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Document
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P-1635
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File #
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P_9800115
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Institution/HIC
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Ministry of Health
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to the following information from the database of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (the College) regarding all members of the College: Name Address Year Medical Degree Obtained Specialty Telephone Number Facsimile Transmission Number Status: not limited to but including whether "student-post-graduate, active in practise, terminated, terms and conditions." The information was located by the Ministry in its Corporate Provider Database (CPD). However, the Ministry denied access to the information on the basis of section 22(a) of the Act , claiming that the information was publicly available from the College. The appellant was provided with the College's address and telephone number. According to the appellant, she contacted the College, and was informed that the requested list was not available from the College, but could be purchased from the Southam Medical Group (Southam). The appellant contacted Southam and was advised that the list was not available to the public on demand, but could be purchased on a fee-per-usage basis. Further, according to the appellant, she was informed by Southam that it would require details regarding the intended use of the information before a decision would be made to provide the requested information in bulk. Based on this information, the appellant concluded that the requested information was not available to the public, and appealed the Ministry's decision regarding section 22(a) of the Act . During mediation, the Ministry issued a second decision letter, claiming that the requested information was also exempt under sections 17(1)(a) and (c) (third party information) and sections 21(1) (invasion of privacy) of the Act . The Ministry also issued a fee estimate of $5,377.36 to produce an electronic copy of the record and/or $6,812.36 for a hardcopy version of the same record, should access be granted. The appellant appealed this decision as well, and also claimed that there was a compelling public interest in disclosure of the records pursuant to section 23 of the Act . This office sent a Notice of Inquiry to the Ministry, the appellant and the College. Southam subsequently contacted this office, asking to be added as a party to the appeal. I decided to allow Southam the opportunity to provide representations on the section 17(1) and 23 issues. Representations were received from the three parties to the appeal, and from Southam. In its representations, the Ministry withdrew its section 22(a) exemption claim, so I will not consider it in this order. The records at issue in this appeal are the electronic or hardcopy listing of the requested categories of information on all physicians in Ontario drawn from the Ministry's CPD. DISCUSSION: PERSONAL INFORMATION/INVASION OF PRIVACY Under section 2(1) of the Act , "personal information" is defined to mean recorded information about an identifiable individual, including: (a) information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or marital or family status of the individual, (b) information relating to the education or the medical, psychiatric, psychological, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved, (c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual, (d) the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual, (h) the individual's name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual. In determining whether or not the records contain personal information, it is important to recognize that the appellant is seeking access to the full spectrum of information outlined in the request, not individual pieces of information, such as business telephone or facsimile numbers. Therefore, I have treated the requested information as a package in assessing whether or not it falls within the scope of the definition of personal information. All of the parties, including the appellant, submit that the records contain the personal information of the approximately 30,000 physicians listed in the CPD. The Ministry and the College explain that the CPD includes the name, address, the year the medical degree was obtained, any registration limitations or conditions, registration number and status of each registered physician. I agree with the position taken by the parties. The requested information is either captured by one or more of the specific parts of the definition of personal information, or otherwise deals with information concerning practising status with the College, the body charged with statutory authority to regulate the profession. In my view, this is information about the individual physician, as required by the definition of personal information contained in the Act . Once it has been determined that a record contains personal information, section 21(1) of the Act prohibits disclosure of this information to any person other than the individual to whom the information relates, except in certain circumstances. In its second decision letter, the Ministry raised section 21(1)(f) (unjustified invasion of privacy) as the basis for denying access. The Notice of Inquiry raised the possible application of sections 21(1)(c) and (d), which are exceptions to the mandatory exemption claim. In her representations, the appellant submits that the exception in section 21(1)(a) also applies. These sections read as follows: (1) A head shall refuse to disclose personal information to any person other than the individual to whom the information relates except, (a) upon the prior written request or consent of the individual, if the record is one to which the individual is entitled to have access; (c) personal information collected and maintained specifically for the purpose of creating
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Legislation
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FIPPA
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21(1)(a)
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21(1)(c)
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21(1)(d)
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21(1)(f)
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Section 23
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Tom Mitchinson
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Published
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Dec 30, 1998
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Type
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Order
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