The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Michael Harvey, has released his Report A-2019-019 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. A summary of the Report is included below.
To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/reports/commissioner
| Report: | A-2019-019 |
| Report Date: | August 21, 2019 |
| Public Body: | Department of Justice and Public Safety |
| Summary: | The Department of Justice and Public Safety received a request for information relating to the disposition of an environmental complaint. The Department’s response to the Applicant withheld information on the basis of sections 29 (advice and recommendations), 30 (solicitor-client privilege), 31(g) (prosecutorial discretion) and 40 (personal privacy). During the complaint investigation the Commissioner requested copies of the responsive records for review, but the Department refused to provide records that it claimed were subject to solicitor-client privilege, and also refused to provide a sufficient description of those records. The Commissioner concluded that in the absence of evidence to support the claim of privilege the Department had not met the statutory burden of proving that the exception applied, and therefore recommended that the records be disclosed. |
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Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research & Quality Assurance
709-729-6309
2019 08 22
9:35 am