Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
January 7, 2008

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner Reports 2007-018 and 2007-019 Released

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, has released Reports 2007-018 and 2007-019 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Summaries of the Reports are included below.

To view the Reports in their entirety, please go to //www.oipc.gov.nl.ca/reports.htm

Report: 2007-018

Report Date: December 14, 2007

Public Body: Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philips

Summary: The Applicant applied under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the "ATIPPA") for access to records relating to an application he made to the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip�s (the "Town") for a building permit. The Town disclosed some of the requested records but denied access to the agendas for two privileged meetings of a Committee of Council, relying on the exception to disclosure set out in section 19(1)(c) of the ATIPPA. The Commissioner concluded that the Town was not entitled to refuse disclosure of the records because disclosing the information in the agendas would not reveal the substance of the deliberations of a meeting held in the absence of the public and he recommended release of the two agendas. The Commissioner also found that the Town, by not conducting a complete and accurate search for the responsive records, had failed to fulfil its duty to assist as mandated by section 9. The Commissioner in addition ruled that the Town had improperly destroyed records that were subject to the ATIPPA. The Commissioner recommended that the Town improve its procedures for searching for responsive records and update its Records Retention Policy in relation to notes taken at meetings by Councilors and staff.

Report: 2007-019

Report Date: December 14, 2007

Public Body: Town of Clarenville

Summary: The Applicant applied under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the "ATIPPA") for access to a copy of a digital audio recording of the proceedings of a meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Clarenville (the "Town"). The Town refused to disclose the recording to the Applicant claiming, in reliance on section 14, that the minutes of the meeting were published and available to the public. The Commissioner found that the Town was not entitled to deny access on the basis of section 14 because the minutes did not have the same information that was contained in the digital audio recording. The Town also argued that because section 215 of the Municipalities Act, 1999 provides that the minutes of a Council meeting are not to be made available to the public until they are subsequently adopted by Council this means that only the adopted minutes should be made available and not the digital recording of the proceedings which are intended for use only as an aid in preparing accurate minutes. The Commissioner concluded that section 215 did not prevent the release of either the minutes or the digital recording, both of which are considered records under the provisions of the ATIPPA. The Commissioner also rejected the Town�s argument that he should not recommend release of the digital recording because such a release would encourage other members of the public to seek access to the digital recordings of Council meetings.

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Media contact:
Sandy Hounsell
Assistant Commissioner
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
709-729-6309

2008 01 07                                                3:20 p.m.


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