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P-1587

Document		P-1587


File #		P-9700156


Institution/HIC		Gaming Control Commission


Summary		BACKGROUND: The Gaming Control Act, 1992 (the GCA ) establishes a regime and structure for the registration and regulation of the suppliers of goods and services to those organizations which have been licensed to operate lottery schemes. This legislation creates the Gaming Control Commission (the GCC) and the statutory positions of Registrar and Director who have the legal authority to carry out investigations to ensure compliance with the GCA and its regulations. These investigations are usually carried out by investigators employed by the GCC on behalf of the Registrar or the Director. Pursuant to section 31 of the GCA , the Director appoints investigators to determine if there has been compliance with the GCA , its regulations, terms of a licence or terms of registration. "Due diligence" investigations are conducted on behalf of the Registrar with respect to applicants for registration under the GCA . Section 9(1) of the GCA provides that: The Registrar may make such inquiries and conduct such investigations into the character, financial history and competence of an applicant for registration or renewal of registration, a registrant or persons interested in the applicant or registrant, as are necessary to determine whether the applicant meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations. The Registrar has the authority to refuse a registration, or to suspend or revoke a registration. Where the applicant or registrant is a corporation or partnership, the Registrar's inquiries or investigation may include a complete investigation of the officers, directors or partners and key employees. As part of any investigation into a corporation that has applied for a renewal of its licence, the investigator will also investigate the corporation's compliance with the law during the registration period, including compliance with any prior terms or conditions of registration agreed upon between the registrant and the GCC. The investigator may also conduct an investigation in other jurisdictions or seek relevant information or material that is available in other jurisdictions. NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The Gaming Control Commission (the GCC) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to all records relating to the GCC's decision concerning a named individual (the affected person). In particular, the requester sought access to: (1) the GCC's reasons for requesting the affected person, a former shareholder and director of certain named companies, to divest himself of all his interests in these companies, and (2) all records that may relate to any of the companies' other directors and/or shareholders in connection with this matter. The GCC issued a decision, refusing to confirm or deny the existence of responsive records pursuant to section 14(3) of the Act due to an ongoing investigation (section 14(1)). The requester, now the appellant, appealed the decision to deny access. The appellant, who is represented by counsel, is a newspaper reporter interested in the issues surrounding charity casinos in Ontario. As a result of mediation, the GCC issued a second decision letter withdrawing its reliance on section 14(3) of the Act . In this second decision letter, the GCC denied access to the responsive records, in their entirety, on the basis of the following exemptions: • law enforcement - sections 14(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (g), and sections 14(2)(a) and (c) • relations with other governments - section 15(b) • third party information - sections 17(1)(a), (b) and (c) • tax return information - section 17(2) • solicitor-client privilege - section 19 • invasion of privacy - section 21(1) During mediation, the appellant advised that he was not seeking access to certain information which may qualify as personal information such as home telephone numbers, home addresses, bank account information and tax return information. The appellant also advised that he is not seeking access to information relating to ongoing police investigations. This office provided a Notice of Inquiry to the appellant, the GCC, the affected person and two companies whose interests may be affected by disclosure of the records. The Notice of Inquiry also invited the parties to comment on the application of section 23 of the Act (the "public interest override"), which had been raised by the appellant. Representations were received from all parties. In their representations, the two companies explained that there is a third related company and their submissions are made on behalf of all three related companies. RESPONSIVE RECORDS The GCC advised that the records responsive to the request are contained in nine bankers boxes which cover a total of six cubic feet. As I have indicated above, there are three related companies, which I will refer to as Company A, Company B and Company C. In this order, I will refer to Company A, Company B or Company C individually and, where necessary, I will refer to all three companies collectively as the Company. The GCC explains that Company A is one of a number of subsidiary, affiliated and associated corporations and partnerships that are registered under the GCA . The officers and directors of Company A are the shareholders of Company A, Company B and Company C. These individuals are also the officers and directors of Companies B and C. Through Company C, these individuals have interests in other corporations and partnerships that operate approximately 45 bingo halls, most of which operate under a trade name. Most of the halls are owned and operated by Company A, Company B or through operating companies that are registered and controlled by Company C. The GCC states that these corporations have a common management structure built around Company C as the "parent corporation". The GCC explains that Company A has applied for renewal of its registration under the GCA and a due diligence investigation for the purpose of assisting the Registrar with her decision is ongoing. In arriving at his/her dec


Legislation		FIPPA 14(1)(b) 14(2)(a) 17(1)(a) 17(1)(b) 21(2)(f) 21(2)(h) 21(3)(d) 21(3)(f) Section 19 Section 23


Subject Index		Gaming Control Act


Signed by		Mumtaz Jiwan


Published		Jun 19, 1998


Type		Order


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