After over 20 years as information and privacy commissioner (IPC) of NWT, Elaine Keenan Bengts will be retiring at the end of her term in October.
Photo courtesy of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
As NWTs first-ever IPC, Keenan Bengts started the job in 1997 on a part-time basis as part of her law practice. It was 15 years before she took on the role full time.
鈥淚t was a steep learning curve, but I had the benefit of it being a slow but steep learning curve,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think in the first two years I might have opened 20 files total. Last fiscal year, we opened at least 300 files.鈥�
In the two decades that Keenan Bengts has held the position, she has seen dramatic changes. She says that issues like ransomware attacks and stolen laptops are 鈥渉uge time consuming issues now that really weren鈥檛 a reality back in the day."
As IPC, Keenan Bengts works to provide independent oversight on access of information, and managing reports over inappropriate use, collection, and disclosure of personal information.
While the Legislative Assembly has only just begun their hiring process, Keenan Bengts says that for the incoming IPC, new legislation will present 鈥渁 whole new world."
The new legislation was passed last June, 2019, and is expected to come into effect in the fall, although it may now be delayed due to Covid. It will dictate that the information and privacy commissioner鈥檚 office make orders against public bodies, rather than the recommendations that are currently made.
鈥淪o rather than saying 鈥業 think you should disclose A,B, and C鈥� this office will be saying 鈥業 order you to disclose A,B and C鈥� and those will be binding orders, registrable with the Supreme Court,鈥� Keenan Bengts explains. 鈥淭hat carries with it a lot more responsibility.鈥�
The change is in concurrence with several jurisdictions across the country. Some continue to have an ombuds role, as Keenan Bengts has had, while others already have order making power. She says it also means that expertise will be even more important as public bodies are going to have to prove their cases. That expertise will be imperative within the GNWT, for access to information and privacy coordinators, and for the new IPC themself.
鈥淵ou have to be an expert in privacy coming through the door, you have to be an expert in access to information coming through the door, they won鈥檛 have the luxury of learning the law over time, which was essentially what I was able to do.鈥�
Though she admits she initially 鈥渉ad no idea what the position was鈥� when first answering the ad to be NWT鈥檚 first privacy commissioner, Keenan Bengts says that this 鈥渉as been the job of [her] lifetime.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an important job and it has such an important place in democracy and the way government runs,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was lucky to be able to get my foot in the door right at the beginning and be able to take it this far, and hopefully, I鈥檒l have left it in a state that whoever takes over will be able to take off running.鈥�
For Keenan Bengts, stepping down from her post as IPC will mean retirement. She plans on spending the extra time with her grandkids, doing more cross fit exercise, and picking up extra volunteer hours.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the best job I鈥檝e ever had,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t's an interesting subject matter, it鈥檚 ever changing, there鈥檚 new stuff to learn all the time, but at some point it鈥檚 time for someone else to take the helm and put their own stamp on it.鈥�
