Please note that this is not a Yukon Government position.
Applicants must be a member of the Yukon Law Society or eligible to become one.
The Office of the Ombudsman, Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC), and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner (PIDC) is seeking to fill the position of Investigations Manager and General Counsel on its Formal Investigation (FI) team.
The Ombudsman, IPC, and PIDC is an independent officer of the Yukon Legislative Assembly and has responsibilities under the Ombudsman Act, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA), the Health Information Privacy and Management Act (HIPMA), and the Public Interest Disclosure of Wrongdoing Act (PIDWA) (Acts). For information about the Ombudsman, IPC, and PIDC visit us at YukonAccountability.ca
Under the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman is responsible to investigate allegations of unfairness made against government and other authorities.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner is responsible to ensure government and other public bodies comply with the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPPA) and health care custodians comply with the Health Information Privacy and Management Act (HIPMA).
The PIDC is responsible to investigate disclosures of wrongdoing made by employees of government and other public entities and investigate allegations of reprisals taken against an employee.
The Investigations Manager and General Counsel acts as the Deputy Ombudsman/Commissioners during their absence or where a conflict of interest, either real or perceived, exists. They may similarly act as Ombudsman/Commissioners in the absence of both the Deputy and Ombudsman/Commissioners.
The oversight responsibilities of the Ombudsman/Commissioners are significant and continue to evolve in an environment where the political, economic, and technological landscape changes and influences how the Yukon Governments and the other public organizations operate, all of which affects Yukoners.
Yukon is one of only three jurisdictions in Canada where the Office operates to fulfill three mandates under four Acts.
Investigations Manager functions
1. Conducts investigations under the Acts both informally or formally, including exercising the power to summon a person to appear or provide testimony, compel the production of documents, examine information or a record and receive/consider evidence, enter any premise of a public organization we oversee to satisfy security requirements, and adjudicate complaints made under the ATIPPA and HIPMA.
2. Following a formal investigation, writes a report that makes findings of fact and law, the reasons for the findings, and any recommendations for consideration by the Ombudsman/Commissioner.
3. Provides advice (where applicable) about the Acts to the public organizations we oversee.
4. Performs compliance reviews and audits to ensure that the those we oversee meet their respective obligations.
5. Evaluates privacy breaches reported by public and health organizations, working with these them to mitigate risks, prevent recurrence and provide recommendations.
6. Evaluates privacy impact assessments from public and health organizations. Identifies privacy risks and provide recommendations to mitigate the identified risks.
7. Evaluates and approves conditions for information sharing agreements for research purposes.
8. Reviews and decides on the granting or denial of time extension requests made by public organizations in their processing of an access request.
9. Works with the those we oversee to ensure that any recommendations made because of the foregoing are implemented.
10. Performs the duties of the Acting Registrar of Adjudications regarding ATIPPA/HIPMA when the Registrar of Adjudications (Registrar) is absent.1 This work includes receiving the fact report from the Investigator and Compliance Review Officer handling the file as part of the Informal Case Resolution (ICR) process, preparing the notice of formal investigation and forwarding it to the parties, along with informational material, receiving, reviewing and exchanging submissions in accordance with specified timeframes, monitoring response timeframes, and notifying the ‘IPC’ about the same.
11. Comments on access, privacy, and disclosure policies/procedures, and develop guidance materials/communications to educate the public and those we oversee.
12. Educates the public and public organizations about the Acts.
13. Consults with numerous public organizations and individuals across Canada to perform the above duties effectively.
General Counsel functions
1. Upholds professional legal standards and follows established policies/procedures in carrying out their duties.
2. Provides legal advice and proposes solutions relating to the responsibilities and accountabilities of the Ombudsman/Commissioners.
3. Keeps the Ombudsman/Commissioners, deputy, and investigators informed of current events and issues relevant to the mandates of each role under the Acts. In collaboration with the Ombudsman/Commissioners, drafts and amends internal policies, practice directions and notices to staff and public to ensure compliance with evolving statutory law.
4. Ensures the proper understanding of legal issues pertaining to the Office.
5. Reviews and drafts legal documents.
6. Manages litigation, inclusive of the investigation, pleadings, discovery, pre-trial, trial, settlement, and appeal processes. This may include coordinating with outside legal counsel retained for the purposes of litigation.
7. Ensures the Ombudsman/Commissioners is always legally compliant and maintains the credibility of the roles of the Ombudsman/Commissioners.
- The Registrar manages the administrative process when a file is not successfully resolved in ICR and proceeds to formal investigation (adjudication).
8. Represents and liaises with legal counsel and senior officials within the Ombudsman/Commissioner offices of other jurisdictions.
9. Supervises the legal work performed by investigators who also provide legal advice or produce legal product as part of their job function, ensuring that the work is timely, accurate and supportive.
10. Monitors, or instructs and monitors, the performance of outside legal counsel retained on behalf of the Ombudsman /Commissioners.
11. Supervises articling students and student interns, providing direction, guidance, and legal mentorship.
It is highly desirable for the Investigations Manager and General Counsel to have:
• CIPP/C
• experience:
- investigating causes of privacy breaches or in privacy breach management involving information systems,
- interpreting and applying ombudsman, access, privacy, and public interest disclosure legislation,
A detailed job description can be found on our website https:yukonaccountability.ca/careers
Submit your cover letter and resume to our Office [email protected]