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Entrance Island from Gabriola Island, May, 2005 |
William H. Pope Law Office (“the Firm”)
(including some irreverent (irrelevant?), possibly-out-of-context and tongue-in-cheek excerpts from 1984)
The Personal Information Protection Act ("the Act" regulates the way private sector organizations within British Columbia collect, use, keep, secure and disclose personal information. "Personal information" means all information about an identifiable individual. The Firm recognzies the importance of privacy and recognized the sensitivity of personal information received by the Firm in the course of my legal practice ("the Firm", "my", "I" and "me" refer to William H. Pope and his law practice, and to any other lawyer responsible for the Firm, and to individuals acting on behalf of William H. Pope and his law practice).
"But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs. (1984: II.9)"
I recognize my professional obligation to maintain the confidentiality of my clients' information, and I recognize my obligations concerning the personal information of all individuals that I collect, use or disclose in my practice. This policy has been developed with those obligations in mind.
My Need for Personal Information
"This day-to-day falsification of the past, carried out by the Ministry of Truth, is as necessary to the stability of the régime as the work of repression and espionage carried out by the Ministry of Love . (1984: II.9)"
In order to give legal advice to my clients, I need access to all relevant information that relates to my retainer and to the representation of my clients. That information will necessarily include personal information about my clients and about individuals other than my clients.
Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
"The largest section of the Records Department, far larger than the one on which Winston worked, consisted simply of persons whose duty it was to track down and collect all copies of books, newspapers, and other documents which had been superseded and were due for destruction." (1984: I.4)
Where practical, I endeavour to collect personal information directly from the person to whom the information pertains. When necessary, I shall collect personal information from other sources. By retaining the Firm for legal advice or representation, an individual consents to my necessary collection, use or disclosure of that individual's personal information in order properly to advise and represent the individual. It is my policy to collect personal information about individuals other than my clients in accordance with the provisions of the Act the Act deems that an individual has consented to my collection, use or disclosure of personal information about that individual if, at the time the consent is deemed to be given, the purpose would be considered obvious to a reasonable person. In such circumstances, I shall collect, use or disclose such information without obtaining oral or written consent to do so. The Act also permits me to collect, use or disclose personal infrmation about an individual in some circumstancew tithout the individual's consent. Those include (but are not limited to) circumstances in which:
• the collection, use or disclosure is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way;
• it is reasonable to expect that the collection or use of personal information with the consent of the individual would compromise the availability or accuracy of the information, and the collection or use of the information is necessary for an investigation or proceeding;
• it is reasonable to expect that the disclosure of personal information with the consent of the individual would compromise an investigation or proceeding, and the disclosure of the information is necessary for an investigation or proceeding;
• the personal information is available to the public from a prescribed source;
• the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is required or authorized by law.When I collect, use or disclose personal information, I shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that it is accurate and complete.
Security of Personal Information
"Now that they had a secure hiding-place, almost a home, it did not even seem a hardship that they could only meet infrequently and for a couple of hours at a time. What mattered was that the room over the junk-shop should exist. To know that it was there, inviolate, was almost the same as being in it ." (1984: II.5)
I recognize my professional and legal obligations to protect the confidential information of my clients. I recognize as well my legal obligations to protect the personal information I have gathered about my clients and about other individuals in the course of my practice of law. I have therefore made arrangementes to secure against the unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, modification, disposal or destruction of personal information.
Requests for Access to Personal Information
"It was he who asked the questions and suggested the answers. He was the tormentor, he was the protector, he was the inquisitor, he was the friend." (1984: III.2)
The Act permits individuals to submit written requests to me to provide them with:
• their personal information under my custody or control;
• information about how their personal information under my control has been and is being used by me;
• the names of the individuals and organizations to whom their personal information under my control has been disclosed by me.I shall respond to requests in the time allowed by the Act and shall make a reasonable effort to assist applicants and to respond as accurately and completely as reasonably possible. All requests may be subject to any fees and disbursements the law permits me to charge. An individual’s ability to access his or her personal information under my control is not absolute. The Act provides that I must not disclose personal information when:
• the disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or physical or mental health of an individual other than the individual who made the request;
• the disclosure can reasonably be expected to cause immediate or grave harm to the safety or to the physical or mental health of the individual who made the request;
• the disclosure would reveal personal information about another individual;
• the disclosure would reveal the identity of an individual who has provided personal information about another individual and the individual providing the personal information does not consent to disclosure of his or her identity.The Act further provides that I am not required to disclose personal information when:
• the personal information is protected by solicitor-client privilege;
• the disclosure of the personal information would reveal confidential commercial information that, if disclosed, could, in the opinion of a reasonable person, harm the competitive position of an organization;
• the personal information was collected without consent for the purposes of an investigation, and the investigation and associated proceedings and appeals have not been completed;
• the personal information was collected or created by a mediator or arbitrator in the conduct of a mediation or arbitration for which he or she was appointed to act:
- (i) under a collective agreement,
- (ii) under an enactment, or
- (iii) by a court.
Requests for Correction of Personal Information
"What happened in the unseen labyrinth to which the pneumatic tubes led, he did not know in detail, but he did know in general terms. As soon as all the corrections which happened to be necessary in any particular number of the Times had been assembled and collated, that number would be reprinted, the original copy destroyed, and the corrected copy placed on the files in its stead. This process of continuous alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound-tracks, cartoons, photographs--to every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance ." (1984: I.4)
The law permits individuals to submit written requests to me to correct errors or omissions in their personal information that is in my custody or control. I shall:
• correct the personal information and, if reasonable to do so, send correction notifications to any other organizations to whom we disclosed the incorrect information; or
• decide not to correct the personal information, but annotate the personal information that a correction was requested but not made.
Contacting or Communicating with Me
"But between the general aims that we are fighting for and the immediate tasks of the moment, you will never know anything. I tell you that the Brotherhood exists, but I cannot tell you whether it numbers a hundred members, or ten million. From your personal knowledge you will never be able to say that it numbers even as many as a dozen. You will have three or four contacts, who will be renewed from time to time as they disappear. As this was your first contact, it will be preserved. When you receive orders, they will come from me. If we find it necessary to communicate with you, it will be through Martin [OR: OUR PRIVACY OFFICER]. When you are finally caught, you will confess. That is unavoidable. But you will have very little to confess, other than your own actions. You will not be able to betray more than a handful of unimportant people ." (1984: II.8)
If you have any questions with respect to my policies concerning the handling of your personal information, or if you wish to request access to, or correction of, your personal information under my care and control, please contact my Privacy Officer at:
William H. Pope Law Office
Attention:
William H. Pope, Privacy Officer
1137 North Road
Gabriola Island, B.C. V0R 1X3If you are dissatisfied with my handling of your personal information, I invite you to contact my Privacy Officer in writing, setting out the reasons for your concern. If, after my Privacy Officer has reviewed and responded to your concern, you remain dissatisfied, you may wish to contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner at:
P.O. Box 9038, Stn Prov Govt
Victoria; BC V8W 9A4
Telephone (250) 387-5629
Fax (250) 387-1696