Commissioner Frank Work received two complaints against the University of Calgary regarding information in the University Archives.
The University Archives had accepted a donation from a third party of a collection of records relating to a labour dispute. These records were placed in the archives for public access. The Complainants asked the Commissioner to investigate this matter as the record collection included copies of their personal correspondences.
Section 4(1)(j) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“the FOIP Act”) excludes material deposited in the archives of a public body by a person or entity other than a public body. Therefore, the University of Calgary cannot have disclosed the Complainants’ personal information in contravention of the FOIP Act.
However, the University of Calgary closed public access to the records in relation to the Complainants and have presented a proposal to the Complainants to resolve their issues.