Dear Ontario Archival Colleagues:

On February 4, 2002, the Ontario Government released a consultation draft of broad privacy legislation, the proposed Privacy of Personal Information Act.

If this draft becomes legislation, it will transform the manner in which private, not-for-profit, and some public sector organizations in Ontario manage
personal information in their custody. The legislation will also have a profound impact on archives and archives’ users.

Briefly, the general archival implications are the following:
* One, the definition of “personal information” is broad and includes incidental personal information found in most types of archival records.
* Two, the proposed legislation is retroactive, thereby potentially closing many records currently available to the public.
* Three, while the draft exempts personal information collected, used or disclosed for artistic, journalistic or literary purposes, it does not provide
exemptions for archival purposes or for historical or scholarly research.
* Four, the passage of time clause is unreasonably long, only allowing disclosure of information without consent if the record is more than 150 years old or if
the record’s subject has been dead for more than 75 years.
* Five, the proposed Act makes no provisions for research agreements.
* Six, it is unclear whether or not private records acquired by archives are subject to the proposed legislation.
* Seven, the draft bill provides that any personal information records shall be destroyed when their original purpose is finished.

The Archives Association of Ontario is submitting a response to the sponsoring Ministry of Consumer and Business Services.  I encourage you to review the draft
bill and to make a submission as well.  The deadline for submission is March 31, 2002.  The draft legislation and accompanying information may be found in at
the following:
http://www.cbs.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/pdf/56XSMB.pdf

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Let's be heard!

Best Regards,
Loryl MacDonald
AAO Vice-President
(416) 978-7657 or [log in to unmask]