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Document
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PO-1738
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File #
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PA-990048-1
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Institution/HIC
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Assessment Review Board
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Summary
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BACKGROUND: The appellant has a long-standing dispute with the Assessment Review Board (the Board) with respect to the realty tax assessment of his property dating back to 1981. At an assessment hearing before the Board on May 18, 1993, which was subsequently adjourned to December 17, 1993, the matter was settled, with the appellant's consent. In furtherance of his on-going complaints about the manner in which the assessment and the hearing were conducted however, the appellant has pursued a number of remedies, including a complaint to the Ombudsman of Ontario (the Ombudsman). A representative of the Ombudsman wrote to the Chair of the Board in early 1995, outlining the nature of the appellant's complaint, and seeking the Board's response to his allegations. By letter dated March 15, 1995, the Chair of the Board replied to the Ombudsman's office, describing the Board's version of the events of May 18 and December 17, 1993. On November 12, 1998, the appellant submitted a request to the Board seeking the correction of a number of items contained in the Board's March 15, 1995 letter, pursuant to section 47(2) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ). The appellant was of the view that the letter contained a number of inaccuracies. On February 3, 1999, having received no response from the Board, the appellant appealed the matter to this office. The Ministry of the Attorney General (the Ministry) responded to the appellant on behalf of the Board on February 22, 1999, requesting that he provide further clarification of his correction request. By letter dated April 21, 1999, the appellant described in some detail the information contained in the record which he wanted corrected and provided additional supporting documentation. The Board responded by advising the appellant that it was unable to confirm that the information which the appellant seeks to correct is, in fact, inaccurate. Accordingly, the Board was unwilling to make the requested corrections, but agreed to attach the appellant's April 21, 1999 letter to the record as a "statement of disagreement" in accordance with section 47(2)(b) of the Act . The appellant did not agree to this suggestion and indicated his wish to proceed with the appeal of the Board's decision not to make the requested corrections. NATURE OF THE APPEAL: In his letter of April 21, 1999, the appellant described a total of 12 corrections which he wishes to have made to the subject record. This office provided a Notice of Inquiry to the appellant and to the Board, inviting representations on the following issues: (1) whether the record contains information which qualifies as the "personal information" of the appellant, within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Act ; (2) whether there is an error or omission in the personal information which should be corrected pursuant to section 47(2)(a) of the Act ; and (3) whether the correction should be by means of removal of the indicated information and/or the replacement of the information, as indicated by the appellant. This office received representations in response to the Notice of Inquiry from the Ministry on behalf of the Board. The Board's submissions refer to the 12 enumerated items listed in the appellant's April 21, 1999 letter using the appellant's numbering system. For ease of reference, I will also refer to each of the correction request items using the appellant's numbering system. DISCUSSION: DOES THE RECORD CONTAIN THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF THE APPELLANT? "Personal information" is defined in section 2(1) of the Act to mean, in part, recorded information about an identifiable individual. As noted above, the record represents the Board Chair's recitation of his understanding of the events of May 18 and December 17, 1993, as well as his later efforts to respond to the appellant's allegations. The Board submits that only Items 1, 3 and 4 from the appellant's list of corrections contain information which qualifies as his personal information within the meaning of section 2(1). It argues that Items 1 and 3 relate to a statement from the Chair that the appellant told the presiding Board member at the hearing on May 18, 1993 that an outstanding appeal of his September 1992 supplementary assessment remained before the Board. The Board also submits that the record refers to the fact that certain Board staff were directed by the presiding Board member to locate the supplementary complaint. This portion of the record forms the basis for Item 4 of the appellant's list of corrections. In my view, the entire record addresses the manner in which the appellant's hearing was conducted and the Chair's attempts to answer the appellant's complaints about the assessment process. As such, I find that the complete record refers to the appellant and to his actions, statements and arguments through the assessment hearings and beyond. This information is "about" the appellant and therefore qualifies as his personal information in accordance with the introductory wording in the definition of "personal information" contained in section 2(1). SHOULD THE PERSONAL INFORMATION BE CORRECTED? Sections 47(2)(a) and (b) of the Act provide for correction requests and statements of disagreement relating to one's own personal information. These sections state: Every individual who is given access under subsection (1) to personal information is entitled to, (a) request correction of the personal information where the individual believes there is an error or omission therein; (b) require that a statement of disagreement be attached to the information reflecting any correction that was requested but not made; In Order 186, former Commissioner Tom Wright set out the requirements necessary for granting a request for correction as follows: the information at issue must be personal and private information; and the information must be inexact, incomplete or ambiguous; and the correction cannot be a substitution of opinion. <
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Donald Hale
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Published
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Jan 10, 2000
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Type
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Order
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Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
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