Jurisdiction and Mandate
The Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) is an independent office of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly. It oversees three Saskatchewan statutes: The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP), The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP) and The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA).
FOIP, LAFOIP, and HIPA establish the access to information and privacy rights of citizens.
Jurisdiction
The IPC has jurisdiction over various public bodies in Saskatchewan. The following are examples of the public bodies in the IPC’s jurisdiction:
Examples of “government institutions” for the purposes of FOIP:
- Ministries
- Crown Corporations
- A board prescribed in the FOIP Regulations such as the Labour Relations Board
- A commission prescribed in the FOIP Regulations such as the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
Examples of “local authorities” for the purposes of LA FOIP:
- Cities
- Municipalities
- Regional Health Authorities
- Police Services/Regional Municipal Police
- Universities and Colleges
- Boards of Education
- Libraries
Examples of “trustees” for the purposes of HIPA:
- Regional Health Authorities
- Saskatchewan Cancer Agency
- Physicians, dentists, chiropractors, nurses, etc.
- Pharmacies
- Personal care homes
- Government institutions
- Ambulance operators
- Community clinics
The IPC has no authority over the federal government, unions, not for profit organizations or the private sector other than organizations that are health information “trustees”.
Mandate
The IPC ensures that public bodies respect the privacy and access rights of the citizens of Saskatchewan by:
- Informing members of the public of their information rights
- Resolving access and privacy disputes between individuals and public bodies
- Making recommendations on appeals from access to information decisions by public bodies
- Investigating and resolving privacy complaints
- Issuing recommendations on public bodies’ policies and practices
- Commenting on proposed laws and policies