(YELLOWKNIFE) Monday, May 30, 2022 – The Standing Committee on Government Operations, chaired by Rylund Johnson, has recommended that the Government of the Northwest Territories take steps to address the surging number of reviews within the Government’s access and privacy regime.
The recommendations were presented in the Committee’s Report on the Review of the 2020-2021 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, released today in the House.
The recommendations are as follows:
That the Government of the Northwest Territories, in consultation with the Information and Privacy Commissioner and by April 1, 2023, establish a government-wide policy that ensures all employees receive appropriate training on the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information;
That the Department of Finance, in consultation with the Information and Privacy Commissioner and by April 1, 2023, update policies governing the use of mobile handheld devices by the public service;
That the Government of the Northwest Territories provide an update on its plan to reduce the use of faxing across the Health and Social Services system; and
That the Government of the Northwest Territories provide an update on complying with Section 72(1) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which requires the head of a public body to establish and publish categories of records to be made available to the public without a request for access.
The Committee has made the recommendations in response to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2020-2021 Annual Report. In that report, the Information and Privacy Commissioner Andrew Fox reiterates many of his Office’s long-standing advice and observations about privacy protection. The recommendations made by Committee are endorsements and advancements of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s findings.
The Government of the Northwest Territories has 120 days to respond to the Committee Report. Read the report to see the recommendations in full along with their context.