GENEALOGY AND DNA - Ontario Genealogical Society · SOME RELEVANT DEFINITIONS • DNA =...

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DR. MARGARET ANN WILKINSON PROFESSOR, FACULTY OF LAW WESTERN UNIVERSITY WITH THANKS TO LAW STUDENT AVERY LEE, WHOSE RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION WAS SUPPORTED BY THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL GRANT HELD BY MISTRALE GOUDREAU (OTTAWA) AND MARGARET ANN WILKINSON (WESTERN) GENEALOGY AND DNA London Genealogical Society Saturday October 14, 2017.

Transcript of GENEALOGY AND DNA - Ontario Genealogical Society · SOME RELEVANT DEFINITIONS • DNA =...

Page 1: GENEALOGY AND DNA - Ontario Genealogical Society · SOME RELEVANT DEFINITIONS • DNA = “deoxyribonucleic acid molecule that encodes geneNc informaon of organisms and is oen referred

DR . MARGAR E T ANN W I L K I N SON P R O F E S S O R , F A C U L T Y O F L A W

W E S T E R N U N I V E R S I T Y WITHTHANKSTOLAWSTUDENTAVERYLEE,WHOSERESEARCHCONTRIBUTIONWASSUPPORTED

BYTHESOCIALSCIENCESANDHUMANITIESCOUNCILGRANTHELDBYMISTRALEGOUDREAU(OTTAWA)ANDMARGARETANNWILKINSON(WESTERN)

GENEALOGYANDDNA

LondonGenealogicalSocietySaturdayOctober14,2017.

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CLANMACKENZIESOCIETYOFCANADA

•  Currentwebsite(hPp://www.clanmackenziecanada.ca)informaYon:

“TheSociety…inrecentyearshasestablishedaDNAProjecttohelpmembersfindcloserelaYonshipswithothersofthesamenameandmatchingDNAresults.”

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SOMERELEVANTDEFINITIONS

•  DNA=“deoxyribonucleicacidmoleculethatencodesgeneNc informaNonoforganismsandisoPenreferredto astheblueprintoflife”

•  DNAprofile=“aseriesof26numbersrepresenNngthe numberofDNArepeatsofspecificsequencesat13 locaNonsortestregions.DuetothevariaNoninthe differentlocaNons[onthegene]acollecNveprofileis generatedwhichishighlydiscriminaNngbetween individuals.”(asusedintheworldwideelectronicdatabasesystemforcriminallawenforcementknownasCODIS[COmbinedDNAIndexSystem])

(DefiniYonstakenfromtheGlossaryprovidedbytheRCMPathPp://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/nddb-bndg/gloss-eng.htm)

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HOWUSEFULISAUTOSOMALDNAMATCHING?

1stdegreerelaYves(parents,children,siblings)shareabout50%ofyourDNA:highlyaccuratetestscanbeperformedForeachdegreeofremovaladerthat,theexpectedaccuracyiscutinhalf(3rddegreerelaYves–1stcousinsorgreat-grandparents–will,onaverage,onlymatchwithyourDNA12.5%oftheYme)becauseautosomalDNAinheritanceaderthe1stdegreerelaYonshipoccursrandomly!TheDNAmatchingcanconfirmarelaYonship–especiallyfor1stdegreeanduptothe2nddegree(eggrandparentstoyou).However,beyondthe1stdegree,itcannotdisprovearelaYonship.

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WHENDOESLAWINTERSECTWITHGENEALOGY?

When,asagenealogist,youaskeitherofthefollowingtwoquesYons:1.  WhocontrolsaccesstotheinformaYon

thatyouareseekingaboutafamilyorindividual?

2.  WhocontrolstheinformaYonaboutafamilytreethatyoupulltogether?

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HOWISDNAREGULATEDINTERMSOFGENEALOGY?

