Glossary

FOIP terms

Here are some common terms used in relation to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.

A - C | D - F | G - K | L - N | O - R | S - T | U - Z

student in main building

A - C

Active Dissemination

The process of actively publishing specifically determined Mount Royal records without any form of request.

Consistent purpose

The use or disclosure of personal information is consistent with the purpose for which the information was collected or compiled if the use or disclosure has a reasonable and direct connection to that purpose and is necessary for performing the the statutory duties of, or for operating a legally authorized program of, the public body that uses or discloses the information. Mount Royal can only use personal information for the purpose it was collected or compiled or for a use consistent with that purpose

Custody/Control of a record

Custody generally means physical possession of a record by a public body. This includes situations where the business records of a third party are stored on the premises of the public body. There may also be situations where the public body uses a record storage centre or a faculty member retains student grades at home. In these circumstances, the public body still has custody of the records.

Control is when the public body has the authority to manage the record throughout its life-cycle, including directing and administering its use or disclosure. Examples of records under the control of the public body includes:

A record created by an outside consultant for the public body
A record that is closely integrated with the records of the public body and is relied upon by it in carrying out operations or services.
A record that the public body, by contract, has the right to inspect, review, or copy.

D - F

Disclosure

The use of personal information for purposes other then what the information was originally was collected for or release of personal information to someone other then whoever originally collected the information.

G - K

L - N

Local Public Body

A public educational body, health care body or a local government body

O - R

Personal Information

Any recorded information about an identifiable individual including:

name
home or business address or telephone numbers
race
national or ethnic origin
colour
religion
political beliefs or associations
age
sex
marital status
family status
identifying numbers
fingerprints or blood type
health and health care history
educational, financial, employment, criminal records
opinions about the individual

Personal Information Banks

Personal information banks are defined as: "...a collection of personal information that is organized or retrievable by the name of an individual or by an identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to an individual."
FOIP requires local public bodies to make available for inspection and copying by the public a directory that lists the local public body's personal information banks (PIBS).
Mount Royal has documented all its personal information banks and currently there are 670 different personal information banks grouped into 29 categories (i.e. student records, employee records).

Records

A record is information in any form or format. Records can include;

documents
handwritten notes
draft documents
books
vouchers
drawings
Post-its
letters
papers
e-mail
calendars
maps
photographs
voice mail

Remember: With limited exceptions Mount Royal records can be accessed by the public.

Routine Disclosure

The process of releasing specifically determined Mount Royal records upon request but without a formal FOIP request.

S - T

Transitory Records

Records that are not part of administrative or operational records and are only required for a limited period of time for the completion of a routine action or for the preparation of a record. There are six categories of transitory records ... temporary information, duplicates, draft documents, publications, direct mail and blank information media.

U - Z