Privacy & Freedom of Information Requests

What is Personal Information

The Municipality uses the definition of personal information set out in the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA): 

"...personal information" means recorded information about an identifiable individual, including, 

(a)  information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or marital or family status of the individual,

(b)  information relating to the education or the medical, psychiatric, psychological, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved,

(c)  any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,

(d)  the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual,

(e)  the personal opinions or views of the individual except if they relate to another individual,

(f)  correspondence sent to an institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature, and replies to that correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence,

(g)  the views or opinions of another individual about the individual, and

(h)  the individual’s name if it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual; 

Note: Information about an individual in a business, professional or official capacity is not considered to be personal information. This includes information about a business carried out in a home. 

When Can the Municipality Use Your Personal Information?

In general, the Municipality may only use your personal information if: 

• You have consented to its use; 
• It is used for the reason for which it was collected (as stated in the notice of collection); 
• The Municipality has taken reasonable steps to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. 

When Can the Municipality Disclose Your Personal Information?

The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) establishes that the Municipality may only disclose your personal information in the following circumstances: 

• You have consented to the disclosure; 
• For the purpose for which the personal information was obtained or compiled or for a consistent purpose;
• Where the disclosure is necessary and proper in the discharge of the Municipality's functions; 
• For the purpose of complying with legislation; 
• For law enforcement purposes; 
• In compelling circumstances affecting the health or safety of an individual;
• In compassionate circumstances, to facilitate contact with the next of kin or a friend of an individual who is injured, ill or deceased; 
• To the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC); and, 
• To the Government of Canada in order to facilitate the auditing of shared cost programs. 

Personal Information that has been used or disclosed inappropriately constitutes a privacy incident or breach. Report privacy concerns to privacy@leamington.ca. 

The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) requires that the Municipality of Leamington keep an updated Personal Information Bank and make it available for the public to view. Personal Information Bank is defined in MFIPPA as “a collection of personal information that is organized and capable of being retrieved using an individual’s name or an identifying number or particular assigned to the individual.”

The Personal Information Bank Register includes a description of the Personal Information maintained to support each department’s programs and activities. For each Personal Information Bank, the following information is provided: the department maintaining the records, location, legal authority for collection, identifying data, how the information is used, who is authorized to use the information, and retention and disposition.  

Personal Information Bank

In order to provide the programs and services you depend on, the Municipality may need to collect and use your personal information. 

The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) establishes that the Municipality must give notice when your personal information is collected. The notice of the collection must state: 

• The legal authority for the collection of personal information; 
• The reason for the collection of personal information and how the personal information will be used; and, 
• Who to contact for more information on the collection and use of the personal information. 

Note: Notice can be provided in a variety of formats including statements on printed forms, on websites and web applications, in recordings used to direct telephone calls, and on signage at municipal buildings and facilities. 

 Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) Requests

The release and protection of municipal information is governed by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ("the Act") 

This Act provides:

• That records in the custody and control of the Municipality are available to the public, with limited exceptions as set out in the Act.
• That personal information about people is protected from disclosure.
• A MFIPPA request must be completed and returned to the Leamington Municipal Office along with the required fee.

Submit a Request

 Please note: The Municipality does not have custody or control over records created by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). Please direct your requests to the OPP at: https://www.ontario.ca/page/freedom-information-request

Additional information is available by visiting the Ministry of Government Services website.

• A Guide to Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Submit a Request

The Municipality of Leamington recognizes the need to balance an individual's right to privacy and the need to ensure the safety and security of municipal employees, clients, visitors and property. While video surveillance cameras are installed for safety and security reasons, the Municipality's video surveillance systems must also be designated to minimize privacy intrusion. Proper video surveillance, where deemed necessary, is one of the most effective means of helping to keep municipal facilities and properties operating in a safe, secure and privacy protective manner. 

Video surveillance equipment does not monitor the inside of areas where the public has a higher expectation of privacy such as change rooms and washrooms. 

Signs are displayed prominently at the entrance, exterior walls, and interior of buildings and/or perimeter of the video surveillance areas. 

Can I Access Video Surveillance Recordings?

Video surveillance recordings are only disclosed in response to a formal access to information request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). The Municipality processes all access to information requests, including requests for video, in accordance with the requirements of the Act. 

Disclosure to Law Enforcement

The Municipality discloses video records to law enforcement agencies in Canada upon request, providing the records are used for the purposes of an active law enforcement investigation. 

Legal Authority

Personal information collected through the recording of surveillance video is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act. 

Questions or Concerns?

Questions specifically related to video surveillance should be directed to the Manager of Legislative Services/Clerk at 519-326-5761 or at clerks@leamington.ca. 

Video Surveillance Policy

Drone Cameras

The Municipality of Leamington is using done technology to enhance its by-law enforcement services by collecting information and evidence from a bird's-eye-view. 

