Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
Complaint under section 32 of the municipal privacy Act: the City disclosed the state of an Ontario Works file to a shelter worker on 6 October.
The letter ·
Privacy complaint under MFIPPA - City of Ottawa, Employment and Social Services - disclosure of my Ontario Works file to a housing provider on 6 October 2026
Hello,
This is a privacy complaint under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act against the City of Ottawa, Employment and Social Services. Ontario Works.
On 6 October 2026 at 1:23 p.m. Jean-Pierre Kunstenaar, Mobile Outreach Case Worker of the City, wrote to Poonam Das, Case Manager at CCI Ottawa, a private housing provider. His email gave her the status of my Ontario Works file and the verification the City requires on it, and stated that he is assigned to my file. It asked her to arrange a meeting between him and me. Poonam Das forwarded the email to me at 1:29 p.m. the same day, and a copy is attached.
At 1:59 a.m. that day I had told the City in writing, through MyBenefits, that all communication on my file is in writing, through that channel. At 10:05 a.m. the City answered me through MyBenefits that Jean-Pierre Kunstenaar can read that conversation. He used the housing provider instead. I have given no consent to any disclosure about my file to CCI Ottawa or its staff.
The status of a person's social assistance file is personal information under subsection 2(1) of the Act. Section 32 forbids the City to disclose it except in the cases that section lists, and none of them covers the case manager of a private housing provider.
The Commissioner is asked to do 3 things.
1. Investigate the disclosure of 6 October 2026.
2. Find whether the City disclosed my personal information contrary to section 32.
3. Require the City to name every disclosure of my personal information to CCI Ottawa and its staff since 1 June 2026, and to stop them.Confirm in writing the file number of this complaint.
This exchange goes into the public record at https://dzyuban.com/legal/record/
Respectfully,
Danilo DzyubanAttachments: Email-2026-10-06-City-to-CCI-Kunstenaar.pdf
The answer ·
Good afternoon Danilo,
Thank you for contacting the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
Please note that we do not accept email complaints. You can file a privacy complaint by completing this online form<https://www.ipc.on.ca/resources/forms/file-a-privacy-complaint-under-fippa-mfippa/>;.
We cannot comment on or decide the outcome of a privacy complaint before one is filed.
Visit our website<https://www.ipc.on.ca/privacy-individuals/filing-a-privacy-complaint/>; for more information.
We hope this general information will be helpful. While we cannot give you legal advice, we make every effort to help you. Please contact us if you have any questions.
About the IPC
The IPC oversees Ontario’s access and privacy laws<https://www.ipc.on.ca/en/about-us/role-and-mandate>;. These laws set the rules for how Ontario’s public institutions, health care providers, and child and family service providers collect, use, and disclose personal information.
Kind regards,