|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Document
|
|
PO-1792
|
|
|
|
|
|
File #
|
|
PA-990393-1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Institution/HIC
|
|
Ministry of Transportation
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summary
|
|
BACKGROUND: Under the Highway Traffic Act ( HTA ), legally qualified medical practitioners have a duty to report to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles of the Ministry of Transportation (the Ministry) the name, address and clinical condition of every person 16 years of age or over attending on the medical practitioner for medical services who, in the practitioner's opinion, is suffering from a condition that may make it dangerous for the person to operate a motor vehicle [section 203(1) of the HTA ]. This appeal concerns a request by a person who was the subject of such a report for access to that record. NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The appellant submitted a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) to the Ministry as follows: I am in receipt of your letter of suspension dated May 04 1999 stating that medical evidence has been received by the Ministry that indicates that I suffer from some medical condition which might impair my ability to operate a motor vehicle safely. This letter is a request for a copy of all the information that you are referring to which you state brought this decision under The Freedom of Information Act [appellant's emphasis]. The Ministry located a responsive record, a one page medical report, and notified the author of the report (the affected person) of the request. The affected person advised the Ministry that he/she objected to disclosure of the record to the appellant. The Ministry then responded to the appellant's request as follows: Section 49(a) and (d) read in conjunction with section 20 of the Act provides that an individual may be refused access to their own personal information if disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten the health or safety of an individual. [The Ministry is denying] you access to your records under this basis. The appellant appealed the Ministry's decision to this office. During the mediation stage of the appeal, the Ministry issued a revised decision as follows: … [T]he ministry is no longer denying access under the following exemption: Section 49(d). The ministry however continues to deny access pursuant to section 49(a) read in conjunction with section 20 of the Act which provides that an individual may be refused access to their own personal information if disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or health of an individual. Also during the mediation stage of the appeal, the Ministry raised the possible application of section 49(b) of the Act , since it believed the record may contain the personal information of the affected person. Section 49(b) is a discretionary exemption which permits an institution to refuse access to an individual's personal information where disclosure would constitute an unjustified invasion of another individual's personal privacy. I sent a Notice of Inquiry setting out the issues in the appeal to the Ministry and the affected person. In response, I received representations from the Ministry only. After reviewing the Ministry's representations, I determined that it was not necessary to seek representations from the appellant. RECORD: The record at issue in this appeal is a one page medical report concerning the appellant authored by the affected person. PERSONAL PRIVACY Under section 2(1) of the Act , "personal information" is defined, in part, to mean recorded information about an identifiable individual, including 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 [paragraph (b)]. The Ministry submits that the record contains personal information of both the appellant and the affected person. The Ministry states that the record includes medical and address information about the appellant, as well as the affected person's address. In my view, the record contains personal information about the appellant only, consisting of the appellant's medical and address information. The address associated with the affected person is his/her professional practice address, and therefore does not qualify as personal information [see Reconsideration Order R-980015 and Order PO-1663]. In addition, none of the other information in the record is "about" the affected person within the meaning of the section 2(1) definition. Accordingly, the record contains personal information of the appellant only. Therefore, the exemption at section 49(b) cannot apply, and the only exemption relevant in the circumstances is section 49(a), in conjunction with section 20. RIGHT OF ACCESS TO ONE'S OWN PERSONAL INFORMATION/DANGER TO SAFETY OR HEALTH Introduction Section 47(1) of the Act gives individuals a general right of access to their own personal information held by a government body. Section 49 provides a number of exceptions to this general right of access. Under section 49(a) of the Act , an institution may refuse to disclose to the individual to whom the information relates personal information, where section 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or 22 would apply to the disclosure of that personal information [emphasis added]; The Ministry has claimed that section 20, in conjunction with section 49(a), applies to the record at issue. Section 20 of the Act reads: A head may refuse to disclose a record where the disclosure could reasonably be expected to seriously threaten the safety or health of an individual. The words "could reasonably be expected to" appear in the preamble of section 20, as well as in several other exemptions under the Act dealing with a wide variety of anticipated "harms." In the case of most of these exemptions, in order to establish that the particular harm in que
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legislation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subject Index
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signed by
|
|
David Goodis
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published
|
|
Jun 13, 2000
|
|
|
|
|
|
Type
|
|
Order
|
|
|
|
|
|
<<
Back
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
|
 |
|
|
|
© Copyright
2013
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
|