Employee, in relation to a public body, includes a person who performs a service for the public body as an appointee, volunteer or student or under a contract or agency relationship with the public body (section 1(e) of the FOIP Act). The Commissioner has defined the term “for” in other provisions of the FOIP Act to mean “on behalf of.”
Fee-for-service contract. A fee-for-service contract is used when the Government retains an individual or company to provide a specific service. The
Public Service Act distinguishes between a contract of employment and a fee-for-service contract in terms of whether an employment relationship exists, which affects matters such as liability. For the purposes of the FOIP Act, the term “employee” includes both an employee who has entered into a contract of employment and a person that has entered into a fee-for-service contract.
See also employee,
personal service contractor.
Health information means diagnostic, treatment and care information, and registration information that is collected, used or disclosed by custodians. The FOIP Act does not apply to health information that is in the custody or under the control of a custodian. Alberta’s
Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) does not apply to health information to which the
Health Information Act applies. PIPA applies to health-related information to which the
Health Information Act does not apply, such as health-related information in employee records.
HIA is the acronym used to refer to Alberta’s
Health Information Act, which governs the protection of health information held by custodians.
Information-sharing agreement means a written agreement setting out the terms and conditions for the collection of information by one party and disclosure of information by the other party. A party that enters into an information-sharing agreement may collect and disclose information only as permitted by applicable legislation. The elements of an information-sharing agreement normally include a statement of the objectives to be achieved under the information-sharing agreement and provisions specifying the specific personal information involved (i.e. the data elements), the purpose for which the information may be used by the recipient, persons to whom the recipient may disclose the information, the method for transmission, requirements for the protection, retention and disposal of the information, and measures to audit or monitor compliance with the agreement.
Joint service delivery is a coordinated method of delivering services that fall within the mandate of different public bodies, different levels of government and, in some cases, the non-profit sector.
See also common or integrated program or service.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is an agreement between interested parties establishing their respective rights and responsibilities regarding a project and serving as a basis for a future formal contract. In the government context, a Memorandum of Understanding is often used as the final contract between agencies of the Crown and would address all relevant matters.
Organization, as defined in the
Personal Information Protection Act,
includes
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a corporation,
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an unincorporated association,
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a trade union as defined in the Labour Relations Code,
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a partnership as defined in the Partnership Act, and
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an individual acting in a commercial capacity,
but does not include an individual acting in a personal or domestic capacity (section 1(i)).
Outsourcing is the process by which a public body enters into an agreement with another party (usually the private sector, but sometimes a non-profit organization or another public sector body) to deliver services or carry out operations on behalf of the public body. In these instances, the public body retains the responsibility for the service or the operation and may pay the other party to carry out the government’s responsibilities.
Paramountcy. Where two enactments are inconsistent or conflict, the principle of paramountcy helps determine which law will prevail.
Personal information means recorded information about an identifiable individual, including
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the individual’s name, home or business address or home or business telephone number,
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the individual’s race, national or ethnic origin, colour or religious or political beliefs or associations,
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the individual’s age, sex, marital status or family status,
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an identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,
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the individual’s fingerprints, other biometric information, blood type or inheritable characteristics,
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information about the individual’s health and health care history, including information about a physical or mental disability,
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information about the individual’s educational, financial, employment or criminal history, including criminal records where a pardon has been given,
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anyone else’s opinions about the individual, and
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the individual’s personal views or opinions, except if they are about someone else (section 1(n) of the FOIP Act).
Personal service contractor is defined in the
Financial Administration Act as
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an individual whose services are engaged by the Crown, a Provincial agency or a fund administrator in consideration of the payment of a fee, whether or not the contract for those services is made with that individual or another person, or
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a person who contracts to provide the services of such an individual.
Although the
Financial Administration Act differentiates between an employee and a personal service contractor, a personal service contractor is considered an employee for the purposes of the FOIP Act.
PIPA is the acronym used to refer to Alberta’s
Personal Information Protection Act, the Act that governs the protection of personal information in the provincially regulated private sector.
PIPEDA is the acronym used to refer to the
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada), the Act that governs the protection of personal information in the federally regulated private sector and in provinces that do not have substantially similar private-sector privacy legislation.
Privacy Impact Assessment (or PIA). A PIA is the detailed consideration, during the planning and implementation of a program or system, of appropriate and effective measures to ensure compliance with Part 2 of the FOIP Act.
Privacy schedule refers to a separate schedule to a contract that sets out requirements relating to the protection of personal information. A privacy schedule is required, as a matter of Government policy, for IT contracts.
Privatization is the process by which a public body ceases to be responsible for a service or carry out an operation and transfers the service or operation to the private or non-profit sector.
Public body is defined in section 1(p) of the FOIP Act to include
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a department, branch or office of the Government of Alberta,
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an agency, board, commission, corporation, office or other body designated as a public body in Schedule 1 of the FOIP Regulation, and
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the offices of the Officers of the Legislature.
For the purposes of this Guide, the term
public body is limited to the bodies listed above; the Guide does not apply to local public bodies.
Public–private partnership (P3) refers to a contractual agreement between a public body and one or more private or non-profit parties for the provision of goods or services with resources, risks and rewards allocated among the parties (this is not a partnership in law). P3s normally have the following characteristics:
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a long-term contractual arrangement
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a sharing of risks and rewards
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a joint investment
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clearly assigned responsibilities
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a model of delegated authority and control
(Annual Report of the Auditor-General of Alberta, 2003-2004).
Reasonableness. In the context of PIPA, reasonableness is an objective standard based on what a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances (section 2 of PIPA).
Record means a record of information in any form, and includes notes, images, audiovisual recordings, x-rays, books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers and papers and any other information that is written, photographed, recorded or stored in any manner, but does not include software or any mechanism that produces records (section 1(q) of the FOIP Act).
RMR is the acronym used to refer to Alberta’s Records Management Regulation established under the
Government Organization Act.
Sensitive personal information. The FOIP Act does not recognize sensitive personal information a separate class of information. However, the Act has special provisions for certain categories of personal information, including an individual’s medical information, personal information in a law enforcement record, an individual’s
financial information, an individual’s educational and employment history, and personal evaluations and character references.
Subcontractor means a person who has contracted with a primary contractor or with another subcontractor to perform a contract.
Transitory record means a record (as defined above) containing information of temporary value that does not have some future administrative, financial, legal, research, or historical value to the government. This would include such records as duplicates, draft documents, working materials, publications, blank forms, and temporary notes that do not have long-term value.
See also record.
