Amending Agreement No.1 for Annex 5 of the Canada – British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement

Information for reference

This text copy of the bilateral transfer agreement between the Government of Canada and British Columbia is provided for reference and research purposes only. The final signed version of the agreement is the official version between the parties.

On this page

List of acronyms and abbreviations

BPC: Benefit Period Commencement

British Columbia: The Government of British Columbia

Canada: The Government of Canada

COPS: Canadian Occupational Projection System

DESD Act: Department of Employment and Social Development Act

EI Act: Employment Insurance Act

FLMM: Forum of Labour Market Ministers

FOIP Act: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

ICM: Integrated case management

IT: Information Technology

LMDA: Labour Market Development Agreement

NES: National Employment Service

NLMIS: National Labour Market Information System

NOC: National Occupation Classification

Between

The Government of Canada (hereinafter referred to as "Canada") as represented by the Minister of Employment and Social Development styled as the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Canada Employment Insurance Commission;

And

The Government of British Columbia (hereinafter referred to as "British Columbia") represented by the Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation

Hereinafter referred to as “the Parties”.

Preamble

Whereas Canada and British Columbia entered into a Labour Market Development Agreement on February 20, 2008 (hereinafter referred to as the “LMDA”), in which Canada and British Columbia agreed to certain arrangements relating to the provision of contributions by Canada pursuant to section 63 of the Employment Insurance Act to support the costs of benefits and measures (referred to in the LMDA as “BC Benefits and Measures”) provided by British Columbia that are similar to Canada's employment benefits and support measures and that are consistent with the purpose and guidelines of Part II of the Employment Insurance Act;

Whereas Canada and British Columbia wish to amend Annex 5 of the LMDA entitled “Exchange of Information and Data Sharing Arrangements”;

Whereas under section 25.2 of the LMDA, the designated officials of Canada and British Columbia are authorized to sign amendments to any Annex to the LMDA;

Now, therefore, Canada and British Columbia agree as follows:

Clauses

  1. Annex 5 of the Canada-British Columbia LMDA is hereby replaced in its entirety by the attached Annex 5, Exchange of Information and Data Sharing Arrangements, which shall be binding on the parties effective as of the date of signing of this Amending Agreement
  2. The LMDA in all other respects shall remain the same

Signed on behalf of Canada this 1st day of Sept, 2015.

______________________
Witness

______________________
Michael Gardiner
Assistant Deputy Minister
Assistant Deputy Minister’s Office
Western Canada and Territories Region

Signed on behalf of British Columbia this 12th day of August, 2015.

______________________
Witness

______________________
Sheila Taylor
Deputy Minister
Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation

Schedule 1

Annex 5 – Exchange of information and data sharing arrangements

1.0 Purpose

1.1 The purpose of this Annex to the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA) is to provide for the exchange of information, including “personal information” as defined in section 3 of Canada’s Privacy Act and Schedule 1 of British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and “information” as defined in subsection 30(1) of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (DESD Act), between the parties. Personal information includes social insurance numbers.

2.0 Authorities

Canada’s Authorities:

2.1 With respect to the information to be provided by Canada to British Columbia under section 3 of this Annex, Canada confirms that it is authorized under subsection 34(1) of the DESD Act to provide such personal information to British Columbia for the purposes set out in section 3. In this regard:

2.2 With respect to the information to be collected by Canada from British Columbia under section 4 of this Annex, Canada confirms that it is authorized under the EI Act to collect such personal information from British Columbia for the purposes set out in section 4.

British Columbia’s Authorities:

2.3 With respect to the personal information to be provided by British Columbia to Canada under section 4 of this Annex, British Columbia confirms that it is authorized under paragraph 33.1(1)(d) of British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to provide such information to Canada for the purposes set out in section 4.

2.4 With respect to the information to be collected by British Columbia from Canada under section 3 of this Annex, British Columbia confirms that it is authorized under sections 26 (c) and 27 (1) (a) (i) of British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, with the consent of the individual the information is about, to collect such information from Canada for the purposes set out in section 3.

