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P-642

Document		P-642


File #		P-9300154 and P-9300176


Institution/HIC		Ministry of Community and Social Services


Summary		ORDER BACKGROUND: The Ministry of Community and Social Services (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for all information supplied to the Ministry by two named women's shelters which related to an investigation into a service complaint made by the requester regarding his former spouse and child. The Ministry divided the request into two parts, one for each of the named shelters. The Ministry denied access in their entirety to records relating to one shelter and to portions of the records relating to the second shelter, pursuant to section 21 of the Act . The requester appealed these decisions to the Commissioner's office. During the mediation stage of these appeals, attempts were made to contact the former spouse (the affected person) of the appellant but these attempts were unsuccessful. Notice that an inquiry was being conducted to review the decision of the Ministry was sent to the appellant, the affected person and the Ministry. Representations were received from the appellant and the Ministry only. The records which are at issue in these appeals are described as follows: Record 1 (Appeal Number P-9300154): A two-page letter from the Executive Director of a named women's shelter to a Program Supervisor at the Ministry. Record 2 (Appeal Number P-9300176): Those portions of twelve pages of documents to which access had been denied to the appellant, consisting of a three-page letter from the Executive Director of the second shelter to a Program Supervisor at the Ministry and nine pages of notes taken by the Executive Director and other staff of the second shelter. It should be noted that women's shelters are not recognized as agencies, boards or commissions as identified in the Schedule of Institutions for the purposes of the Act and are, therefore, not subject to the provisions of the Act . Women's shelters are, however, considered to be transfer payment agencies and as such, records which they supply to the Ministry pursuant to their funding agreements may be the subject of an access request under the Act , through the Ministry. ISSUES: The issues arising in these appeals are as follows: A. Whether the records contain "personal information" as defined in section 2(1) of the Act. B. If the answer to Issue A is yes, and the personal information is that of individuals other than the appellant, whether the mandatory exemption found in section 21(1) of the Act applies to the records. C. If the answer to Issue A is yes, and the personal information is that of the appellant and other individuals, whether the discretionary exemption found in section 49(b) of the Act applies to the records. SUBMISSIONS/CONCLUSIONS: ISSUE A: Whether the records contain "personal information" as defined in section 2(1) of the Act. Personal information is defined in section 2(1) of the Act , in part, as: "recorded information about an identifiable individual, including, (a) information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or marital or family status of the individual, ... (e) the personal opinions or views of the individual except where they relate to another individual, ... (g) the views or opinions of another individual about the individual, and (h) the individual's name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual." I have carefully reviewed the records and the representations of the Ministry and the appellant. In my view, Record 1 contains the personal information of individuals other than the appellant. Record 2 contains the personal information of both the appellant and other individuals. ISSUE B: If the answer to Issue A is yes, and the personal information is that of individuals other than the appellant, whether the mandatory exemption found in section 21(1) of the Act applies to the records. I have found under Issue A that Record 1 contains the personal information of individuals other than the appellant. Once it has been determined that a record contains personal information, section 21(1) of the Act prohibits the disclosure of this information to anyone other than the person to whom the information relates, except in certain circumstances. In my view, the only exception to the section 21(1) mandatory exemption which has potential application in the circumstances of this appeal is section 21(1)(f), which reads as follows: A head shall refuse to disclose personal information to any person other than the individual to whom the information relates except, if the disclosure does not constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy. Because section 21(1)(f) is an exception to the mandatory exemption which prohibits the disclosure of personal information, in order for me to find that section 21(1)(f) applies, I must find that disclosure of the personal information would not constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy. Sections 21(2), (3) and (4) of the Act provide guidance in determining whether disclosure of personal information would result in an unjustified invasion of the personal privacy of the individual to whom the information relates. Section 21(2) provides some criteria for the head to consider in making this determination. Section 21(3) lists the types of information the disclosure of which is presumed to constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy. Section 21(4) refers to certain types of information whose disclosure does not constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy (Order P-237). I have carefully considered the contents of Record 1 and the representations and have determined that none of the subsections under sections 21(3) or (4) apply to the information contained in Record 1. In its representations, the Ministry has relied upon subsection 21(2)(f) of the Act in refusing to disclose the information at issue. This section reads as follows: A head, in determining whether a disclosur


Legislation		FIPPA 21(1)(f) 21(2)(d) 21(2)(f) 49(b)


Subject Index		highly sensitive transfer payment agency


Signed by		Donald Hale


Published		Mar 03, 1994


Type		Order


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