Toronto Police Service to limit sharing of mental health record information

Today, the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) announced that they are withdrawing their legal case against the Toronto Police Service (TPS). This comes as a result of new procedures that were developed by the TPS in collaboration with the IPC to restrict the disclosure of attempted suicide-related information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The procedures allow for time-limited public safety disclosures of this information to police in Canada and allow individuals to seek early removal of their record from the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database where it is collected.

In 2014, the IPC investigated this issue after a number of stories of Ontarians being denied entry into the United States, apparently on the basis of their mental health history, were made public. The investigation resulted in the creation of a Mental Health Disclosure Test (MHDT) outlined in the report Crossing the Line: The Indiscriminate Disclosure of Attempted Suicide Information to U.S. Border Officials via CPIC. The Commissioner at the time filed court action with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to limit the TPS from disclosing information about attempted suicides to CPIC. The TPS has now included the MHDT as part of their new procedure.

To read the full press release, visit the IPC website.

For more information on how this policy may impact you, visit the Canadian Civil Liberties Association website.