Grievance Case Summary - G-208-209-210

The Committee issued Findings and Recommendations in three grievances which all related to the same action taken by Force officials. In November 1994, the Force provided to Revenue Canada-Taxation (RC-T), at their request, information regarding those members who had received a transfer allowance in the years 1991-1993. Before providing the information, advice had been sought from RCMP Legal Services; that advice had been to the effect that RC-T could not, under the Income Tax Act (ITA), demand the information without first obtaining judicial authorization to do so; however, if the Force wanted to cooperate with RC-T, it could do so without violating its obligation under the Privacy Act to protect members' personal information, as the provisions in the Privacy Act which authorize the disclosure of personal information could be applied in this case.

As a result of the release of the information, several members had their taxes reassessed. Although the Force had included the value of the transfer allowance in members' taxable employment income, some members had claimed that amount as a deduction from their taxable earnings; RC-T reassessed those members whose deductions had been allowed when their returns were first audited.

Three members whose information had been released filed grievances which were eventually referred to the Committee. They claimed that their rights to the protection of their personal information had been violated, and that the actions of RC-T and the RCMP had also violated the ITA. As redress, they each sought to have the Force pay them an amount equal to their reassessment.

Before a Grievance Advisory Board (GAB) was convened, the Appropriate Officer submitted a decision made by the Privacy Commissioner on complaints that had been made by some members regarding the actions of RC-T and the RCMP. The Privacy Commissioner determined that the disclosure of the information had been lawful and had not violated the members' rights.

Both the GAB and the Level I adjudicator found that the RCMP had violated the members' rights; the adjudicator upheld the grievance. However, he did not order the payment requested, finding that the tax payable by members was a private matter between members and RC-T. The three members sought Level II adjudication on the issue of the proper redress.

On May 4 and 27, 1998 respectively, the ERC issued its findings and recommendations in these three cases. The External Review Committee found that subsection 231.2(2) of the ITA, which requires RC-T to get judicial authorization to demand information, had not been violated because RC-T had not exerted its power to compel information, but had simply requested it and the RCMP had provided it voluntarily. The Committee found also that the Force had not violated the Privacy Act. It appeared that the Force had, in the past, made a mistake in fulfilling its reporting requirements to RC-T and had actually been obliged to provide the transfer allowance information separately from total income. Therefore, the disclosure being grieved had not only complied with the Income Tax Regulations, but it also could be considered to fit within the 'consistent use' provision of the Privacy Act, which authorizes the disclosure of personal information where the use to which the information is to be put is consistent with the use for which it was collected.

The Committee recommended that the grievances be denied, as it found that there had been no violation of the members' rights, and the disclosure had been reasonable. It found that, although it appeared that the Appropriate Officer had not known, at the time of the disclosure, about the reporting requirement, the disclosure had nonetheless been legal and reasonable. The Committee expressed its view that the manner of the disclosure, however, could have been better, in that members could have been informed of the basis for the release of the information, and could have been given timely notice. However, these measures would not have affected the members' rights or the outcome of the grievance.

On August 10, 1998, the Commissioner rendered his decision. He agreed with the External Review Committee and denied the grievances.