3.0 Information to be provided by Canada to British Columbia

3.1 Canada will provide to British Columbia, when requested by British Columbia, on a per individual basis, the following personal information under Canada’s control from an individual’s file for the purposes of:

EI claim information:

Canada, may on its own initiative, provide to British Columbia an update on any or all of the above information, for use by British Columbia in reviewing, as needed, the purpose and amount of the financial assistance provided to the EI Client by British Columbia.

3.2 When Canada is unable to successfully process the information submitted by British Columbia pursuant to section 4.2 of this Annex, regarding the referral by British Columbia of an Active EI Claimant to a British Columbia Benefit, for purposes of sections 25 and 27 of the EI Act, Canada will provide to British Columbia any or all of the following personal information under Canada’s control on the EI Clients so referred, for use by British Columbia in reviewing or modifying the information previously submitted to Canada:

3.3 Canada will provide to British Columbia on a monthly basis any or all of the following personal information under Canada’s control on all EI Clients and all non-insured participants who have received assistance from British Columbia under BC Benefits and Measures, for use by British Columbia for the review, analysis and verification of the data calculated or held by Canada for monitoring, assessment and reporting purposes. This information will be provided in a mutually agreed upon format.

3.3.1 Based on the monthly data files on EI Clients and non-insured participants participating in BC Benefits and Measures, as provided by British Columbia in section 4.3, the following personal information will be provided to British Columbia by Canada in a return file to assist British Columbia in reviewing and verifying Canada’s reporting of results on the number of clients employed and the amount of their unpaid benefits:

  • social insurance number
  • provincial office/catchment code
  • EI Client status
  • benefit period commencement
  • initial benefit period
  • new benefit period commencement
  • last week of entitlement
  • benefit rate
  • month code
  • last week processed
  • total weeks paid
  • weeks paid sub-counter
  • unpaid benefits
  • training ID
  • intervention code
  • intervention start date
  • intervention end date
  • training/self-employment project start week
  • training/self-employment project end week
  • action plan ID (ICM Service Plan number)
  • action plan result
  • action plan result week/date
  • intervention result
  • intervention result week/date
  • apprenticeship client indicator
  • group services type
  • date of group session
  • unit 143 – LMDA EI claimants who find employment before the end of their insurance entitlement period as a result of BC Benefits and Measures
  • unit 144 – LMDA EI claimants who are recorded as employed after their insurance entitlement period as a result of BC Benefits and Measures
  • unit 145 – LMDA EI claimants who become employed before the end of their insurance entitlement period as a result of a BC group service
  • unit 146 – former LMDA EI claimants who become employed as a result of BC Benefits and Measures
  • unit 152 –EI Part I unpaid benefits resulting from EI claimants employed before end of insurance entitlement period, as a result of BC Benefits and Measures (corresponds to unit 143 – non - TWS)
  • unit 153 –EI Part I unpaid benefits resulting from EI claimants employed before end of insurance entitlement period as a result of a BC TWS intervention (wage subsidy - corresponds to unit 143 – TWS program)
  • unit 154 –EI Part I unpaid benefits resulting from EI claimants employed before end of insurance entitlement period as a result of a BC group service (corresponds to unit 145)

3.4 Upon request, and based on the monthly data files on EI Clients and non-insured participants who are participating in BC Benefits and Measures, as provided by British Columbia in section 4.3, the following personal information will be provided to British Columbia for the review and verification of Canada’s reporting of results.  The personal information will be provided in two different data sets (by client and intervention):

3.5 Canada will provide to British Columbia, when requested by British Columbia and based on the selection criteria identified by British Columbia, on a per individual basis, any or all of the following personal information under Canada’s control from an individual’s file for the purpose of assisting British Columbia in contacting individuals who have recently applied for benefits under Part I of the EI Act who may be interested in receiving assistance under BC Benefits and Measures, in order to facilitate their return to work:

3.6 Upon request Canada will provide to British Columbia, any or all of the following personal information under Canada’s control on all EI Clients residing in British Columbia, who are Active EI Claimants, to assist British Columbia in the strategic planning of the delivery of BC Benefits and Measures:

Any reports created by British Columbia or Canada involving these data elements must be in aggregates of no less than 10.

3.7 British Columbia understands that it cannot use any of the personal information received from Canada under this Annex for research or statistical purposes.