ThereisspecificlawinCanadagoverningtheuseofDNA—butonly(1)  inthecriminalcontext

seeDNAIden)fica)onAct,SC(StatutesofCanada)1998,c37

and(2)  toprohibitrequiringgeneYctesYngasacondiYonforenteringintoor

conYnuingacontractwithanindividualorprovidinggoodsorservicestoanindividual(amendingboththefederalCanadaLabourCodeandCanadianHumanRightsAct,butaffecYngnoprovinciallegislaYon).

seeGene)cNon-Discrimina)onAct,SC2017,c3.

Neitheroftheseenactmentsisrelevanttogenealogy.

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SO,DOESANYLAWGOVERNDNAINAWAYTHATINTERSECTSWITHGENEALOGY?

Doesanylawgovernwhen,asagenealogist,youaskeitherofthefollowingtwoquesYons:1.  DoesthelawgivecontroloveraccesstoDNA

informaYonthatyouareseekingaboutafamilyorindividualtoanyoneotherthanyou,asagenealogist?

2.  DoesthelawgivecontroloverDNAinformaYonaboutindividualsyouwanttoputintoagenealogythatyoupulltogethertoanyoneotherthanyou,asagenealogist?

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INGENERAL,THEREISLAWTHATGOVERNSWHEN,ASAGENEALOGIST,YOUASKEITHEROFTHEFOLLOWINGTWOQUESTIONS:

1.  DoesthelawgivecontroloveraccesstoDNAinformaYonthatyouareseekingaboutafamilyorindividualtoanyoneotherthanyou,asagenealogist?

2.  Doesthelawgivecontroltoanyoneotherthanyou,asagenealogist,overDNAinformaYonyoupulltogetheraboutindividualsandthatyouwanttodisseminateaspartofyourgenealogicaloutput?

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STARTINGWITHACCESSINGANOTHER’SDNAASAGENEALOGIST…

Doesanylawgovernwhen,asagenealogist,youask:1.  Doesthelawgivecontroloveraccessto

DNAinformaYonthatyouareseekingaboutafamilyorindividualtoanyoneotherthanyou,asagenealogist?

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IFTHEREISNOSPECIFICLEGISLATIONREGULATINGDNAINTHECONTEXTOFGENEALOGY,ISTHEREANY

RELEVANTLAW?

•  Privacylaw•  AccesslegislaNon•  PersonaldataprotecNonlegislaNon•  Contractlaw

NoneoftheseareasoflawexplicitlyreferstoDNAbutanyorallmayinvolvedingoverninginformaYonaboutanindividual’sDNAinthecontextofgenealogy.

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ISTHE1982CHARTEROFRIGHTSANDFREEDOMSPARTOFOURCONSTITUTIONINVOLVEDWHENDEALINGWITHDNA?

1stcaveat:

TherightscontainedwithintheCharteronlyrelatetoprotecYonofCanadiansfromgovernmentacYon,notrelaYonshipsbetweenprivateparYes(ie.,notbetweenindividualsandindividualsorindividualsandbusinesses)…

2ndcaveat:•  WhiletheCharters.2(b)specificallyenshrines“freedomofexpression”–andthisrighthasbeenjudiciallyinterpretedtoincluderightstoaccessinformaYon–

•  AndthoughclearlycertainprivacyinterestsareinvolvedinsomeCharterprotecYons: s.7.Everyonehastherighttolife,

libertyandsecurityofthepersonandtherightnottobedeprivedthereofexceptinaccordancewiththeprinciplesoffundamentaljusYce.

s.8.Everyonehastherighttobesecureagainstunreasonablesearchorseizure;

“privacy,” perse,doesnotappearintheCharter…

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HOWEVER,WITHOUTDOUBT,GOVERNMENTSANDTHECOURTSARETAKINGPRIVACYINTERESTSSERIOUSLY:

AndinRvPlant(3SupremeCourtReports281),considerings.8oftheCharter,andprotecYonfromgovernmentintervenYon,theSupremeCourtsaid,in1993:

“Infosteringtheunderlyingvaluesofdignity,integrityandautonomy,itisfitngthats.8oftheChartershouldseektoprotectabiographicalcoreofpersonalinformaYonwhichindividualsinafreeanddemocraYcsocietywouldwishtomaintainandcontrolfromdisseminaYontothestate.ThiswouldincludeinformaYonwhichtendstorevealinYmatedetailsofthelifestyleandpersonalchoicesoftheindividual.”

