Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Bill S-4, the digital privacy act. I'm Douglas Brown, the public guardian and trustee of the Province of Manitoba.
My comments today will be limited to subclause 6(10) of the bill, which would amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act to permit the disclosure of personal information about an individual by an organization to a government institution in circumstances where there is a suspicion that the individual may be a victim of financial abuse. The Public Guardian and Trustee of Manitoba supports the amendment as a positive step that strikes the necessary balance between the need to maintain privacy of personal information and disclosure of that information to potentially identify and stop what are the devastating consequences of financial abuse.
The Public Guardian and Trustee of Manitoba, or PGT, is a corporation sole established under The Public Guardian and Trustee Act of Manitoba, that operates as a provincial government special operating agency. The PGT manages and protects the affairs of Manitobans who are unable to do so themselves and have no one else who is willing or able to act. This includes mentally incompetent and vulnerable adults, deceased estates, and children. The PGT manages approximately 5,800 clients, estates, and trusts, with approximately $230 million of assets under administration by our office.
The PGT becomes involved in the management of an individual’s financial affairs in a variety of ways. Most frequently, the PGT is appointed by the chief provincial psychiatrist under The Mental Health Act or by an order issued under The Vulnerable Persons Living with a Mental Disability Act, both Manitoba legislation. The PGT can also be appointed by a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba to act in various circumstances. When the PGT does become involved, an investigation is conducted to gather and record the assets owned by the individual for whom we're now managing affairs. This includes all their property, investments, and any accounts at financial institutions. Unfortunately, in some situations our investigation will uncover evidence of possible financial abuse. In the worst of these situations, the financial abuse has resulted in all or a large part of the finances of that individual having been lost.
The impact of these losses caused by financial abuse cannot be overstated. As you or I choose to save, invest, or plan for our retirement and anticipate having the financial resources to be independent and exercise some level of control over our affairs in the future, people who have been the victim of financial abuse have lost that independence and have lost that control over their futures. Often we see that the health and well-being of the victim of financial abuse can be negatively impacted. More often than not, a victim of financial abuse has little chance of recovery. In many cases the money is gone, and there is little likelihood of recovering the money from the perpetrator of the abuse.
Organizations such as financial institutions can play an important role in detecting possible financial abuse through their ongoing contact with the public. My experience is that these institutions do want to cooperate with government institutions when they have a suspicion of financial abuse. While the privacy objectives of the existing legislation are clearly important, privacy laws should not become a tool used by perpetrators of financial abuse to avoid detection. Amendments that allow for a controlled disclosure of personal information in limited circumstances can still maintain privacy objectives while also providing an additional set of eyes out in the community to help identify and hopefully stop cases of financial abuse. I would strongly recommend to this committee that this is the right result.
In reviewing the amendments and the various submissions that have been made to the committee, there are a couple of recommendations that I would also support.
First is that the definition of “government institution” needs to be clear. The PGT or similar agencies in other provinces or territories have a role in these situations, and should be included in the definition. There should be caution taken not to apply the definition too narrowly, as this could discourage the reporting of information. A reasonable check and balance to apply could be to look at the role and use of the information that could be made by the institution that is receiving the information. In the case of the PGT, we're subject to provincial privacy laws. We also have specific statutory authority that allows us to collect information that would otherwise be private where it's required to carry out our duties, responsibilities, and powers. By having that control, you've put some control over how the information could be used once it's received by a government institution.
Second, in most cases the perpetrator of financial abuse has to gain the trust of the victim before the abuse can begin. This unfortunately means that relatives and family can often be the perpetrators of financial abuse. Any requirement to report suspected financial abuse in all circumstances to next of kin may place the victim at greater risk. Organizations that are contemplating making a report should have some discretion in those situations, and where appropriate, should make the report only to a government institution and not to the next of kin in circumstances where the next of kin may be involved in the abuse.
Third, in some cases an individual may not be a victim of financial abuse but is no longer capable of managing his or her affairs. The indicators of financial abuse and financial neglect can often be the same, so an organization that's contemplating whether to report should have the ability to report suspected financial abuse even though it may not be clear where the unusual financial activity originates, or whether the irregular financial activity is a result of a third party or the individual himself or herself. The organization should not be required to make this determination before it has the ability to make a report to a government institution. The loss of financial independence resulting from neglect is just as significant as a financial loss caused by a third party, so again, it's in everybody's interest that the matter be identified and dealt with as quickly as possible.
In conclusion, while the privacy objectives of the existing legislation are clearly important, the benefit of permitting disclosure of personal information in a limited and controlled manner would be a positive step in detecting and hopefully stopping cases of financial abuse.
Thank you.