3.7.1 Should British Columbia wish to receive from Canada personal information for research or statistical purposes, Canada will assess each request on a case by case basis. Canada may make personal information available to British Columbia for research or statistical purposes upon being satisfied that the conditions set out in section 38 of the DESD Act are met. The information to be shared would be the subject of a separate information-sharing agreement.

3.8 For the purposes of detecting overpayments of financial assistance due to error, misrepresentation or fraud in relation to any individual who is receiving, or who has received, assistance from British Columbia under British Columbia Benefits, Canada will provide to British Columbia where available and upon written request, on a per individual basis, any or all of the following personal information under Canada’s control about the individual:

3.9 Canada may also, on its own initiative, provide to British Columbia the information listed in section 3.8 about any individual who receives assistance under Canada’s programs where it suspects that the individual is not entitled to that assistance or insurance benefits under Part I of the EI Act to which the individual is not entitled.

3.10 Following any amendment to the EI Act, Canada will provide to British Columbia, when requested by British Columbia, on a per individual basis, the following personal information under Canada’s control in respect of each Active EI Claimant who is receiving or has received financial assistance while participating in British Columbia Benefits, to assist British Columbia in communicating with the client or in determining whether any revisions to British Columbia Benefits are required:

3.11 Upon being provided with the information outlined in section 5.4 of this Annex, Canada will provide those British Columbia employees identified therein with the following information to permit electronic access to any personal information held by Canada and described in this Annex:

4.0 Information to be provided by British Columbia to Canada

4.1 British Columbia will provide Canada, on a per individual basis, the following personal information under British Columbia’s control about each individual who submits an application under BC Benefits and Measures, for the purposes of establishing and verifying if the individual qualifies as an EI Client:

4.2 British Columbia will provide to Canada for the following purposes, the following personal information under British Columbia’s control about each Active EI Claimant and who is receiving assistance under British Columbia Benefits:

4.3 Where available, British Columbia will provide to Canada the following personal information under British Columbia’s control:

for the purpose of assisting Canada in monitoring, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the assistance provided by British Columbia under BC Benefits and Measures, which Canada is required to do under Articles 9 and 11 of this LMDA:

The above information will be updated by British Columbia on a monthly basis, or upon request, for periodic evaluations, when available.

4.4 For the purposes of detecting overpayments of insurance benefits under Part I of the EI Act, due to error, misrepresentation or fraud, to any individual who is participating or has participated in British Columbia Benefits, British Columbia will provide to Canada upon written request on a per individual basis, any or all of the following personal information under British Columbia’s control about the individual:

4.5 British Columbia may also, on its own initiative, provide to Canada the information listed in section 4.4 about any individual who has received or is receiving:

4.6 Following any amendment to the EI Act, British Columbia will provide to Canada when requested by Canada the following personal information under British Columbia’s control in respect of each individual who is receiving or has recently received financial assistance while participating in British Columbia Benefits, in order for Canada to determine which of these individuals is receiving or has recently received Part I benefits under the EI Act, which in turn will assist British Columbia in communicating with the client and/or in determining whether any revisions to British Columbia’s financial assistance are required:

4.7 British Columbia will provide to Canada the following personal information under British Columbia’s control on the results of British Columbia’s efforts to contact the individuals identified by Canada under section 3.5 of this Annex, for the purpose of assisting Canada in assessing the impact of those efforts in facilitating each individual’s return to work, and verifying the individual’s ongoing eligibility for, or entitlement to, employment insurance benefits under Part I of the EI Act:

5.0 Personal security screening

5.1 In accordance with applicable legislative, regulatory and policy requirements, the employer of an employee requiring access to personal information under the care and responsibility of the other party will ensure that the employee obtains a personal security screening at a level that is commensurate with the personal information being handled.

5.2 The parties will ensure that only those employees who have a valid and appropriate security level and the need to access the personal information exchanged under this Agreement for the performance of their duties will have access to and use of that personal information.