The Municipality's By-law Enforcement division utilizes a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), also known as a drone, where authorized by law, to capture by-law infractions and gather evidence related to property standards/land maintenance issues and illegal cannabis facilities. Questions about drone cameras may be directed to Manager of By-law Enforcement at clerks@leamington.ca. 

The Municipality of Leamington is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information. We have taken the appropriate measures to protect the privacy of any personal information that you provide to us or that we collect when you visit our website.

The Municipality's privacy practices are governed by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (MFIPPA), which states how we must protect personal information.

Collection and Use of Information

When you browse our website, we typically do not ask you to provide your personal information to us. In the event that personal information needs to be provided to us - for example, when applying for a burn permit or registering for a program - the collection will be limited to that which is absolutely necessary for the transaction.

Our servers do automatically collect limited amounts of standard and anonymous information through the use of cookies for traffic monitoring, marketing and statistical purposes when individuals visit our website. The standard types of information collected may include:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address
• Browser type
• Operating system
• Date and times of visits
• Referring website addresses

This information is not used to personally identify you.

Disclosure

The Municipality of Leamington is the sole owner of the information collected through our website. We do not exchange, rent, sell, or otherwise disclose your personal information to any outside organization or person unless the disclosure is required by law.

Security of Personal Information

The Municipality of Leamington is committed to ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of the personal information you provide to us. We use security software, procedures and encryption protocols such as the use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure.

Use of Cookies

When you interact with our website, a browser feature called a "cookie" may be used to collect certain types of information. A cookie is a small data file that websites write to your hard drive when you visit them.

A cookie file can contain information such as:

• the user ID that the site uses to track the pages you have visited
• your ID and password for a page on our site
• the options you have selected on a page that can be customized

The only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie cannot read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites.

If you have set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. This may disable some features on our site, but all content will remain available to you. You can check your browser's "Help" files to learn more about cookies.

Questions or Concerns?

Questions specifically related to our website privacy policy should be directed to the Manager of Legislative Services/Clerk at 519-326-5761 or at clerks@leamington.ca. 

The Municipality of Leamington welcomes you to visit and use our website to find information and access services. Please read the following "Terms of Use" before using our website. This sets out the terms you agree to be bound by when visiting our site.

Copyright

The Municipality of Leamington maintains the copyright for all original material at this site. If you use the information at this site, please credit the Municipality of Leamington, and provide a reference to our site, www.leamington.ca.

Commercial Reproduction

Reproduction of multiple copies of materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from the Municipality of Leamington.

External Links

This site contains links to other websites. The Municipality of Leamington can make no representation concerning the content of any external site to you. The fact that the Municipality of Leamington's site contains links to other Internet sites does not serve as an endorsement by the Municipality of Leamington of any products or services in these sites. Furthermore, no information in such site has been endorsed or approved by the Municipality of Leamington. The Municipality of Leamington provides these links only as a convenience to you. This is to inform you that the Municipality of Leamington has not necessarily recently reviewed any of these sites and therefore cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety or suitability of any information found there.

Notice

Every effort has been made to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information available, and the Municipality of Leamington is committed to maintaining the content of this site. However, errors may occur, and information at this site may be, at times, dated. The Municipality of Leamington cannot be held liable either directly or indirectly for consequential damages arising from the use of information or services provided at this site. The Municipality of Leamington makes no guarantees, expressed or implied, as to the reliability or accuracy of this service. Further, the Municipality of Leamington has the right to discontinue, change or modify this site at any time without notice.

The Municipality invites community members to post, share, discuss and debate while treating each other with respect. The Municipality will not tolerate posts or comments that include:

• Profane or inappropriate language;
• Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, colour, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
• Content considered to be defamatory, disrespectful or insulting to municipal staff or representatives;
• Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
• Comments/posts not related to a posted article/topic/information;
• Business solicitation;
• Sexual content or links to sexual content;
• Information about any identifiable individual (including photographs of, or information about that individual, as well as views or opinions about that individual), unless the identifiable individual provided specific, written consent to the Municipality in advance;
• Any content deemed inappropriate by the Municipality of Leamington.

The Municipality may ask users to refrain from posting inappropriate comments, or mute, block or ban users for violating these social media commenting guidelines.

Third-party events on the Municipality’s social media feeds

The Municipality of Leamington may promote events on its website and/or social media sites if the Municipality is involved as a participant, host or partner. Otherwise, the Municipality does not permit members of the public to promote events on its social media sites.

Comments will be addressed during regular office hours of Monday to Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, excluding holidays.

Questions or concerns regarding the social media commenting guidelines can be directed to communications@leamington.ca

Report a Privacy Concern

The Municipality takes privacy protection seriously. Staff is required to make every reasonable effort to prevent any loss, misuse, disclosure, or modification of personal information. 

Members of the public can report privacy concerns by email to leamington.ca or by calling 519-326-5761 or by writing to: 

Attn: Municipal Clerk 

Municipality of Leamington 

111 Erie Street North, Leamington ON N8H 2Z1

All privacy complaints are promptly investigated.