It goes on to state that British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and the federal government “all have order making powers.”
Change.
That is the one-word title of the latest annual report from Ron Kruzeniski, Saskatchewan’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC).
The report, released Thursday, which is meant to be the last he produces in the role, highlights how the legislation governing information and privacy in the province is becoming dated.
He said he hopes the Saskatchewan government will adopt many of the proposals for change his report offers in relation to these laws, which govern access to information and matters of information privacy in the province.
The report offers a proposal that would amend legislation to bring the powers of the IPC more in line with those afforded to the Ombudsman and the Advocate for Children and Youth.
An explanation of the change states it should be made “for the sake of clarity and consistency, and to address such instances as recognizing the Commissioner’s powers when asking a question.”
And notably, the report contemplates “language enabling the Commissioner to seek compliance with a recommendation.”
“Saskatchewan is one of six jurisdictions in Canada without order making power. Saskatchewan’s Commissioner has only the power to make recommendations to release records, which a public body can choose to ignore,” a supplementary document to the report states.
It goes on to state that British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and the federal government “all have order making powers, or the power to make a public body disclose records.”
The office of the IPC issued 134 review and investigation reports in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, according to the report. Of these, eight per cent were met with no compliance to the IPC’s recommendations, while 43 per cent was met with only partial compliance. Many of these recommendations met with partial or no compliance were made to ministries of the Saskatchewan government.
The report proposes amendments to legislation that would allow the IPC to ultimately file an order with a Saskatchewan court that would direct compliance from the public body.
These are only two of the many proposals made within the report, that also touches on topics such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. With regard to the latter, Kruzeniski wrote: “It is incumbent on all of us who are interested in the protection of privacy to monitor developments, analyze the benefits and attempt to mitigate the risks.”
Weighing in on the report Thursday, NDP MLA Meara Conway said the IPC should be able to compel public bodies to comply with recommendations. She also took aim at the instances where the government hadn’t fully complied with IPC recommendations.
“They don’t think that the rules apply to them,” Conway said.
She said her party is “committed” to providing the IPC with such power.
In response to a request for comment from the Leader-Post, an emailed response attributed to the Government of Saskatchewan states its “commitment to transparency, privacy, and the public’s right to obtain information and access records is long-standing.”
It goes on to state that in 2023-24, “access to information requests were granted either in whole or in part, if records existed, 94 per cent of the time.”
With regard to granting order-making power to the IPC, “extensive consultations would have to take place,” the email from the government states.
“The Government would also have to consider the impact and financial, legal, and human resources implications on the operations of numerous stakeholders, including municipalities, universities, schools, and healthcare facilities. Recommendation-making powers in Saskatchewan’s legislation are similar to those in other provinces and territories, including Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Yukon, and Nunavut.”
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