5.3 In the context of allowing British Columbia employees to access Canada’s systems and personal information held by Canada for the purposes identified under this LMDA, British Columbia will provide to Canada written verification, on a per individual basis, that the security screening described in section 5.1 has been completed and an attestation that, in British Columbia’s judgment, any risks that may be associated with each of its employees so screened are acceptable to British Columbia. The verification will include the following personal and non-personal information about each British Columbia employee who requires access to Canada’s systems and information, and who has completed the security screening:

5.4 In the context of allowing a British Columbia employee who has completed the security screening required in section 5.2 and obtained the appropriate security level to access Canada’s systems and personal information held by Canada for the purposes identified under this LMDA, British Columbia will provide to Canada the following personal and non-personal information under British Columbia’s control about each such British Columbia employee:

5.5 British Columbia will inform Canada within 24 hours when a British Columbia employee ceases to need access to any one of Canada’s systems.

6.0 Information protection and security

6.1 The information received by each Party under this Agreement will be protected as provided for under the laws governing each Party and in accordance with this Agreement. Personal Information will be safeguarded to ensure that the integrity, privacy and security of the personal information are protected at a high level at all times.

6.2 In the event of a breach or incident involving personal information it has accessed or collected from Canada, British Columbia will inform ESDC’s Director, EI Part II, Benefits and Measures, within 24 hours of being informed of the breach or incident and follow the process described in Appendix A.

7.0 Mode of Information Exchange

7.1 Canada and British Columbia have entered into a separate service level agreement outlining systems and security requirements.

7.2 Unless otherwise specified in this Annex, personal Information and reports covered by this Annex will be provided by each party in a mutually agreed format, frequency and manner.

7.3 Canada and British Columbia agree to notify each other within a reasonable time of any change affecting communication protocols or methods, data bank access procedures or systems. The parties agree to participate in compatibility tests when changes are made to such protocols, methods or procedures.

7.4 British Columbia may request improvements to Canada’s applications used by British Columbia. If deemed appropriate, suggested improvements will be taken into account in Canada’s priority-setting process. Nothing in this clause limits the development activities that must be pursued by both parties in order to ensure personal information exchange between the two organizations.

7.5 Canada agrees to inform British Columbia, in a timely manner, in accordance with the procedures agreed upon by both parties, of any new federal application or any new version of a federal application that is relevant to this Annex.

7.6 Canada and British Columbia are committed to ensuring that the personal information they provide to each other under this Annex is reliable and is provided in a timely, secure, and confidential manner, and they agree to work together in achieving this goal.

8.0 Confidentiality, use and disclosure

8.1 Canada and British Columbia undertake to use their best efforts to fully maintain and protect the confidentiality of the personal information they receive under this Annex.

8.2 Subject to sections 8.3 and 8.4, Canada and British Columbia shall not, in respect of any personal information they obtain from each other under this Annex:

8.3 Canada and British Columbia may use personal information they obtain from each other under this Annex for a purpose other than that for which it was obtained:

8.4 Canada and British Columbia may disclose personal information they obtain from each other under this Annex to any person or body for any purpose:

8.5 Unless otherwise required or authorized by law, or authorized in writing by the other party and subject to section 8.2, a party shall not disclose any personal information, obtained from the other party under this Annex, to a third party for a purpose authorized herein unless there is a written agreement between that party and the third party imposing upon the third party obligations that are the same as those imposed upon that party under this Annex with respect to the protection of this information.

8.5.1 For the purpose of section 8.5, a “third party” does not include Shared Services Canada, a department of the Government of Canada established under section 4 of the Shared Services Canada Act, S.C. 2012, c. 19, s.117, responsible for the provision of information technology (IT) infrastructure services to Canada, that may include e-mail, data centre (servers) and network services.

8.6 British Columbia acknowledges that it is an offence under the DESD Act for anyone to knowingly make available information that is privileged thereunder or to knowingly use or allow such information to be used otherwise than in accordance with this Act. British Columbia acknowledges that this provision applies to employees of British Columbia to whom the information is disclosed.

8.7 In the event of a request under Canada’s Access to Information Act or Privacy Act for personal information obtained from British Columbia under this Annex, Canada agrees to consult, when required, with British Columbia prior to any disclosure of such information. In the event of a request under British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, for information obtained from Canada under this Annex, British Columbia agrees to consult, when required, with Canada prior to any disclosure of such information. No consultation obligation referred to in this section will be construed as limiting any legal duty in respect of any disclosure referred to in this section.

