Connect with UNB
New Brunswick's Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act is legislation that allows anyone the right to request information within the custody or control of a New Brunswick public body (i.e. records that relate to the public business of UNB or one’s own personal information that is held by UNB). It also controls the way a public body collects, uses and discloses personal information about individuals. This new legislation marries and replaces two old pieces of legislation.
Learn more from the GNB website.
A request should be in writing; however, under certain circumstances, verbal requests may also be accepted. UNB has an online form to assist you in making your request; simply fill in all the required fields and submit your request.
See section 8 of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Postal mail is also accepted; please ensure all required details are included (see the response to question 3 for more details on requirements) and mail your request to the Records Management and Privacy Office.
Please specify:
Name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number and the date of the request are also vital. Valid contact information is essential to enable UNB to contact you for clarification (when applicable) or to discuss your request. Please also state whether you wish to examine the records or if you are seeking to have a copy of the record.
See section 3 of the General Regulation - Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
No. There are no longer fees or costs that the applicant must incur. Section 80 of the Act does still contain a provision for fees but the fee structure, found within the General Regulation - Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, was repealed in 2011.
Any record can be requested so long as it relates to the public business of UNB and is in the custody or under the control of the University. You may also request your own personal information that is in the custody or under the control of the University; subject to specific disclosure exceptions.
Section 4 of the Act list records that are excluded from the application of the Act. Please note, Part 2 Divisions B & C of the Act list various mandatory and discretionary disclosure exceptions that protect certain information. If you request records that contain this type of protected information, portions of the record may be redacted or withheld entirely. Any records that are withheld or that contain redacted information will be explained in the response letter you receive.
See section 3.1 and section 4 of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
As defined by the Act, a third party means any person other than the applicant or the public body. If the RTI request includes records that contain third party information that UNB is considering releasing, the third party will be consulted.
See section 1 of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act for this and other definitions.
See section 34 of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act for more information on the third party notification process.
Barring any applicable time extensions, you can expect a response no later than 30 business days from the date UNB receives your request. Should a time extension be warranted you will be notified. The time extension notice will include the new response date deadline as well as information about your rights to file a complaint with regards to the response time extension.
See section 11 of the Right to Information Protection of Privacy Act.
Complaints can be filed with the Ombud or you may choose to refer the matter to The Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick. Sections 65-68 of the Act provides details on these processes and the associated applicable timelines to submit your complaint. Complaint forms are available on the Ombud's website.
While not mandatory, we do invite you to discuss your concerns with us directly prior to filing a complaint with the Ombud or to the Courts. We will do our best to resolve the issue. Please note, discussing your concerns with our office does not extend the legislated timelines to submit your complaint to the Ombud or to the Courts.
Sarah DeVarenne
University Secretariat & Designated Head of RTIPPA
Phone: (506)453-4613
Email: secretariat@unb.ca
Mailing address:
Sir Howard Douglas Hall
P.O. Box 4400
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5A3
Records Management & Privacy Office
Phone: (506) 451-6893
Email: rtippa@unb.ca
Mailing address:
Sir Howard Douglas Hall
P.O. Box 4400
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5A3
Both applicants and, if applicable, third parties have the right to file a complaint either with the Ombud's Office or with the Courts.
As per S67, applicants have four valid reasons to complain:
As per S67, a third party may complain if they are not satisfied with the disclosure decision of the public body (UNB).
There are no fees associated with filing a complaint. Should the matter go to court, there is always a chance the Judge could award costs against you. For more information on the process to file a complaint please refer to the Ombud's website.
Your request should be in writing; however, under certain circumstances, verbal requests may also be accepted. To expedite our request, we encourage the use of our online request form. Your request should include details specifying the personal information you are wanting to receive and indicate which offices you believe may house this information. For more information on what to include in your request please see the response to question 3 above.
Postal mail is also accepted; please ensure all required details are included and mail your request to the Records Management and Privacy Office.
Please note: UNB requires proof of identity prior to releasing an RTI response containing personal information. As a custodian we are obligated to protect the personal information we collect; therefore, we must confirm the applicant’s identity. Only under certain rare circumstances can an individual obtain access to another person’s personal information without that person's consent(i.e. by order of a judge, through a warrant or production order, power of attorney, etc).
Any of your personal information in the custody or under the control of UNB can be requested and accessed by you. However, under section 28 of the Act, there are three instances where personal information can be withheld; namely, if the disclosure could:
If you believe a correction is needed to your personal information, please contact UNB directly. UNB strives to have accurate data so we welcome your feedback. Proof of the error or omission will be required before any changes/edits are made. Please feel free to contact:
Records Management & Privacy Office
Phone: (506) 451-6893
Email: rtippa@unb.ca
Mailing address:
Sir Howard Douglas Hall
P.O. Box 4400
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5A3
A member of the RMPO staff will take your information and get in touch with the appropriate office to discuss the correction. Once a decision has been made with regards to the correction you will be notified in writing.
The office of the Ombud (Access & Privacy Division) is responsible for the oversight of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Contact the Ombud if you have a complaint about:
In addition to resources found in the Ombud's website, the Office of the Chief Information Officer's website also has resources you may find useful.
New Brunswick's Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act is legislation that allows anyone the right to examine and receive a copy of their personal health information maintained by a custodian. PHIPAA provides individuals with the right to request corrections to their personal health information. These rights are subject to various exceptions found within PHIPAA.
PHIPAA establishes rules for custodians regarding the collection, use, disclosure, retention and secure disposal of personal health information. PHIPAA protects the confidentiality of personal health information and the privacy of the individual. PHIPAA ensures accountability for the Custodian.
As defined by PHIPPA: “custodian” means an individual or organization that collects, maintains or uses personal health information for the purpose of providing or assisting in the provision of health care or treatment or the planning and management of the health care system or delivering a government program or service.
Specific offices within UNB do qualify as being a custodian under PHIPPA. For example, the Student Health Centre, Psychological Wellness Centre, Counselling Services are all offices which could house personal health information regarding certain individuals.
As the response to this question is lengthy, UNB encourages you to review the definition, found in PHIPAA.
When accessing personal health information from offices that provide healthcare (Student Health Centre, Psychological Wellness Centre, Counselling Services) PHIPAA applies. Requests should be made directly to those offices and PHIPAA should be cited (rather than RTIPPA) as the authority to make such a request.
Other offices within UNB may also house personal health information (the Accessibility Centre, Human Resources, the Human Rights offices, etc); however, as these offices are not providing health care services. Any requests involving these offices should go through the regular process for RTIPPA; see the response to question 2 for details on how to submit an RTI request.
Please note: UNB requires proof of identity prior to releasing an RTI response containing personal information (including personal health information). As a custodian we are obligated to protect the personal information we collect; therefore, we must confirm the applicant’s identity. Only under certain rare circumstances can an individual obtain access another person’s personal health information without their consent (I.e. by court order, to a person's substitute decision-maker or personal representative, for certain health and safety reasons, and other situations).
The office of the Ombud (Access & Privacy Division) is responsible for the oversight of New Brunswick's Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act. Contact the Ombud if you have questions or concerns.