WHEREAS during the open delegation portion of a recent council meeting, a member of the public broadcast the private residential address of a member of council as part of a PowerPoint presentation; AND WHEREAS this experience raised concerns about the personal privacy and security of elected officials: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government amend s. 737 of the Local Government Act to exempt, when special circumstances are presented, the public release of an elected officials home address.
Ministry of Community, Sport Cultural Development Government recognizes the need to establish a balance between transparent government and protecting council members privacy and safety. The residential address that candidates must provide under Local Government Act, section 73 is important information for some voters. For example, some voters take candidates places of residence into account when deciding which candidates would best represent the interests of their neighbourhood. The Local Government Act does include safeguards intended to protect the personal information that candidates must provide under section 73. Section 77 requires local government Chief Electoral Officers CEO to issue a public notice of election that includes candidates residential addresses. Under section 77, candidates can request that the CEO replace their residential address in the public notice with information about the jurisdiction in which the candidate lives. Additionally, Local Government Act, section 153 6 limits the use of personal information provided in section 73 to purposes authorized by the Local Government Act. If there is uncertainty about whether an intended use of personal information is permitted, local governments and members of the public are encouraged to seek legal advice before using the personal information.