Delegating Responsibility to an Access and Privacy Officer

Under FIPPA s.81, the head of a public body may delegate any duty or power of the head under the Act to any person on the staff of the public body. This person is called the Access and Privacy Officer.  It is recommended that a general delegation of all duties be made. Delegations of responsibilities under PHIA may be included on the same form.

A public body may have more than one Access and Privacy Officer.  However, as Officers must keep current with FIPPA, a small number of Officers often works best.  We recommend that a public body have a lead Officer, with backup officers as necessary.

The delegation should be to positions (not to individuals) so that when a new person occupies one of these positions, they will assume the FIPPA duties without requiring another delegation.

We have prepared the following model delegation forms for you.  These templates are in Word format which you may download and modify as needed.

Government Department and Government Agency Delegation Form (Word Doc)

Local Public Body Delegation Form (Word Doc)

Copies of the signed delegation form and the name and contact information for the Access and Privacy Officers should be sent to [email protected] and the Office of the Ombudsman.