Canadian privacy & access decisions

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) received complaints regarding the unauthorized disclosure of personal information of over 18,000 Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) employees. These disclosures occurred when HR-generated spreadsheets, intended for specific operational purposes like shift scheduling, contained excessive personal data or were shared with unauthorized employees. The CBSA's internal investigation uncovered four additional similar breaches. The OPC found that these incidents contravened section 8 of the Privacy Act regarding disclosure limitations. However, the CBSA took appropriate steps to notify affected individuals, contain the impact of the breaches, and implement both short-term and long-term measures to prevent recurrence, including new data request procedures and a future information management system. Consequently, the complaints were deemed well-founded and resolved.

• Whether the CBSA's disclosure of employee personal information via spreadsheets contravened section 8 of the Privacy Act
• Whether the inclusion of excess information in spreadsheets constituted unauthorized disclosure
• Whether the use of personal email addresses for work-related data sharing contravened the Privacy Act
• Whether the CBSA took adequate steps to address the incidents, including notification to affected individuals
• Whether the CBSA's measures to reduce the risk of recurrence were reasonable

An anonymous applicant complained that the Privy Council Office (PCO) improperly withheld records related to meetings of the Joint Intelligence Committee and Intelligence Advisory Committee from 1972. PCO initially claimed exemptions under subsections 13(1), 15(1), 16(1)(a), 16(1)(b), 16(1)(c), and 19(1) of the Access to Information Act. During the investigation, PCO conceded that some exemptions were improperly applied and released additional information, and the complainant narrowed the scope of the complaint. The Information Commissioner found that PCO failed to demonstrate that most of the remaining withheld information met the requirements for exemption under subsections 13(1) and 15(1), often citing a lack of evidence for confidentiality or a reasonable expectation of harm, especially given the historical nature and public availability of similar records. For a British Joint Intelligence Committee Draft Paper title, while s.13(1) applied, PCO did not reasonably exercise its discretion under s.13(2) as the title was publicly available. Consequently, the Commissioner ordered PCO to disclose numerous pages in their entirety and to re-exercise discretion for specific information. The complaint was found to be well-founded, and PCO agreed to implement the orders.

• Whether information regarding visits of Intelligence Community members from other countries met the requirements of s.13(1) ATIA.
• Whether information concerning the Tripartite Alert Circuit met the requirements of s.13(1) ATIA.
• Whether the titles of liaison officers from other countries met the requirements of s.13(1) ATIA.
• Whether information regarding other specified countries met the requirements of s.13(1) ATIA.
• Whether mention of a conference met the requirements of s.13(1) ATIA.
• Whether the title of a British Joint Intelligence Committee Draft Paper met the requirements of s.13(1) ATIA.
• Whether PCO reasonably exercised discretion under s.13(2) ATIA for the title of a British Joint Intelligence Committee Draft Paper.
• Whether information on pages 212 and 215 met the requirements of s.13(1) ATIA.
• Whether the title of a British Joint Intelligence Committee Draft Paper met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether information regarding the visits of Intelligence Community members from other countries met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether information concerning the Tripartite Alert Circuit met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether the titles of liaison officers from other countries met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether discussion of the Special Research Bureau (SRB) Program Forecast met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether information regarding other countries (activities, bi-national relationships, threats, UK JIC) met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether reference to a Joint Intelligence Report met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether remarks concerning an individual from a foreign country met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether mention of a conference met the requirements of s.15(1) ATIA.
• Whether PCO improperly withheld information under s.16(1)(a) ATIA.
• Whether PCO improperly withheld information under s.16(1)(b) ATIA.
• Whether PCO improperly withheld information under s.16(1)(c) ATIA.
• Whether PCO improperly withheld information under s.19(1) ATIA.