In a precedent-setting decision, Alberta’s Court of Queen’s
Bench Justice ruled that the province’s Health Information
Act (FOIP) protects any information broadly connected to a
patient’s care, even if that information is about another
person.
Last month, the ruling overturned a ruling from Alberta’s
Information and Privacy Commissioner, Freedom of Information
(FOIP) Adjudicator had ruled that Shauna McHarg be allowed
access to Covenant Health documents which cited why visits to
her parents were being restricted.
However, Covenant Health made Application to the court &
challenged the FOIP Adjudicator’s decision.
Both McHarg parents are patients at Edmonton’s faith based Catholic,
Covenant Health, General Hospital Long Term Care facility.

Last month, a Court of Queens Justice declared the FOIP decision
as “irrational” and “unreasonable.” and was equally dismissive of
the Ombudsman’s decision which also had favoured McHarg.
According to this Court decision, when families are banned from
visiting loved ones in health care facilities, there is no way
to challenge those bans.
It strongly appears that both the FOIP and Ombudsman Office have
been emasculated by the court decision.

In 2013, the Ombudsman’s Office cost us, the taxpayer, over 3M
& the Freedom of Information Office, over 6M.
For what?

October 7, 2014