access and Privacy Branch
Service Alberta
3rd Floor, Commerce Place
10155 - 102 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4L4
Phone: (780) 427-5848 (toll free by dialing 310-0000 first)
Fax: (780) 427-1120
E-mail: foiphelpdesk@gov.ab.ca
Web site: www.foip.gov.ab.ca
- Alberta Advanced Education and Technology
Legal Services
19th Floor, Commerce Place
10155 - 102 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4L4
Phone: (780) 415-0983 (toll free by dialing 310-0000 first)
Fax: (780) 415-6546
E-mail: susan.bocock@gov.ab.ca
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
410, 9925 - 109 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J8
Phone: (780) 422-6860 (toll free: 1-888-878-4044)
Fax: (780) 422-5682
E-mail: generalinfo@oipc.ab.ca
Web site: www.oipc.ab.ca
- Queen's Printer
Edmonton: (780) 427-4952 (toll free by dialing 310-0000 first)
Calgary: (403) 297-6251
E-mail: qp@gov.ab.ca
Web site: www.qp.gov.ab.ca
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FOIP Act and Regulation
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FOIP Guidelines and Practices
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Annotated FOIP Act
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