Grievance Case Summary - G-459

An RCMP member filed a grievance against the RCMP's decision to post on its internal Web site (intranet) a disciplinary decision concerning him. The Respondent raised the issue of the Grievor's standing, because in its view, he had not specified how he was aggrieved, and the decision to publish the disciplinary decisions was not made in the administration of RCMP business. The Level I Adjudicator denied the grievance at the preliminary stage, because in his view, the Grievor did not have standing. The Grievor presented his grievance at Level II.

In terms of the merits of the case, the Grievor stated that the act of publishing the disciplinary decisions on the RCMP's intranet affected his right to privacy and caused him harm, because he experienced the repercussions. The Respondent responded that the disclosure of these decisions on the intranet is a measure the RCMP takes in accordance with the principles of open justice.

The ERC found that the Grievor had standing. The Grievor maintained that he was aggrieved by this action, because his colleagues were able to access personal information about him.

In terms of the merits of the case, the ERC found that adjudication boards are bound by the principle of open justice. Under this principle, the public has access to adjudication board decisions, and the Privacy Act does not apply to posting these decisions on the RCMP's intranet (section 69(2) of the Privacy Act). Moreover, posting the adjudication board decisions on the RCMP's intranet constitutes sharing of personal information consistent with the purposes for which the information was collected (paragraph 8(2)(a) of the Privacy Act). In this case, the Adjudication Board's decision was posted on the RCMP's intranet in the interest of striking a reasonable balance between the principles of open justice and the protection of the Grievor's personal information.

The ERC recommended that the Commissioner of the RCMP deny the grievance.

The Commissioner has rendered a decision in this matter, as summarized by his office:

[TRANSLATION]

In a decision dated August 7, 2012, Commissioner Robert W. Paulson denied the grievance.

The Commissioner concurred with the ERC that the Grievor had standing.

In terms of the merits of the grievance, the Commissioner again concurred with the ERC, finding that the posting of the Adjudication Board’s decision on the intranet struck a reasonable balance between the principle of transparency in justice and the protection of the Grievor’s personal information.