Report: A-2010-014
Report Date: October 13, 2010
Public Body: Department
of Transportation and Works
Summary: The Applicant applied to the
Department of Transportation and Works (the "Department") under the
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(the "ATIPPA")
for access to information relating to a fuel oil spill and clean-up and
information relating to certain government employees. The Department
granted access to all records requested by the Applicant; however, the
Department severed portions of these records citing section 30(1)
(disclosure of personal information) of the ATIPPA. It later
became apparent that the Department intended certain information to be
implicit from the information it provided to the Applicant; however,
this was not clear to the Applicant. As a result, during the informal
resolution process the Department provided additional information which
clarified and better responded to the Applicant's access request. The
Commissioner determined that the Department provided all responsive
records to the Applicant and that the Department was correct in its
application of section 30(1). The Commissioner also found that the
initial response of the Department did not explicitly satisfy the
Applicant's access request. However, this was not due to any malice or
bad faith on the part of the Department and was remedied immediately
after the issue was raised by this Office. Consequently, the
Commissioner made no recommendations to the Department. The Commissioner
did, however, suggest that the Department attempt to reply to applicants
in the clearest manner possible.
- 30 -