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NONETHELESS,“PRIVACY”PROTECTION(PROTECTIONOFTHESTATEOFBEINGLEFTALONE)IS,INCANADA,

BESTDEVELOPEDINQUEBEC

QuebechasaprovincialstatuteenYtledthe

QuebecCharterofRightsandFreedoms– whichhasbeenrecognizedbytheSupremeCourtasconsYtuYonalwithinthatprovince(seeAubryvEdiIonsVice-Versa[1998]1SCR591).

Itstates:s.4Everypersonhasarighttothesafeguardofhisdignity,honourand

reputaYon

s.5Everypersonhasarighttorespectforhisprivatelife

s.9Everypersonhasarighttonon-disclosureofconfidenYal informaYon

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FORTHERESTOFCANADA

TheSupremeCourthasstatedsomeYmeago(2002)inLavignevCanada:

“...thePrivacyAct[whichis,technically,apersonaldataprotecYonstatute]hasbeencharacterizedbythisCourtas‘quasi-consYtuYonal’becauseoftheroleprivacyplaysinthepreservaYonofafreeanddemocraYcsociety”

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DNAANDPERSONALDATAPROTECTIONLEGISLATION

YouraccesstoinformaYonaboutothersheldbyorganizaYonsinCanadaisincreasinglylimitedasgenealogistsbecause…

•  Since1977wehavehadincreasingPERSONALDATAPROTECTIONlegislaYoninthiscountry–beginninginthepublicsector…

•  Especiallysince2004,virtuallyallprivatesectororganizaYonsinCanadahavealsobecomesubjecttopersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYon

•  Andthereisevenmorerecentjointpublic-privatelegislaYonintheHEALTHSECTORinalmosteveryprovince&territory…

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HOWDOESTHISAFFECTGENEALOGYWORK?

• GovernmentandprivatesourceswillrefusetogiveinformaYonaboutpeoplelivingorrecentlydeceasedtoanyoneworkingongenealogy…

•  IfyouareworkingonagenealogyformoneyinOntario,youyourselfwillhavetocomplywiththefederalprivatesectorpersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYon(PIPEDA)inyourownhandlingofinformaYonyoucollectfromanysourceaboutpersonswhoarealiveorrecentlydeceased…

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WHYDOESAGENEALOGISTWORKINGONFAMILYHISTORIESASAHOBBY,NOTHAVETOWORRYABOUTHERORHISHANDLINGOF

INFORMATIONABOUTLIVINGORRECENTLYDEADPEOPLE?

•  PIPEDAs.4(2)Thispartdoesnotapplyto(b)anyindividualinrespectofinformaIonthattheindividualcollects,usesordisclosesFORPERSONALorDOMESTICPURPOSESanddoesnotcollect,useordiscloseforanyotherpurpose

•  PIPEDAs.4(2)Thispartdoesnotapplyto(c)anyorganizaIoninrespectofpersonalinformaIonthattheorganizaIoncollects,usesordisclosesFORJOURNALISTIC,ARTISTICorLITERARYPURPOSESanddoesnotcollect,useordiscloseforanyotherpurpose.

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WHYDOESPERSONALDATAPROTECTIONAFFECTGENEALOGY?

•  UnderpersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYon,onlyinformaYonaboutyouisyourdata–informaYonaboutothermembersofyourfamilyistheirdata.

•  UnderpersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYon,thegeneralprincipleisthatiforganizaYonsholddataaboutotherpeople,includingthemembersofyourfamily,organizaYonsmustNOTreleaseittoyou.

