Thank you for visiting the Access and Privacy Division pages of the Manitoba Ombudsman's Office web site.

We are responsible for investigating complaints and reviewing compliance with access to information and protection of privacy rights under The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and The Personal Health Information Act (PHIA). These statutes were proclaimed in May 1998 and December 1997 respectively. FIPPA replaced The Freedom of Information Act that had been in force since September 1988. PHIA is pioneering legislation in Canada dealing with access to and the protection of personal health information.

If you are unfamiliar with access and privacy legislation in general, a good place to start on this web site is with the Principles of Access and Privacy Legislation underlying both FIPPA and PHIA.

Our pages include information specific to either FIPPA or PHIA such as summaries of parts of the Acts, news releases and various other documents in the Reports and Publications section.

Regular visitors should check the What's New page for announcements of additions to the site.

Prairie Health Information Privacy Day 2008 October 22, 2008, Winnipeg Set aside October 22, 2008 and stay tuned for more information. This conference on health information privacy issues is hosted by Manitoba Ombudsman and the Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

 

In the course of preparing information for our web site, we found several sources to be of particular value, including the updateable Manitoba Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Resource Manual for the Provincial Government and Government Agencies prepared by Civil Legal Services of Manitoba Justice, and the Government Records Office, Provincial Archives, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism. Also noteworthy in relation to The Personal Health Information Act are the six pamphlets prepared by Manitoba Health under the general title A Brief Summary for.... These pamphlets were distributed in 1998 for public bodies, health professionals, health services agencies, information managers, health care facilities and health researchers. The pamphlets, and other information, are also available on Manitoba Health's web site at http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/phia/index.html.

Users of our web site are cautioned that, by definition, our guides to and summaries of the Acts and their regulations are not exhaustive. The original text should be consulted for all purposes of interpreting and applying the law. Our opinions, comments, and recommendations are based on substantive investigation, research and analysis, but we are not legal counsel or a court of law.