Rules of Our Own
Tsawwassen First Nation’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Scəwaθn Məsteyəxʷ (‘Tsawwassen People’ – ‘People facing the sea’) is a proud Coast Salish Nation. Tsawwassen Lands are located about 40km south of Vancouver, bordered by the municipality of Delta. Half of Tsawwassen First Nation’s (“TFN”) approximately 560-Member population live on Tsawwassen Lands along with around 4500 residential leasehold residents and industrial and commercial leaseholders. TFN’s population is expected to increase to 8,000-15,000 residents over the next decade, as the lands are still being developed.
On April 3rd 2009, TFN became a self-governing Nation under the TFN Final Agreement (the “Treaty”). The Treaty was an important milestone, as it allowed TFN to escape the oppression of the Indian Act and gave TFN law-making powers. Tsawwassen laws apply to all residents and visitors to Tsawwassen Lands and operate under a concurrent law model, with the Treaty determining which law prevails in a conflict. Provincial and Federal laws of general application apply unless displaced by Tsawwassen Law.
TFN enacted 23 Tsawwassen laws, including TFN’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”) on the Treaty effective date. While the Treaty required TFN to enact access to information legislation, FIPPA goes further and also sets out a framework for the protection of privacy under Tsawwassen law.
FIPPA is a vital component of transparency and good governance at TFN. Although FIPPA was modeled on and operates similarly to B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FOIPPA”), it does have some unique aspects, such as an exception to disclosure based on harm to spiritual or cultural practices. This is essential to protect Tsawwassen culture and to honour protocols around the sharing of cultural and traditional knowledge. For example, TFN holds recordings of interviews with Elders, many of whom have since passed away. If there were an FOI request for this information, these provisions in FIPPA could be used to deny such a request if the disclosure would violate cultural protocols.
As a relatively new government, TFN faces unique challenges with FOI and privacy protection. Because it is a small community, it can be difficult to balance needs and expectations of information sharing against legal responsibilities under FIPPA. There is an inevitable overlap between government employees and TFN Members, with many TFN Members having access to confidential information due to the nature of their roles in TFN government. Staff are working to increase awareness among TFN Members and residents about their rights and TFN’s obligations under FIPPA, and to help all TFN employees understand how to respond to information requests and protect information held within TFN Government.
Similar to other Governments, TFN also faces challenges with technology that evolves much faster than FOI and privacy legislation. Such legislation frequently doesn’t quite meet the ever-changing requirements of the digital world.
TFN is also spearheading a project funded by B.C.’s Law Foundation to incorporate Coast Salish traditional knowledge and culture into Tsawwassen’s legislation. This could create an opportunity to examine how we define concepts such as the right of access and privacy in a Coast Salish context.
Tsawwassen laws are enacted and amended by the Tsawwassen Legislature in a process similar to parliamentary procedure. Bills are introduced by TFN’s Executive Council and go through three readings. Enacted laws are made available to the public on TFN’s website. Now 16 years into Treaty, it may be time to review TFN’s FIPPA legislation to make it more modern, address the changing technology landscape and incorporate more of Tsawwassen’s culture.