•  If,ontheotherhand,organizaYonsholdinformaYonaboutyou,thoseorganizaYonsmustreleaseittoyou.

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PersonalDataProtecYonEvoluYoninCanada

Privacy as a human rights concept

Ensuring transportability of data between countries

Europe- Early 1980’s

OECD Guidelines 1984

European Data Directive 1995- in force 1998 -no European company can ship data to a non-complying country

CANADA

Public Sector - covered, to varying degrees, between 1978 and 2008 (paired with Access legislation: must release on request unless exception)

Private Sector -Quebec from1993; later, Alta and BC - federal PIPEDA (2001 & more in 2004) covers other 7 provinces & territories

Health Sector - Nfld PIPEDA OK - NB) “ - Ontario “ - NS “ - Alta Not PIPEDA OK – need to comply - Sask “ with PIPEDA & - Man “ provincial or - PEI “ territorial - Yukon “ - NWT “ (BC, Que & Nunavut no special health sector)

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BUTALLPERSONALDATAPROTECTION(PDP)STATUTESINCANADAHAVEACOMMONFRAMEWORK:

AllPDPstatutesgovernallrecordsheldbyanorganizaYonthatcontainpersonallyidenYfiableinformaYon–intermsof:• CollecNon• Use• DisseminaNon• Disposal

Thewhole“lifecycle”ofpersonallyidenYfiableinformaYon,suchasDNA,inthehandsofanorganizaYonsubjecttothislaw,isaffectedbypersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYon…

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WOULDDNAINFORMATIONBECLASSIFIEDASHEALTHINFORMATIONANDBEUNDERTHE

HEALTHSECTORPDPSTATUTES?•  No,itisnottheinformaYonthatisclassifiedinordertoestablishwhetherthehealthsectorpdpstatutesapply,itisthetypeoforganizaYontowhichthelegislaYonappliesthatwillestablishwhetherthehealthsectorpdplegislaYonappliesorwhetheritistheprivateorpublicsectorpdplegislaYonthatdoes…

•  HealthsectorpdplegislaYonappliestoorganizaYonsdefinedasbeingwithinthatsector:inOntario,thequesYoniswhethertheorganizaYonfallswithinthedefiniYonof“healthcarecustodian”underPHIPA…

•  Inanyevent,strictlyspeaking,DNAorothergeneYcinformaYonisNOThealthinformaYon–itisinformaYonderivedfromgeneYctesYng:itisinformaYonaboutanindividual.

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SINCEEACHISLEGISLATEDBYADIFFERENTELECTEDBODY,EACHSTATUTEISUNIQUE,DETAILSVARY--

Forexample,intheprivatesectorlegisla)onknownasPIPEDA:“personalinformaIon”meansanyinformaIonaboutan

idenIfiableindividual,butdoesnotincludethename,ItleorbusinessaddressortelephonenumberofanyemployeeofanorganizaIon•  However,thisparIcularlegislaIonwillnotaffectinformaIon

youaregatheringaboutindividualswhohavebeendeadmorethan20years…

•  OrinformaIongatheredfromrecordsmadeover100yearsagoButeachstatuteinCanadadiffersindetails…thoughDNAinforma)onwouldbeconsideredpersonalunderanyofthem…

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HOWLONGMUSTORGANIZATIONSKEEPPERSONALLYIDENTIFIABLEINFORMATIONCONFIDENTIAL?

