The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has released Report A-2026-036 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. A summary of the Report is included below.
To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/reports/reports/.
| Report: | A-2026-036 |
| Report Date: | October 28, 2026 |
| Public Body: | Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands |
| Summary: | The Complainant made an access request to the Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands seeking records related to an employment competition in which they were a candidate. The Department disclosed some responsive records but says it did not retain any notes taken by the interview panel during the Complainant’s interview. The Department stated that these notes were considered transitory and were destroyed soon after the employment competition had concluded. The Complainant filed a complaint with this Office asserting that the Department had violated section 65(1) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 by not retaining the notes for at least a year. In reviewing this claim, the Commissioner found it is likely that notes from the interview previously existed, and that those notes would have contained the personal information of the Complainant. As those notes were destroyed prior to the one-year retention period required by section 65, and the Complainant was affected by the use of that personal information, the Commissioner determined that the Department contravened section 65(1) of the Act. The Commissioner recommended that the Department review its use of transitory records and bring its record retention policies in line with section 65. |
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