Mishandling employees’ personal information – Parole Board of Canada

The complaint alleged that the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) contravened the disclosure provisions of the Privacy Act when a human resources employee disclosed the complainant's medical information to individuals involved in a Public Service Staffing Tribunal (PSST) hearing. The PSST had specifically ordered the PBC to remove medical information from the material provided. The PBC acknowledged the disclosure, apologized to the complainant, and ensured the recipients disposed of the information. The OPC found that the complainant's medical information was disclosed without consent and not under any permitted disclosure provision of subsection 8(2) of the Act. Therefore, the OPC concluded that the complaint was well-founded.