An open & shut case: McMaster follows new legislation

New laws will change University's record keeping and distribution of information, starting this week.

Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), which has previously covered the Ontario government, municipalities and public institutions, now covers provincial universities.

The legislation is meant to both provide the right of public access to university-held records as well as protect the privacy of university-held personal information. A number of new obligations will mean some changes in the University's current administrative practices.

“It's business as usual, with some adjustments on how we keep records and how personal information is collected and used,” said University Secretary Bruce Frank, who is also the University's Information and Privacy Officer. “We've been working with the Council of Ontario Universities and McMaster's legal counsel. This is really just fine-tuning our operations to ensure we're in compliance with the legislation.”

He has been leading a group of senior McMaster managers to develop a Users Guide specific to McMaster. Information on the act, forms and a question and answer document will be found at the website www.mcmaster.ca/univsec/fippa.cfm which is being developed and will be updated regularly.

Under Freedom of Information, the public has the right of access to all of the recorded information which is in McMaster's custody and control, with some specific limitations. In order to facilitate this right of access, the University is required to prepare descriptions of the institution's records and personal information banks. These directories, which must be published annually, are intended for use by the public to determine the information generally maintained by each institution.

Requests for information and responses to such requests will be handled as they have in the past and as openly as possible. A FIPPA request should be used as last resort, only in the event that access to information is not provided.

The Protection of Privacy provisions of the Act regulate the collection, use, disclosure, security and retention of personal information in the University's custody and control. Many of the administrative requirements of this section of the legislation have been addressed already because of the earlier introduction of McMaster's own guidelines on access to information and protection of privacy in 1995 and the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in 2000.

However, new forms for sign-off of the use of personal information for specific reasons are being developed and will be required.

Communications and workshops will be held to ensure all staff understand the operational changes. Timing and locations will be advertised within the University.

Questions not answered with the information on the website should be directed to policy@mcmaster.ca or call Helen Ayre at 905-525-9140, ext. 23078.