P-736

This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act). The requester asked to receive copies of records from the Ministry of Community and Social Services (the Ministry) relating to the actions taken by a particular Children's Aid Society following the disappearance of one of its wards. The teenager was eventually found dead. The requester is a newspaper reporter who has written several stories on the subject.

The Ministry identified a total of 16 records that were responsive to the request but denied access to 15 of these documents in their entirety. It was the Ministry's position that the release of the information found in each of the records would interfere with an ongoing law enforcement matter under section 14(1)(b) of the Act. The Ministry later determined that some of the information contained in eight of the records also fell within the scope of the Young Offenders Act (the YOA) which meant that the Ministry was precluded from releasing this information to the requester. The requester appealed the Ministry's decision to the Commissioner's office.

Upon receipt of the appeal, the Commissioner's office forwarded a Confirmation of Appeal notice to the Ministry. In this notice, the Ministry was asked to provide copies of all responsive records directly to the Commissioner's office.

• FIPPA

• Federal Legislative Paramountcy