Definitions

    In this Act:

"adjudicator" means a person designated under section 60;

"affiliate" means an affiliate within the meaning of the Business Corporations Act;

"agency" means, for the purposes of section 33 (2) (k) and the definitions of "common or integrated program or activity" and "data-linking program",

(a) a government institution subject to the Privacy Act (Canada),

(b) an organization

(i) subject to the Personal Information Protection Act, or

(ii) operating in British Columbia that is subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada),

(c) a public body, a government institution or an institution as defined in applicable provincial legislation having the same effect as this Act, or

(d) a prescribed entity;

"associate" means, in relation to a service provider,

(a) an officer, director or partner of the service provider,

(b) an affiliate of the service provider,

(c) a subcontractor, or further sub-subcontractor, of the service provider or an affiliate of the service provider, or

(d) an employee, officer, director or partner of an affiliate referred to in paragraph (b) or of a subcontractor or further sub-subcontractor referred to in paragraph (c),

to or through whom access is made available to personal information that is

(e) subject to Division 2 [Use and Disclosure of Personal Information by Public Bodies] of Part 3, and

(f) held because of the service provider's status as a service provider;

"commissioner" means the commissioner appointed under section 37 (1) or 39 (1);

"common key" means information about an identifiable individual that is common to 2 or more data sets;

"common or integrated program or activity" means a program or activity that

(a) provides one or more services through

(i) a public body and one or more other public bodies or agencies working collaboratively, or

(ii) one public body working on behalf of one or more other public bodies or agencies, and

(b) is confirmed by regulation as being a common or integrated program or activity;

"contact information" means information to enable an individual at a place of business to be contacted and includes the name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business email or business fax number of the individual;

"data-linking" means the linking, temporarily or permanently, of 2 or more data sets using one or more common keys;

"data-linking program" means a program of a public body that involves data-linking if at least one data set in the custody or under the control of a public body is linked with a data set in the custody or under the control of one or more other public bodies or agencies without the consent of the individuals whose personal information is contained in the data set;

"data set" means an aggregation of information that contains personal information;

"day" does not include a holiday or a Saturday;

"digital archives" has the same meaning as in the Information Management Act;

"domestic violence" means physical or sexual abuse of

(a) an individual,

(b) a parent or child of the individual referred to in paragraph (a), or

(c) any other individual who is in a prescribed relationship with the individual referred to in paragraph (a)

by an intimate partner of the individual referred to in paragraph (a);

"educational body" means

(a) a university as defined in the University Act,

(b) [Repealed 2003-5-19.]

(c) Royal Roads University,

(c.1) [Repealed 2002-35-8.]

(d) an institution as defined in the College and Institute Act,

(d.1) the Thompson Rivers University,

(e) [Repealed 2004-33-18.]

(f) [Repealed 2003-48-14.]

(g) a board as defined in the School Act, or

(h) a francophone education authority as defined in the School Act;

"employee", in relation to a public body, includes

(a) a volunteer, and

(b) a service provider;

"exercise of prosecutorial discretion" means the exercise by

(a) Crown counsel, or a special prosecutor, of a duty or power under the Crown Counsel Act, including the duty or power

(i) to approve or not to approve a prosecution,

(ii) to stay a proceeding,

(iii) to prepare for a hearing or trial,

(iv) to conduct a hearing or trial,

(v) to take a position on sentence, and

(vi) to initiate an appeal, or

(b) a federal prosecutor, or an individual retained as a federal prosecutor, of a duty or power under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act (Canada), including a duty or power

(i) to initiate and conduct prosecutions, and

(ii) to conduct any appeal related to such a prosecution or proceeding;

"head", in relation to a public body, means

(a) if the public body is a ministry or office of the government of British Columbia, the member of the Executive Council who presides over it,

(b) if the public body is designated in, or added by regulation to, Schedule 2, the person designated as the head of that public body in that Schedule or by regulation, and

(c) in any other case, the person or group of persons designated under section 77 as the head of the public body;

"health care body" means

(a) a hospital as defined in section 1 of the Hospital Act,

(b) [Repealed 2021-39-47.]

(c) a regional hospital district and a regional hospital district board under the Hospital District Act,

(d) and (e) [Repealed 2008-28-147.]

(f) a Provincial mental health facility as defined in the Mental Health Act,

(g) a regional health board designated under section 4 (1) of the Health Authorities Act, or

(h) [Repealed 2002-61-17.]

