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Document
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I93-044M
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Institution/HIC
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INVESTIGATION REPORT INVESTIGATION I93-044M A MUNICIPAL LICENSING COMMISSION July 21, 1994
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Summary
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INTRODUCTION Background of the Complaint This investigation was initiated as a result of a complaint concerning a municipal licensing commission (the Commission). The complainant, a taxicab driver, believed that the Commission breached the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) in the following ways: 1. The Commission collected "trip sheet" records, in contravention of the Act ; 2. the Commission collected records of criminal record convictions, in contravention of the Act ; and 3. the Commission was not taking proper measures to ensure the security of records of personal information in its training section, in contravention of the Act . Issues Arising from the Investigation The following issues were identified as arising from the investigation: (A) Did the records in question contain "personal information", as defined in section 2(1) of the Act ? If yes, (B) Was the personal information in the trip sheets collected in accordance with section 28(2) of the Act ? (C) Was notice provided for the collection of the personal information in trip sheets in accordance with section 29(2) of the Act ? (D) Was the personal information in the records of criminal convictions collected in accordance with section 28(2) of the Act ? (E) Was notice provided for the collection of the personal information in the records of criminal convictions in accordance with section 29(2) of the Act ? (F) Did the Commission define, document and put into place reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access to the records in the training section, in accordance with section 3(1) of Regulation 823, R.R.O. 1990, as amended? RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION Issue A: Did the records in question contain "personal information", as defined in section 2(1) of the Act ? Section 2(1) of the Act defines "personal information" as 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, (e) the personal opinions or views of the individual except if they relate to another individual, (f) correspondence sent to an institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature, and replies to that correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence, (g) the views or opinions of another individual about the individual, and (h) the individual's name if 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; Trip Sheets Trip sheets are forms that are filled out by taxicab drivers as they progress through their driving shift. The Commission mandates the type of information that is to be recorded on these forms. It is our view that trip sheet records contain the following "personal information", as defined in sections 2(1)(b),(c),(d),(e) and (h) of the Act : name, address, and signature of the driver, the driver's license number, "Other remarks", where the driver gives his opinion, destination (to and from) of each trip made by the driver, "in" and "out" times for each trip, amount of fare collected for each trip, whether it was paid in cash or by charge, and name of taxicab owner. It is our view that trip sheet records contain the following information that is not "personal information" as defined in section 2(1) of the Act : taxicab number, taxicab provincial motor vehicle number, odometer and meter readings, and list of equipment faults. We also considered whether trip sheets contained the "personal information" of passengers. Trip sheets contain the details of each trip such as times, pick up point (which may be an individual's address), and destination. However, it is our view that such details of a trip are not recorded information about an identifiable individual and therefore trip sheets do not contain the "personal information" of passengers. Records of Convictions of Criminal Offences These records contain the individual's (applicant's) name, maiden name (if applicable), address, telephone number, occupation, date of conviction, type of offence, disposition of offence, application type, date and number. It is our view that these records contain the "personal information" of the individuals, as defined in sections 2(1)((a),(b),(c),(d) and (h) of the Act . Training Section Records Both the complainant and the Commission submitted that the training section had records which contained personal information. The Commission submitted a partial listing of its Directory of Records, which included a listing of the following personal information banks: Cab Owners' Waiting List files; Drivers' Waiting List Files; Taxicab Driver Student Records; Training Staff Personnel Records; Licensee Reports; Staff Attendance Records. In our view, the training section contains records of "personal information" as defined in sections 2(1)(a) through (h) of the Act . Conclusion: The records in question contained personal information, as defined in section 2(1) of the Act . Issue B: Was the personal information in the trip sheets collected in accordance with section 28(2) of the Act ? The complainant was concerned about the collection of trip sheets for the following reasons: drivers on shift may be stopped by a Licensing Enforcement Officer at any time and be required to allow inspection of their trip sheets; drivers may also be required to produce trip sheets for inspection at the Commission's Test Centre; trip sheets contain financial (income) information about the taxicab driver; the Commission collects the same type of financial information repetitively; requiring drivers to retain a list in the taxicab of the amount of fares collected may place the driver in danger from physical assault and/or robberies; taxicab passengers may also be placed in danger if other individuals observe their home addresses, destinations, and times of their trips recorded on the trip sheets. Section 28(2) of the Act sets out the circumstances under which personal information may be collected on behalf of an institution. This section states: (2) No person shall collect personal information on behalf of an institution unless the collection is expressly authorized by statute, used for the purposes of law enforcement or necessary to the proper administration of a lawfully authorized activity. It is our view that the Commission's inspections of trip sheets do not qualify as collections of personal information within the meaning of the Act . In order for a collection to take place, retention of the information in a recorded form must occur. Therefore, in our v
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Published
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Jul 21, 1994
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Type
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Privacy Complaint Report
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