How should municipalities handle records containing personal information of individuals that are used during in camera meetings?
• Section 197(2) of the MGA authorizes a council and its committees to close all or part of their meetings to the public if a matter to be discussed is within one of the exceptions to disclosure contained in Division 2 of Part 1 of the FOIP Act. One of the exceptions includes disclosures of personal information that would be an unreasonable invasion of a third party’s personal privacy (section 17(1)). • The information of an identifiable individual must be discussed in a closed meeting if the disclosure would be an unreasonable invasion of privacy to have the discussion with members of the public present. • Any motion arising from those discussions must then be voted upon in public. Consistent with the principle of open government, a municipality should try to make public as much information as possible about the general nature of the matter considered without disclosing the personal information of the individual in question. • See question 18 for further information about in camera me