(i) British Columbia Emergency Health Services, as described in section 2 (1) of the Emergency Health Services Act;

"Indigenous governing entity" means an Indigenous entity that exercises governmental functions, and includes but is not limited to an Indigenous governing body as defined in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act;

"Indigenous peoples" has the same meaning as in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act;

"intimate partner" means, with respect to an individual, any of the following:

(a) an individual who is or was a spouse, dating partner or sexual partner of the individual;

(b) an individual who is or was in a relationship with the individual that is similar to a relationship described in paragraph (a);

"judicial administration record" means a record containing information relating to a judge, an associate judge or a justice of the peace, including

(a) scheduling of judges and trials,

(b) content of judicial training programs,

(c) statistics of judicial activity prepared by or for a judge, and

(d) a record of the judicial council of the Provincial Court;

"law enforcement" means

(a) policing, including criminal intelligence operations,

(b) investigations that lead or could lead to a penalty or sanction being imposed, or

(c) proceedings that lead or could lead to a penalty or sanction being imposed;

"local government body" means

(a) a municipality,

(b) [Repealed 2003-52-79.]

(c) a regional district,

(d) an improvement district as defined in the Local Government Act,

(e) a local area as defined in the Local Services Act,

(f) a greater board as defined in the Community Charter or any incorporated board that provides similar services and is incorporated by letters patent,

(g) a board of variance established under Division 15 of Part 14 of the Local Government Act or section 572 of the Vancouver Charter,

(h) the trust council, the executive committee, a local trust committee and the Islands Trust Conservancy, as these are defined in the Islands Trust Act,

(i) the Okanagan Basin Water Board,

(j) a water users' community as defined in section 1 (1) of the Water Users' Communities Act,

(k) the Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release Board,

(l) a municipal police board established under section 23 of the Police Act,

(m) a library board as defined in the Library Act,

(n) any board, committee, commission, panel, agency or corporation that is created or owned by a body referred to in paragraphs (a) to (m) and all the members or officers of which are appointed or chosen by or under the authority of that body,

(o) a board of trustees established under section 37 of the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act,

(p) the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority, or

(q) the Park Board referred to in section 485 of the Vancouver Charter;

"local public body" means

(a) a local government body,

(b) a health care body,

(b.1) a social services body,

(c) an educational body, or

(d) a governing body of a profession or occupation, if the governing body is designated in, or added by regulation to, Schedule 3;

"minister responsible for this Act" means the member of the Executive Council charged by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council with the administration of this Act;

"museum archives of government" has the same meaning as in the Museum Act;

"officer of the Legislature" means the Auditor General, the Commissioner appointed under the Members' Conflict of Interest Act, the police complaint commissioner appointed under Part 9 of the Police Act, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the Human Rights Commissioner, the Chief Electoral Officer, the merit commissioner appointed under the Public Service Act, the Representative for Children and Youth or the Ombudsperson;

"personal identity information" means any personal information of a type that is commonly used, alone or in combination with other information, to identify or purport to identify an individual;

"personal information" means recorded information about an identifiable individual other than contact information;

"program or activity" includes, when used in relation to a public body, a common or integrated program or activity respecting which the public body provides one or more services;

"prosecution" means the prosecution of an offence under an enactment of British Columbia or Canada;

"provincial identity information services provider" means a provincial identity information services provider designated under section 69.2 (1);

"public body" means

(a) a ministry of the government of British Columbia, including, for certainty, the Office of the Premier,

(b) an agency, board, commission, corporation, office or other body designated in, or added by regulation to, Schedule 2, or

(c) a local public body

but does not include

(d) the office of a person who is a member or officer of the Legislative Assembly, or

(e) the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court or Provincial Court;

"record" includes books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers, papers and any other thing on which information is recorded or stored by graphic, electronic, mechanical or other means, but does not include a computer program or any other mechanism that produces records;

"service provider" means a person retained under a contract to perform services for a public body;

"social services body" means Community Living British Columbia established under the Community Living Authority Act;

"third party", in relation to a request for access to a record or for correction of personal information, means any person, group of persons or organization other than

(a) the person who made the request, or

(b) a public body;

"trade secret" means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, product, method, technique or process, that

(a) is used, or may be used, in business or for any commercial advantage,

(b) derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to the public or to other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use,

(c) is the subject of reasonable efforts to prevent it from becoming generally known, and

(d) the disclosure of which would result in harm or improper benefit.