9.0 Costs

9.1 Costs incurred by a party in carrying out its obligations under this Annex will be the responsibility of that party.

10.0 Information Management

10.1 The personal information exchanged under this Annex shall be collected, used, maintained, stored, retained, disclosed, destroyed or disposed of and otherwise administered and protected in accordance with:

10.2 Each party will internally investigate all cases where they have reasonable grounds to believe that any of the conditions set out in this Annex has been or is likely to be breached. This includes any cases where it is alleged, suspected, or there is evidence, that there has been unauthorized collection, access, use, disclosure, modification, disposal or destruction of the personal information exchanged under this Annex, modification of a permitted use, misuse, or breach of confidentiality, or any incident which might jeopardize or has jeopardized the security or integrity of the parties’ respective computer systems or networks used to access and transmit the personal information, as outlined in Appendix A to this Annex.

10.3 The parties will comply with their respective policies related to conducting Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and Threat and Risk Assessments (TRA) covering the exchange of personal information under this Annex. When one party is conducting a PIA or TRA, the other party will provide information upon request related to their policies and procedures for managing the personal information provided by the first party, in order to facilitate the completion of the assessment. When the PIA or TRA is completed, the parties agree to provide a copy of the relevant portions of the related reports to each other.

10.3.1 Where issues are identified in a PIA or TRA, the parties agree to work together to address the issues.

10.3.2 When an issue cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the other party, it shall be referred to the Designated Officials, under section 21.2 of the LMDA.

10.4 The parties may periodically audit their respective information management practices and procedures in the context of this Annex, to ensure:

10.4.1 The methodology and format of such audits will be mutually agreed upon.

10.4.2 The parties agree to provide a copy of their respective audit reports and management/corrective action plans to each other.

10.4.3 Where deficiencies in a party’s information management practices affecting compliance with the requirements of section 8.1 or the security, confidentiality and integrity of information exchanged under this Annex are identified in an audit report, the party concerned shall take appropriate corrective action to remedy these deficiencies.

10.4.4 The parties agree to notify the other party of the actions taken to address any such deficiencies.

11.0 Accuracy of Information

11.1 Each party will use its best efforts to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the personal information provided to the other under this Annex. However, it is understood and agreed that they cannot guarantee its accuracy and completeness and will, therefore, not be held responsible by the other party for any damage resulting from the transmission or use of any information that is inaccurate or incomplete.

12.0 Personal information collection, storage and access

12.1 Except as may be permitted by British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, personal information (as defined therein) in British Columbia’s custody or under British Columbia’s control may only be stored or accessed in Canada.

12.2 Canada and British Columbia will cooperate to ensure that the provisions of British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act are respected.

13.0 General

13.1 This Annex can be modified with the written consent of both Parties.

Appendix A – Privacy breach requirements

A.1 In the event of a security incident or privacy breach involving personal information, which for the purpose of this agreement includes unauthorized access to or collection, use, disclosure, deletion, disposal or destruction of information, the party responsible for the privacy breach shall:

A.2 Upon being notified of an instance of unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, misuse or breach of confidentiality, or computer or network security breach, the party so notified may:

Notification contact for ESDC

Director, EI Part II, Benefits and Measures
Skills Employment Branch
Employment Programs and Partnerships Directorate
Employment and Social Development Canada
Place du Portage, Phase IV
140 Promenade du Portage, Phase IV, Mailstop 424
Gatineau, Quebec  
K1A 0J9
LMDA-SUPPORT-EDMT@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

And,

Director, Access to Information and Privacy
Employment and Social Development Canada
Place du Portage, Phase IV
140 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0J9
NC-ATIP-AIPRP-GIDL-GD@hrsdc-hrdcc.gc.ca

Notification contact for British Columbia

Director, Program Contract, Policy and Client Inclusion
Employment and Labour Market Services Division
Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation
19th Floor - 1050 W Pender Street
Vancouver, BC
V6E 3S7
ELMS.Procurement@gov.bc.ca

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