§  FederalPrivacyAct§  OntarioFOIPPA&MFOIPPA§  Alberta,Saskatchewan§  BriYshColumbia,NovaScoYa,PEI

§  Manitoba§  NewBrunswick§  Privatesector(egPIPEDA)

•  Healthsector,eg.PHIANfld

•  20yearsaderdeath–andthentheinformaYonfallsoutoftheAct

•  30yearsaderdeath,outofAct•  25yearsaderdeath,accessible•  20yearsaderdeath,accessible•  10yearsaderdeath,accessible•  20yearsaderdeathorifdocumentisover100accessible

•  Maydisclose20yrsa_erindividual’sdeath,or,ifshorter,100yearsa_errecordmade

•  PHIA-120yearsa_errecordcreatedor50yearsa_erdeath

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PIPEDA,FORTHEPRIVATESECTOR,HASNOPROVISIONFORACCESSONBEHALFOFADEADINDIVIDUAL,EVENTHOUGH

PROTECTIONCANLASTLONGERTHANLIFE:

•  ThereisnoaccesslegislaYon,soaderpersonaldataprotecYonceasestoapply,thereisnoaccesstoaperson’sinformaYonbyanyonerequiredbylaw–butnoristheinformaYonnecessarilytobetreatedinanyparYcularwaybyanorganizaYongovernedbyPIPEDA–soitcouldbereleased,attheorganizaYon’sopYon

•  Clause4.9ofSchedule1toPIPEDAprovidesfortheprinciplethatanindividualmustbeabletoaccessherorhisownpersonaldataheldbybusinessescoveredbyPIPEDA–butthereisnoprovisionforaccesstotheinformaYonaboutthatindividualaderdeathineithertheScheduleortheActitself,sees.8.

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ACCESSINGINFORMATION:

HOSPITALRECORDS

HealthisaprovincialmaPerconsYtuYonally;RelevantlegislaYonincludes-

•  PublicHospitalsActs•  ProvincialHealthInformaYonActs(wherepassed)•  PIPEDA(exceptwhereprovinciallegislaYonhasbeendeemedequivalent)

•  ProvincialorterritorialpublicsectorpersonaldataprotecYonandaccesslegislaYonwherenospecifichealthinformaYonlegislaYonhasbeenpassed

And,everwherethereisnoapplicablestatutes,therecanbeCommonLawprecedents(exceptinQuebec).

Page 26: GENEALOGY AND DNA - Ontario Genealogical Society · SOME RELEVANT DEFINITIONS • DNA = “deoxyribonucleic acid molecule that encodes geneNc informaon of organisms and is oen referred

AFTERTHETIMEOFPROTECTIONHASEXPIREDPUBLICSECTORORGANIZATIONSDIFFERFROMPRIVATE:

• GovernmentsourceswillgiveinformaYonaboutidenYfiableindividualstootherindividualswhorequestit…becausepublicsectororganizaYonsaresubjecttothe“flip-side”ofpersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYon---whichisAccesslegislaYon---

AccesslegislaYonrequiresthatanyinformaYonheldbygovernmentNOTexplicitlyrequiredtobewithheldbegiventoanyonewhorequestsit…

• NoprivatesectororganizaYonissubjecttoAccesslegislaYon…so,whileitcangiveinformaYonaboutindividualstootherindividuals,itdoesnothavetoandseldomwillbother…

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ORGANIZATIONSGOVERNEDBYPDPANDDNA

•  AllorganizaYonsgovernedbyPDPlegislaYon,includingcommercialgenealogists(governedunderPIPEDA),mustobtainpersonalinformaYonfromthepersonstowhomtheinformaYonrelates,withtheirconsent–thiswouldincludecollecYngDNAonlyfromthepersonwhoseDNAitis.

•  “Hobby”genealogistsdonothavetoadheretothislegislaYonandarefreetocollect,use,anddisseminateDNAinformaYonaboutthemselvesandothersiftheyacquireit.

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WHATABOUTENTITIESLIKEANCESTRYDNA,FAMILYTREEDNAOR23ANDME?

•  IfthesecompaniesoperatewithinCanada,theywillbesubjecttoCanadianlaws–butnotmanyofthemdo…

•  ManyoperateinjurisdicYonswithoutany,oranystrong,personaldataprotecYonlegislaYon(ie,theUnitedStates)

•  Whatisthevalueofanon-Canadiancompany’s“privacypolicies”?“Whatevertheprivacypoliciesofanygivencompanymaysay,youhavenowayofknowingwhetherthey’rebeingadheredtoorwhatmayhappentoyoursampleascompaniesareboughtandsoldinthefuture.”

