March 24, 2016
When a business responds to a public sector Request for Proposal or Expression of Interest (both of which we’ll refer to as an RFP for these purposes) or seeks government financing, it’s typically providing a significant amount of business information, some or even much of it highly confidential, to the public body. Most are rightly focused on the benefits of a successful proposal, but few consider the risk that their confidential information will end up in the hands of a direct competitor. And that is a very real – and potentially severe – risk of doing business with the public sector.
Here are the key confidentiality risks of doing business with the public sector and three strategies to help manage them.
CONFIDENTIALITY RISKS
Access to information (aka freedom of information) laws are intended to ensure transparency of and access to the public sector’s activities. These same laws are the source of the confidentiality risks to parties doing business with the public sector.
Access to Information Laws. Virtually every public sector body is subject to access to information laws:
The specific wording and scope of each access to information law varies, but there are substantial similarities in their scope and interpretation:
Disclosure Risks. A private business responding to an RFP or seeking government funding typically discloses a broad range of business information to a public body – and should be concerned about the risks of public disclosure of that information. Some are obvious, and some are more nuanced; here are a few examples.
3 RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
The public sector is a significant consumer and investor. Completely eliminating the confidentiality risks inherent in doing business with the public sector means eliminating the public sector as a customer or an investor altogether, and that isn’t a viable or even a desirable strategy for most businesses. But the risk management strategy for such businesses must include consideration of the risk of disclosure of their confidential business information to the public or to competitors. No single risk mitigation strategy will be determinative, but employed together, they will strengthen an argument to resist public disclosure – and minimize the related confidentiality risks.
1. Think hard about what information to give – and not to give – the public body. Obviously, it’s important to include sufficient information in the relevant proposal to achieve the desired outcome. But there’s a tension between giving the public body enough information to do so and the risk that the information could be publicly disclosed. We’re not saying not to disclose the information at all; we are, however, saying that a business should give careful consideration to what to include or exclude, weigh the risks of potential disclosure and of exclusion against the benefits of inclusion, and do so before submitting the proposal. Once it’s submitted, it’s too late.
2. Separate the “secret sauce”. If a business weighs the risks and decides to include highly sensitive and confidential information in its public sector proposal, it should do so in a manner that makes that particular information easily identifiable – and easily severable. For example, the information could be included in a properly labelled appendix or exhibit.
3. Use a confidentiality disclaimer & stamps. Include a clear general statement indicating the information is confidential and proprietary business information that is not subject to disclosure, and mark particularly sensitive information as “confidential”. However, do so carefully: stamping everything “confidential” makes it seem like none of it actually is confidential, and won’t help an argument that at least some of the information should be excepted from public disclosure.
Please contact your McInnes Cooper lawyer or any member of our McInnes Cooper Privacy Law Team to discuss this topic or any other legal issue.
McInnes Cooper has prepared this document for information only; it is not intended to be legal advice. You should consult McInnes Cooper about your unique circumstances before acting on this information. McInnes Cooper excludes all liability for anything contained in this document and any use you make of it.
© McInnes Cooper, 2016. All rights reserved. McInnes Cooper owns the copyright in this document. You may reproduce and distribute this document in its entirety as long as you do not alter the form or the content and you give McInnes Cooper credit for it. You must obtain McInnes Cooper’s consent for any other form of reproduction or distribution. Email us at [email protected] to request our consent.
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On October 19, 2012 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decided that a teacher criminally charged with possession of child pornography and…
Oct 22, 2012
Mr. Cole was a high school teacher with an employer owned and issued laptop computer. He also used it for incidental personal purposes, which…
Jul 10, 2012
On March 16, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) confirmed the decision of the N.S. Court of Appeal, reinstating the N.S. Human Rights…
May 6, 2011
In March 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal found that an employee had a limited expectation of privacy in the contents of a work computer. The…
Apr 7, 2011
Note: Click here to read an updated version of this Legal Update in Cloud Computing: A Privacy FAQ as seen in as seen in CCCA Magazine, Spring…
Oct 1, 2010
McInnes Cooper franchise lawyer Michael Melvin highlights some of the significant features of the Disclosure Documents Regulation and the…
May 31, 2010
In Franchise Canada’s May/June 2010 “Ask A Legal Expert” feature, McInnes Cooper franchise lawyer Michael Melvin answers this question for…
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