Professional Codes of Conduct

It is the responsibility of all professionals to consider and adhere to their relevant professional codes of conduct and standards of practice. As in all aspects of professional work, any decision to share information must be executed under appropriate professional discipline. This presumes the highest standards of care, ethics, and professional practice (e.g., adherence to the policies and procedures upheld by the profession) will be applied if and when personal information is shared. Decisions about disclosing personal information must also consider the professional, ethical and moral integrity of the individuals and agencies/organizations that will receive the information. The decision to share information must only be made if the professional is first satisfied that the recipient of the information will also protect and act upon that information in accordance with established professional and community standards and legal requirements. As this relates to collaborative community safety and well-being practices, this principle reinforces the need to establish solid planning frameworks and carefully structured processes.

Do No Harm

First and foremost, this principle requires that professionals operate to the best of their ability in ways that will more positively than negatively impact those who may be at an acutely elevated risk of harm. Decisions to share information in support of an intervention must always be made by weighing out the benefits that can be achieved for the well-being of the individual(s) in question against any reasonably foreseeable negative impact associated with the disclosure of personal information. This principle highlights what professionals contemplate about the disclosure of information about an individual(s) in order to mitigate an evident, imminent risk of harm or victimization. This principle ensures that the interests of the individual(s) will remain a priority consideration at all times for all involved.

Duty of Care

Public officials across the spectrum of human services assume within their roles a high degree of professional responsibility – a duty of care – to protect individuals, families and communities from harm. For example, the first principle behind legislated child protection provisions across Canada is the duty to report, collaborate, and share information as necessary to ensure the protection of children. Professionals who assume a duty of care are encouraged to be mindful of this responsibility when considering whether or not to share information.

Due Diligence and Evolving Responsible Practice

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) is available and willing to provide general privacy guidance to assist institutions and health information custodians in understanding their obligations under FIPPA, MFIPPA and PHIPA. These professionals are encouraged to first seek any clarifications they may require from within their respective organizations, as well as to document, evaluate and share their information sharing-related decisions in a de-identified manner, with a view to building a stronger and broader base of privacy compliant practices, as well as evidence of the impact and effectiveness of information sharing. The IPC may be contacted by email at info@ipc.on.ca, or by telephone (Toronto Area: 416-326-3333, Long Distance: 1-800-387-0073 (within Ontario), TDD/TTY: 416-325-7539). Note that FIPPA,