BreachOfPrivacy
Decisions/Federal (Canada)/Privacy Act/Correctional Service of Canada initially denies access to full report in favour of giving the “gist”
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of CanadaPrivacy ActResolved
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Correctional Service of Canada initially denies access to full report in favour of giving the “gist”

Organization: Correctional Service of Canada
Decision: Oct 29, 2013Published: Oct 29, 2013

A complainant alleged that Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) denied him access to the full version of a report concerning his treatment and supervision. CSC initially provided a condensed version, which the OPC found to be a misrepresentation of the information and contrary to CSC's obligations under the Privacy Act. Following the OPC's investigation, CSC provided the complainant with the full report, with some personal information of other parties withheld, and committed to reviewing its access request handling procedures and communicating staff obligations under the Privacy Act.

  • Was the respondent in compliance with its obligations to identify and provide all relevant information in response to an access request?
  • Whether the respondent's provision of an abbreviated report was a misrepresentation of the information.

Complaint resolved following provision of full report and commitments by the institution.

The OPC found that CSC's provision of an abbreviated report was a misrepresentation and contrary to the Privacy Act. However, the issue was resolved when CSC provided the full report and committed to improving its practices.

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Recommended action / remedy

CSC provided the complainant with the full report, withholding only the personal information of other parties, and agreed to review its access request handling procedures and communicate staff obligations under the Privacy Act.

Statutory provisions cited
  • Privacy Act

This summary is informational only and not legal advice.