Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Chapter 2: Scope Of FIPPA - Who And What Falls Under FIPPA


Overview

  • the public bodies that fall under FIPPA,
  • the records that fall under FIPPA,
  • the records that do not fall under FIPPA,
  • procedures that are not affected by FIPPA,
  • the definitions of personal information, personal health information, law enforcement and third party; and
  • the relationship of FIPPA to other legislation.
A word about definitions

Certain terms are defined in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA. In this Manual, these defined terms are identified by bold type - e.g. public body, record, etc.

A few terms are defined in the Access and Privacy Regulation made under FIPPA.1

Appendix 1 is a Glossary of Terms that includes terms defined in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA, as well as some other terms used in FIPPA or in this Manual.


Public Bodies That Fall Under FIPPA [Subsection 1(1)]

FIPPA applies to Manitoba public bodies. The term public body is defined in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA.


Overview of the Definition "Public Body"

Public bodies that fall under FIPPA have statutory duties with respect to access to information and protection of privacy.

The definition of public body in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA sets out the bodies that fall under FIPPA.

This definition also sets out bodies that are not public bodies and that do not fall under FIPPA.


1(1)  "public body" means:

  1. a department,
  2. a government agency,
  3. the Executive Council Office,
  4. the office of a minister, and
  5. a local public body,

but does not include:

  1. the office of a Member of the Legislative Assembly who is not a minister,
  2. the office of an officer of the Legislative Assembly, or
  3. the Court of Appeal, the Court of Queen's Bench or the Provincial Court;2

Clauses (a) to (e) of the definition of public body set out five types of bodies that are public bodies that fall under FIPPA:

  • a department of the government of Manitoba;
  • the office of a minister of the government of Manitoba;
  • the Executive Council Office of the government of Manitoba;
  • a government agency; and
  • a local public body.

Clauses (f), (g) and (h) of the definition of public body set out three types of bodies that are not public bodies. These bodies do not fall under FIPPA:

  • the office of a Member of the Legislative Assembly who is not a minister of the government of Manitoba;
  • the office of an officer of the Legislative Assembly;
  • the Court of Appeal of Manitoba, the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench and the Provincial Court of Manitoba.

Note:
Every public body that falls under FIPPA is also a trustee of personal health information under The Personal Health Information Act.3


If you have any questions as to whether a body is a public body that falls under FIPPA, contact legal counsel.


Departments, Ministers' Offices and the Executive Council Office

FIPPA applies to the executive branch of the Government of Manitoba. The executive branch includes:

  • the departments of the Government of Manitoba,
  • the offices of the ministers of the Government, and
  • the Executive Council Office.

That is, all Manitoba government departments, ministers' offices and the Executive Council Office are public bodies that fall under FIPPA.

Departments of the government

A department is defined in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA as "a department, branch or office of the executive government of the province". All Manitoba government departments, and their branches and offices, are public bodies that fall under FIPPA.

Example:
Special operating agencies, established under The Special Operating Agencies Financing Authority Act, are branches or offices of a department and fall under FIPPA. For example, the Companies Office is a special operating agency, and is an office of the Department of Jobs and the Economy. It falls under FIPPA.


The term "office" is not limited to a physical office, but applies to the duties and functions associated with that office.4

Ministers' offices

The offices of the ministers of the government of Manitoba all fall under FIPPA.

"Minister" is defined in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA to mean a member of Cabinet. Cabinet means the Executive Council appointed under The Executive Government Organization Act.5

The Executive Council Office

The Executive Council Office of the government of Manitoba falls under FIPPA.

"Executive Council Office" means the office of the Executive Council of the province - commonly called "Cabinet" - which is established under The Executive Government Organization Act.6


"Government Agencies"

Manitoba government agencies, as defined in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA, are also public bodies that fall under FIPPA.

1(1)  "government agency" means means:

  1. any board, commission, association, agency, or similar body, whether incorporated or unincorporated, all the members of which, or all the members of the board of management or board of directors or governing board of which, are appointed by an Act of the Legislature or by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and
  2. any other body designated as a government agency in the regulations;

Government agencies 'by definition' [clause (a)]

Under clause (a) of the definition, the following are "government agencies" and are therefore "public bodies" under FIPPA:

  1. any incorporated or unincorporated board, commission, association, agency or similar body, where all the members of the body are appointed by an Order in Council made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

    2. Examples include:

    • the Council on Post-Secondary Education established under The Council on Post-Secondary Education Act;
    • the Manitoba Labour Board established under The Labour Relations Act.
  2. any incorporated or unincorporated board, commission, association, agency, or similar body where all of the members of the board of directors, board of management or governing board are appointed by an Order in Council made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

    3. Examples include:

    • Manitoba Hydro, established under The Manitoba Hydro Act;
    • the Workers Compensation Board established under The Workers Compensation Act.
  3. any incorporated or unincorporated board, commission, association, agency or similar body where all the members of the body, or all the members of its board of directors, board of management or governing board, are appointed by an Act of the Legislature.

    4. A hypothetical example:

    A body is created by a statute (that is, by an "Act of the Legislature"), and the statute itself states that its members are:

    • The Attorney General,
    • the Mayor of the City of Winnipeg, and
    • the Chief of Police for the City of Winnipeg.

    In this example, the statute itself identifies all three members of the body (by the offices that they hold). These members would be "appointed by an Act of the Legislature", and the body would be a public body that falls under FIPPA.

Government Agencies Brought under FIPPA by the FIPPA Regulation [Clause (b)]

Under clause (b) of the definition of government agency, the meaning of "government agency" has been extended to include the additional agencies set out in Schedule B to the Access and Privacy Regulation under FIPPA.7 These additional agencies are "government agencies" and "public bodies" under FIPPA, and FIPPA applies to them.

Examples:
Government agencies that have been brought under FIPPA by regulation include: child and family services agencies, community justice committees, the Manitoba Health Research Council, etc.


If you have any questions as to whether a body is a government agency that falls under FIPPA, contact legal counsel.


"Local Public Bodies"

Local public bodies are also public bodies that fall under FIPPA. Subsection 1(1) of FIPPA sets out three kinds of local public bodies:

  • educational bodies,
  • health care bodies, and
  • local government bodies.

These three terms are also defined in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA.

Educational bodies

The educational bodies described in the definition of this term in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA (set out below) are local public bodies and are public bodies under FIPPA. This means that FIPPA applies to them.

1(1)  "educational body" means:

  1. a school division or school district established under The Public Schools Act,
  2. The University of Manitoba,
  3. The University of Winnipeg,
       c.1.  Brandon University,
       c.2.  University College of the North,
       c.3.  L'Université de Saint-Boniface,
       c.4.  St. Paul's College,
       c.5.  St. John's College,
  4. a college established under The Colleges Act, and
  5. any other body designated as an educational body in the regulations;

With respect to clause (d) of this definition, there are currently two colleges established under The Colleges Act: Red River College and Assiniboine Community College.

Under clause (e) of this definition, the meaning of "educational body" can be extended by a regulation under FIPPA to bring additional educational institutions under FIPPA.

Health care bodies

The health care bodies described in the definition of this term in subsection 1(1) of FIPPA (set out below) are local public bodies and are public bodies under FIPPA. This means that FIPPA applies to them.


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