(PatrickCain,“PrivacyriskslurkinDNAtests,expertswarn”GlobalNews15August2016)

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CANYOUCONTRACTFORYOURDNAINFORMATIONTOBEUSEDINWAYSNOTCONTEMPLATEDBYCANADA’SPDPLAWS?

•  ThelegislaYoninQuebec,AlbertaandBriYshColumbiaisexplicitthatnoorganizaYonorindividualcancontractoutoftheirlegislaYveprovisionsforpersonaldataprotecYon;

•  PIPEDA,inthesituaYonsandjurisdicYonswhereitappliestoprivatesectororganizaYons,doesexplicitlycontemplateindividualsbeingabletocontractoutoftheirrightsunderthestatute(Principle4.3.8)

•  Thereisa1982SupremeCourtdecision(ONHumanRightsComm’nvEtobicoke)thatholdsthereisaclassofenactmentswhere,eventhoughcontracYngoutisnotexpresslyforbidden,publicpolicydictatesthatcontracYngoutisnotallowed–thismaywellapplytoallthepersonaldataprotecYonstatutesthataresilentoncontracYngout…Thisyear’s2017SupremeCourtdecisioninDouezvFacebook,whichdidnotallowacontractualprovisionthatprivacyclassacYoninvolvingCanadianshadtobebroughtinCaliforniatostand,wouldindicatethattheSupremeCourtviewsprivacyquesYonstoliewithinthispublicpolicyareawherecontractscanbeoverriddenbyCanadiancourts.

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THANKYOU!(SEE ADDED S L I D E S D EA L ING W I TH MATTER S RA I S ED DUR ING

QUES T IONS )

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ABOUTTHECANADIANCENSUS

•  ThecensusistradiYonallytakenevery5years…

•  ItisconductedundertheauthorityoftheSta)s)csAct,RevisedStatutesofCanada1985,cS-19.

•  TheGovernmentofCanadareleasesaggregatedatafromeachcensuspubliclyandinarelaYvelyYmelyway–butthisaggregatedatadoesnotallowanyindividualpersonwhorespondedtothecensustobeidenYfied.

•  UndersecYon18.1asitnowappears,individualinformaYonprovidedbythosewhorespondedtothosecensusconductedbetween1910and2005willbemadepubliclyavailable92yearsadereachcensuswasconducted(s18.1(1))–ontheotherhand,forthe2006censusandallthoseaPerward,theinformaYonabouteachindividualwillbemadeavailableader92yearsonlyifthatindividualconsentedtothatrelease92yearslaterattheYmeoffillingoutthecensus(s18.1(2)).

•  AllinformaYonaboutindividualsthatisreleasedundereithers18.1(1)ors18.1(2),willbeplacedwithLibraryandArchivesCanada(sees18.1(3)).

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BUTTHEREISINFORMATIONPEOPLEHAVEALWAYSBEENABLETOGET–ANDARESTILLABLETOGET–FROMGOVERNMENT,

ABOUTOTHERS–WHY?

PublicsectorpersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYonandotherlawsspecificallyexemptfromcoveragevariousrecordsthathavetradiYonallybeenpubliclyavailable.

Forexample,youraccesstobirthanddeathregistraYons,thathavealwaysbeenpubliclyavailabletoanyone,isunaffectedbythepassageofallthisnewlawsince1977…butwhetheryoucanaccessinformaYonabouttherecordswhichliebehindtheregistraYonsisadifferentmaPerandhasbeenthesubjectofaseriesofdecisionsinOntario,forexample…asweshallseeinamoment…

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INDISPUTESABOUTACCESSINVOLVINGPERSONALINFORMATION,SOMETIMESADJUDICATORSLOOKATTHE

