About FOIPOP:
The Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
Review Officer is Dulcie McCallum.
The Review Officer is an independent ombudsman appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of five to seven years. The Review Officer will accept appeals, known as Requests for Review, from applicants or third parties who are not satisfied with the response they received from a public body as a result of an application pursuant to the legislation.
The Review Officer does not have the power to make final and binding orders. However, he does have the power to require a public body to produce any document for his review which he feels is relevant. He may also enter and inspect any premises occupied by a public body. Once a review has concluded and the Review Officer has considered the arguments of both parties, the Review Officer will produce a report which may make recommendations to the public body. The public body is obligated to respond to these recommendations in writing.
If the applicant or a third party is not satisfied with the outcome of a review, an appeal may be made to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
With the cooperation of the relevant public body, the Review Officer will accept and investigate privacy complaints. Privacy investigations may also lead to a report and recommendations.
The Review Officer is responsible for the overall administration of the Review Office and since 1999 the Review Officer has issued an annual report and tabled it in the Legislature.
The Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Review Office is pleased to welcome Dulcie McCallum, former Ombudsman for the Province of British Columbia, as Nova Scotia's new Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Review Officer.
Ms. McCallum received her law degree from the University of Victoria in 1981 and was called to the bar in 1983. Her expertise is principally in administrative and human rights law. Over the past 30 years, Ms. McCallum has held positions in private practice and in the public sector. She was Ombudsman for the Province of British Columbia for seven years, until 1999. Since then, Ms. McCallum has worked for government including the administrative review into abuse at Woodlands School resulting in the public report, "The Need to Know." She has also done extensive work in the not for profit sector particularly in the area of rights of people with disabilities, including as an expert representative on the Canadian Delegation to the United Nations for the past four years, to draft and complete the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Ms. McCallum moved to Sherbrooke, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia a year and a half ago from Victoria, British Columbia.
The selection process for a new Review Officer was led by the Public Service Commission. An independent selection advisory committee, chaired by Auditor General Jacques Lapointe, recruited candidates for the position. The committee reviewed 70 applications and interviewed six candidates. Ms. McCallum was the successful candidate.
Ms. McCallum assumed office on February 5, 2007.