The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) notified the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario (the IPC) of an incident involving misdirected faxes. Specifically, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) received a fax sent by the OPGT, and others, intended for the Ministry of Community and Social Services, now the Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services (the Ministry).
The OPGT advised that it had faxed a special needs application to the Ministry's Ontario Disability Support Program (the ODSP). The fax was sent to the number provided by the ODSP Special Needs office. However, the next day, the TCHC telephoned the OPGT to advise that it had received this faxed document and as well as a number of similar documents intended for the ODSP.
In total, there were five faxes sent by various sources during the course of the day that were intended for the ODSP but which were received by TCHC instead. As mentioned above, one of these faxes was sent by the OPGT. The remainder consisted of a fax sent by a Ministry employee from a different location; faxes sent by two ODSP clients; and a fax sent by a private company. The following is a brief description of each of these faxes:
1. Fax sent by the OPGT consisted of a special needs application form and included an ODSP client's name, date of birth, OPGT file number, and the need for replacement glasses (1 page).
2. Fax sent by a Ministry employee consisted of a cover page with an ODSP client's name on it (1 page), a financial statement of entitlements for the client (2 pages), and a memo advising of re-admittance of the client to a mental health centre (1 page).
3. Fax sent by an ODSP client consisted of the client's earnings statement, description of her current medication, and timelines for back-to-work possibilities (2 pages).
4. Fax sent by another ODSP client consisted of his name, his wife's name and a reassessment decision regarding the status of his disability (1 page).
5. Fax sent by a private company pertained to the amount of rent paid by two ODSP clients, and contained the address and date of birth of one of the clients (2 pages).
As a result, three privacy complaints were initiated by the IPC involving the OPGT, the Ministry and the TCHC.