RECORDSASAWHOLE…

•  NovaScoYaFOIPOPReportofReviewOfficerFI-09-52January2012•  Africvilledescendent(areaofHalifax)askedHalifaxRegionalMunicipalityforinformaYonaboutlandsanddeedsinthenamesofrelaYvesheldbetween1940and1969andforinformaYonabouttheAfricvilleexpropriaYonwhichtookplace

•  Thegovernmenttriedblockaccessclaiming:•  solicitor-clientprivilege-whichwasrejected;or•  PersonaldataprotecYonfortherelaYves–whichwasalsorejectedbecausetherelaYvesweredeceasedmorethan20yearssonopersonaldataprotecYonbar

•  DescendentwasabletoaccesstheinformaYonrequested.

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INDIVIDUALDECISIONSONEACHRECORDINPO-3060,BASEDONTHEINFORMATIONINIT–NOTDECISIONSONCLASSESOF

DOCUMENTS…

Ministrytodisclose•  OntheStatementofMarriageunderexaminaYon•  Witnesses’signaturesandaddresses

•  Onatleastoneofthe4DeathCerYficatesunderexaminaYon-•  Datesofbirthandplaceofbirth•  Placeofdeath•  Spouses’lastnames•  Usualresidencesofthedeceased

MinistryNOTtodisclose

•  Onatleastoneofthe4DeathCerYficatesunderexaminaYon-•  Names,relaYonshiptothedeceased,signatureandaddressoftheinformants

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WHATAREPUBLICISNOTALWAYSCLEAR–FORINSTANCE,CEMETERIESARENOTNECESSARILYOPENTOTHEPUBLIC:

PIPEDAmiYgatesagainstpublicaccesstocemeteriesownedbyprivateoperatorsandchurches(Toronto’sMountPleasant,London’sSt.Peter’s)becauseofinformaYonaboutlivingorrecentlydeadindividualsonthestonesandmarkers…

PublicsectorpersonaldataprotecYonlegislaYonwouldsimilarlytendtorestrictaccesstomunicipalcemeteries…

•  CemeterieslegislaYoninsomeprovincesstatesthatcemeteriesaretobepubliclyaccessible(Saskatchewanand,incertainhours,BC)–butnotallprovinceshavethislaw

•  Ontario’sCemeteriesActisnolongerinforce:andthemuchawaitedFuneral,BurialandCremaYonServicesAct,2002,(inforcesinceJuly1,2012)doesnotexplicitlyprovideforarightofpublicaccesstocemeteries…

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WHATWOULDHAPPENINACHALLENGEUNDERPIPEDA?

s.5(3)(c)ofOntario’snewlyinforceFuneral,BurialandCremaIonServicesActcreatesadutyfortheoperatorofacemeterytoensurethat “everypersonhasreasonableaccesstoalotor

scaPeringgroundatanyYmeexceptasprohibitedbythecemeteryby-laws.”

ARegulaYontothenewAct(OntarioRegulaYon30/11),ins.110,requiresacemeteryoperatortomaintainaregisteravailableforinspecYonbythepublicwiththesameinformaYoninitaswasrequiredundertheoldOntarioCemeteriesAct.

ThenewActhasaconfidenYalityprovision(s.106)requiringpersonswhoobtaininformaYonthroughtheirpowersorduYesundertheActorregulaYonstopreservesecrecy.

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YOUMAYBEINTERESTEDINTHEFOLLOWINGLAWMASTERSTHESESIHAVESUPERVISED:

AllrecentWesternthesesanddissertaYonsareavailableelectronicallythroughScholarship@Western,inthedatabaselocatedat:hPp://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/

•  AlisonWong(2017)–“ImplemenNngCanada’sDataExclusivityObligaNonsandProtecNngPersonalInformaNoninClinicalTrials”

•  PatriciaGoodman(2012)--“ElectronicHealthRecordRegulaNoninCanada:WhatthePaNentExperienceRevealsaboutthePursuitofLegislaNveHarmonizaNon”