Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner – Report A-2013-004 Released

The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ed Ring, has released his Report A-2013-004 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. A summary of the Report is included below.

To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/accessreports.htm 

Report: A-2013-004
Report Date: March 5, 2013
Public Body: Department of Justice

Summary:

The Applicant applied under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“the ATIPPA”) to the Department of Justice (the “Department”) for access to the contents of a solicitor’s file relating to the Applicant. The Department refused access to all responsive records pursuant to section 21 of the ATIPPA (legal advice). The Department also refused to provide the responsive records to this Office in response to the Applicant’s Request for Review. After a court-ordered production of the records to this Office and the additional claim of section 30 (disclosure of personal information), the Commissioner determined that the Department had improperly applied section 21 to the majority of the records. The Department was attempting to withhold publicly available information, information that was created by or had previously been sent to the Applicant, and information which simply did not fit within the claimed exception. Consequently, the Commissioner recommended the release of this information.

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Media contact:
Ed Ring
Information and Privacy Commissioner
709-729-6309

2013 03 12                         9:25 a.m.