(NOTE: This electronic version of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner's Annual Report 1996-97 includes corrections for clerical errors that exist in the printed copy.)

XII. Informing the Public

Introduction

Under section 42(1)(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Commissioner has a mandate to inform the public about the Act. The Commissioner and staff of the Office fulfill this function through speaking engagements and participation in conferences, seminars, and workshops; interactions with the media; and by producing various public education materials, such as brochures, information kits, and research reports.

This past year, the Commissioner's Office made presentations to a variety of different groups and organizations. In addition, the Office hosted two conferences and engaged in new initiatives to encourage awareness of information and privacy rights at both the individual and community level in British Columbia. It produced a new information and privacy rights brochure and an updated information kit; coordinated two educational public forums on information and privacy rights, one for the general public and one for cultural communities; arranged a series of educational workshops; added more information to its web site, and released a research report on the information and privacy concerns of specific cultural communities.

Conferences

The Office co-hosted an international privacy conference with the University of Victoria from May 9-11, 1996, entitled Visions for Privacy in the 21st Century: The Search for Solutions. The conference attracted numerous national and international experts, such as the Data Protection Registrar of the United Kingdom, the Federal Data Protection Commissioner of Germany, the Privacy Commissioners of Australia, Canada, Ontario, Quebec, and New Zealand, the Director General of Data Protection in Sweden, and many other academic specialists from around the world. The conference featured such topics as: Identity Cards: Their Challenge to Privacy; Marketing Privacy: Is Data Protection in the Interests of Business?; Surveillance by Design? Technological Imperatives and the Boundaries of Personal Privacy; and The Globalization of Privacy Solutions: The EU Directive on Data Protection and North American Responses.

The conference was attended by local, provincial, national, and international officials, members of the public, and media. Some of the best theorists and practitioners of privacy protection today were able to express and exchange views on the future of privacy in a changing world of new information technologies and shrinking boundaries. A book of essays from the conference, edited by Professors Colin Bennett and Rebecca Grant, is in preparation for publication.

In September and October of 1996, the Office hosted its third annual information and privacy conference, entitled Access and Privacy Conference 1996: Current Trends and Practices from a Local Public Body Perspective. It was intended primarily for the education of all local public bodies covered by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, such as municipalities, hospitals, schools, colleges, universities, and municipal police. It also included sessions relevant to other public bodies covered by the Act, such as provincial government and self-governing professional bodies. The purpose of the conference was to re-enforce public bodies' awareness of the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and to educate them further about particular types of issues, requests, or complaints that can arise. Some of the sessions included: The Mediation and Inquiry Process; Routine Disclosure; Creating and Managing Complaint Records; FOI as a Litigation Tool; and the Information and Privacy Rights of Children. The conference also promoted awareness of global privacy issues, such as Data (Personal Information) Sharing, and Trends and Impact of Technology.

The Office held its 1996 conference in three locations: Prince George, Castlegar, and Burnaby, in an effort to reach out to local public bodies serving communities throughout the province. Planning is currently underway for the fourth annual conference, scheduled for October 8 and 9, 1997. Details of upcoming conferences are available on the Office's web site at: http://www.oipc.bc.ca. Interested individuals also may contact the Office directly using the contact information set out in Appendix G of this report.

Information and Privacy Rights Brochure

This year the Office issued a new brochure, entitled: Your Information and Privacy Rights: A Brief Guide to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Its purpose is to provide individuals with an informative and easy-to-follow publication that clearly sets out their information and privacy rights
under the Act, and that describes the role and mandate of the Commissioner's Office.

The brochure focuses on questions most commonly asked of the Office, such as how to request records, how to make a privacy complaint, and how to request a review of a public body's decision about records. It also explains the Office's use of mediation as the primary means of settling disputes and the Commissioner's ultimate role as a quasi-judicial decision-maker. The brochure emphasizes the general right of access to most records in the custody or under the control of public bodies and lists the central principles for the protection of the privacy of personal information. The brochure also tells readers how to contact or get more information about the Office by telephone, facsimile, mail, e-mail, or web site.

The brochure was issued in February of 1997 and is currently being disseminated to most community law, community justice, and human rights groups, as well as to those government agencies directly serving the public. It also has been translated into Chinese and Punjabi. Any individuals or groups who would like to obtain copies of the brochure in any of these languages are invited to contact the Office by telephone, facsimile, mail, or e-mail, as set out in Appendix G of this report.

Research Report: Information and Privacy in Cultural Communities

In March of 1997 the Office released a report entitled Information and Privacy in Cultural Communities: A Report of Research into Information and Privacy Concerns in Chinese- and Indo-Canadian Communities in B.C. The purpose of the report was to address the Office's concern that, while it has had some success in encouraging more and more British Columbians to become aware of their rights under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, it has been less successful in raising awareness about the legislation in cultural minority communities in British Columbia. The modest goal of the report was to investigate the information and privacy concerns of two of the province's largest cultural communities and to suggest how the Office could respond more effectively to those concerns.

The report focused on the Chinese- and Indo-Canadian communities, since they are the two largest cultural minorities in British Columbia, and because they have relatively well-developed media available to report on freedom of information and protection of privacy matters. The report utilized survey, interview, and other primary research methodologies and focused on interviews with service providers, community leaders, and cultural media. The report made three key recommendations based on its findings: (i) that the Office should develop culturally competent services; (ii) that it should remove barriers to accessing its services; and (iii) that it should supplement its current public education efforts.

The Office has already taken steps to address these recommendations by implementing many of the report's more specific suggestions, such as adopting a multiculturalism policy for the Office; developing resources for staff on the influence of cultural norms, traditions, and perceptions in the mediation process; translating the brochure into Chinese and Punjabi; and partnering with community agencies and cultural media to deliver information to settlement workers and community members. The Office is currently working to broaden and fulfill all of the goals of the report and welcomes requests by individuals or groups for more information about the Office or assistance. Those interested in a copy of the report itself are invited to contact the Commissioner's Office by telephone, facsimile, mail, or e-mail, as set out in Appendix G.

Web Site

The Commissioner's Office continues to update its web site with new and relevant information. The purpose of the web site is to increase public awareness of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act by making information about it and the Office as widely accessible as possible. This year the Office added the following new material to its web site: news releases for the Orders and Investigation Reports; updated Office Policies and Procedures; a list of section 43 authorizations; and an electronic version of the new information and privacy rights brochure. The Office also regularly updates the existing list of Orders, Investigation Report, and related reference tables each time a new Order or Investigation Report
is issued.

Frequent users of the web site will know already that the Office recently changed its web site address. The new address is http://www.oipc.bc.ca. It is the acronym for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia and thus easier to remember and access for those who found the past address (http://www.cafe.net/gvc/foi) confusing.

Currently the web site includes the following relevant materials:

the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
the Commissioner's Orders
the Commissioner's Investigation Reports
news releases for Orders and Investigation Reports
section 43 authorizations
a Table of Concordance cross-referencing sections of the Act with the Orders
copies of the Commissioner's speeches and presentations
the Office's Annual Reports: 1994-95, 1995-96, and 1996-97
the Office's Policies and Procedures
information about information and privacy conferences and events
links to other major information and privacy web sites in Canada and around the world

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