N.S. privacy commissioner calls for more staff, more authority

Nova Scotia's information and privacy commissioner says she'd like to produce an annual report that doesn't repeat the same concerns she's voiced every year since first taking on the job in March 2020.

But that isn't happening this year.

In her report, which was released Wednesday, Tricia Ralph said her office doesn't have the resources or the authority to do its job properly.

Ralph said unlike most other jurisdictions in Canada, her office can only make recommendations on the release of government information. She said she needs the authority to make orders to compel the release of that information.

"There's no need to reinvent the wheel," Ralph said. "There are current pieces of legislation across this country that have order-making, that have more modernized principles and in many ways. You want access-to-information legislation to be quite similar across jurisdictions."

Ralph said successive governments have promised to make the necessary legislative changes, but it has yet to happen.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the province recognizes the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act needs updating. It said an internal committee with staff from several government departments is in place to develop a plan for reviewing the legislation.

Resources

Ralph said the other big, recurring problem she faces is the lack of resources. Her office is struggling to deal with a backlog of cases that's four years long.

"The backlog itself also creates, as it gets bigger, it kind of creates more work itself," Ralph said. "For example, when the file comes to be assigned, we have to call that person: are they still at the same address? Do they still want this, can we even get a hold of them? So that takes a bit of time, again, time taken away from our ability to work on the backlog. And for many people, they'll say, 'OK, it's not worth it to me any more, it's no longer an issue, it's four years too late.'"

Ralph said her requests for more permanent staff have been repeatedly rebuffed. Instead, her office was given two two-year contract positions. But she said the people hired for those positions took six to eight months to be trained for the jobs and the first ones left to take permanent work elsewhere in government. She said new hires are now being trained, but the two-year contracts don't last much longer.

In its statement, the Justice Department said it funds three term positions to help address backlogs.

"This investment demonstrates our commitment to the office and their work," it said.

Ralph said her office is also trying to educate people about the problem of snooping, particularly as it pertains to health records. She said there have been cases of people in the medical field accessing files they have no reason to look at.

Earlier this year, Ralph's office issued a report into a privacy breach involving Nova Scotia Health files, including those relating to the 22 people murdered in April 2020. Ralph said people need to understand that these breaches are a serious violation of privacy and need to be treated accordingly.