An employee or director of a public body or its service provider who discloses personal information in ways not permitted by FOIPPA commits an offence.

Anyone working for a government body who finds out about an unauthorized disclosure of personal information is required to tell their employer. They are also required to report a demand for disclosure that comes from outside Canada. Failure to do this is an offence.

An individual who commits these offences could be fined up to $2000. A service provider (including an individual service provider) to a government body may be fined up to $25,000. A corporation may be fined up to $500,000.
If you believe that there has been an improper disclosure of personal information by a government body or its service provider, you should report it to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Other Resources under FOIPPA

The website of the Office of the Chief Information Officer of BC contains many links to useful government forms, guidelines, policies and directives. In addition, you will find links to the legislation, procedures, standards, statistics, research reports and more.

The Ministry of Technology, Innovations and Citizens’ Services has created a lengthy and detailed Policies and Procedures Manual for use by Freedom of Information coordinators in public bodies. This Manual is a useful tool for understanding what the coordinators are required to do to respond to your request, and may guide you in understanding how the response system works.