New legislative amendments brought forward by the Saskatchewan government on Monday could soon mean police in the province will be subject to freedom of information requests.
The proposed amendments to Saskatchewan’s Freedom of Information (FOI) and privacy laws received first reading in the Legislature on June 13.
One of the proposed changes is to extend the FOI legislation to include police services.
Other changes include creating a new offence for snooping, extending privacy requirements to include MLA and cabinet ministers’ offices and increasing penalties for privacy violations.
The Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ronald Kruzeniski, said in a statement he is pleased with the proposed amendments and will work further on FOI regulations once the amendment is passed.
“In the upcoming years, my office will propose additional amendments to both Acts as needed and changes are identified,” Kruzeniski said in the statement.
Last August, Kruzeniski also said a care home and the Saskatoon Health Region apologize to a fired aide whose privacy they breached.
Peter Bowden was a care aide at Oliver Lodge in Saskatoon when he brought concerns about understaffing to the legislature last March. He was suspended with pay, resulting in allegations he was penalized for going public with his complaints, and later fired.
He made a complaint with the privacy commissioner after the provincial government leaked information about a health care aide’s personnel file.
In his report, Kruzeniski recommended privacy laws be changed to include politicians and their staff. Premier Brad Wall admitted it was a mistake to release some private information to the media, even though the law doesn’t apply to his office.
READ MORE: Whistleblower files privacy complaint against Sask. premier
The government said it will work with police and others to develop regulations and implement changes before the amendments come into force in 2017.
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