The Manitoba government has appointed its first information and privacy adjudicator to help resolve access and privacy complaints.

Ron Perozzo, who is already the province's conflict-of-interest commissioner, steps into the position early in the new year.

The government said it is acting on input from citizens on how best to give Manitobans access to information while protecting people's privacy at the same time.

Culture, Heritage and Tourism Minister Flor Marcelino said the current ombudsman model has worked well, successfully resolving 95 per cent of all access and privacy cases and raising public awareness about access and privacy issues.

However, occasionally difficult cases may require an independent review by an adjudicator because the parties simply cannot come to a resolution, she said.

The adjudicator will have the power to issue binding orders to the government or other public bodies such as municipalities, school divisions or regional health authorities if they don't follow recommendations made by the ombudsman.