What is the legal responsibility of a counsellor versus Mount Royal with respect to personal information records?
The FOIP Act defines “employee” as including a person retained under contract to perform services for a public body. [Section 1(1)(e)] Therefore, whether or not the counsellor is a paid employee of Mount Royal does not affect responsibilities under the Act. If the counsellor is a contractor, the contract should specify who has custody and control of personal information and set out rules to ensure the counsellor complies with the Act. If a request is received for personal information contained in counselling records, the counsellor is legally obligated to provide those records to Mount Royal and should assist the FOIP Coordinator in making an assessment on release of the records.
