Revised Practice Direction for Disclosure

On November 30, 2018 the Mental Health Review Board revised its Practice Direction: Guidelines for Disclosure. The updated Practice Direction is now in effect. Please contact us with any questions or comments.

What’s new – The revised Practice Direction includes a new section entitled “Reasonable Limits on Disclosure.”

Why the new section – The purpose of this additional section is to explicitly recognize that there may be appropriate exceptions to the disclosure of records. However, the threshold is high and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) does not on its own justify limits on disclosure, although there may be situations where FIPPA exceptions meet the high threshold.

How does it work – The Practice Direction offers a process to a facility that has decided to limit disclosure where the exceptional circumstances are met. If issues arise, parties are expected to resolve those issues by consent. If disclosure issues cannot be resolved on consent, a party can apply to the Board.