Commentary by Linda Saxon

According to the Town of Amherstburg website, “A Citizen Engagement Session For Use Of The Downtown Core (Mardi Gras)” was held at the Legion on Dalhousie Street, Amherstburg on December 3.

The Town of Amherstburg then placed an ad in the December 16 River Town Times advertising “A Citizen Engagement Survey For Use Of The Downtown Core” and directing residents to the recent news section of the town’s website, which is still difficult to navigate and lacks some very basic accessibility features.

I don’t know why it’s necessary for the town to know the name and address of the person providing input; however, given that the town and amherstburg police have breached my personal information, I would have preferred a Notice as set out in section 29 (b) of the MFIPPA (Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) which states:

Notice to individual

(2) If personal information is collected on behalf of an institution, the head shall inform the individual to whom the information relates of,

(a) the legal authority for the collection;

(b) the principal purpose or purposes for which the personal information is intended to be used; and

(c) the title, business address and business telephone number of an officer or employee of the institution who can answer the individual’s questions about the collection.  R.S.O. 1990, c. M.56, s. 29 (2).

There was also no information pertaining to the access, retention, or disposal of the personal information, no place to give informed consent or notice that permission would be sought prior to anyone else requesting access.

Seeking input from residents is a great proactive and democratic approach by decision makers; I would just like to ensure that personal information is protected in the process.