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Document
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P-936
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File #
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P-9400795
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Institution/HIC
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Ministry of Community and Social Services
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ). The Ministry of Community and Social Services (the Ministry) received a request for access to information concerning an investigation conducted by (1) a named Children's Aid Society (the C.A.S.) and (2) a Ministry employee, into an incident involving the requester. The requester is employed by the Ministry at a detention centre for young offenders. As a result of this incident, a disciplinary action, in the form of a suspension, was taken against the requester. He has filed a grievance objecting to the suspension he received. In response to the first part of the request, the Ministry initially issued a decision indicating that no records existed. The Ministry advised the requester to contact the C.A.S. directly as it is not an institution covered by the provisions of the Act . With respect to the second part of the request, the Ministry denied access to the investigation records in their entirety pursuant to the law enforcement exemption in section 14(1)(b) of the Act . The requester appealed these decisions. During mediation, the scope of the appeal was limited to the findings of the C.A.S. investigation and the pages of the records related to the Ministry investigation as described in Appendix "A" to this order. The appellant also confirmed that he was not seeking access to the name and address of the recipient of Record 3, or the personal information of another individual where it appears in Record 7. Record 6 also contains some references to this individual. The appellant still maintains that more records should exist which are responsive to both parts of his request. Thus, the issues to be addressed in this order are access to the investigation records and the reasonableness of the Ministry's search for records responsive to both parts of the request. A Notice of Inquiry was sent to the appellant and the Ministry. As a number of the records appeared to contain the appellant's personal information, the parties were asked to comment on the application of section 49(a) of the Act . Representations were received from both parties. DISCUSSION: REASONABLENESS OF SEARCH In his representations, the appellant has provided information to support his position that records containing the findings of the C.A.S. investigation should be in the custody of the Ministry. He states that individuals at the Ministry's area office requested that the C.A.S. investigate the incident in which he was involved. As part of that investigation, the C.A.S. investigator interviewed him on October 31, 1994. The appellant advises that the investigator told him that she needed to interview him prior to submitting her report to the Ministry. His submissions go on to explain that: ... After this report was finished the Ministry would have an opportunity to review the finding of the C.A.S. investigation. This report would also have been reviewed at the Deputy Minister level as this issue was a contentious issue. This report would have been reviewed by [named Ministry employees] and at the Deputy Minister's office. In its submissions, the Ministry states that it was required to report the incident in question to the C.A.S. pursuant to the Child and Family Services Act . It further states that it was the responsibility of the C.A.S. to investigate the allegations. The Ministry has also provided a copy of an affidavit sworn by the manager of the Area Office. The affidavit explains that three Ministry employees in this office were questioned about the existence of a copy of the C.A.S. investigation and the internal Ministry investigation documents in their files. They were also asked whether such records might exist anywhere else in the Ministry area office or program area in which the incident occurred. These Ministry employees did not have a copy of the C.A.S. document. The Ministry concludes: Files were not maintained. This was an independent investigation by the Children's Aid society. The investigation by the Children's Aid Society is the property of the Children's Aid Society and not of the Ministry of Community and Social Services. As the appellant emphasizes in his submissions, and as confirmed by the Ministry, the only location in which searches for the C.A.S. investigation findings were conducted was the Ministry's area office. Given the nature of the incident and the information provided by the appellant, I am not satisfied that the Ministry's search for this information was reasonable in the circumstances. It appears to me that there are many other Ministry departments and/or offices and individuals who may have a copy of this record in their custody. Accordingly, I am ordering the Ministry to conduct another search for these records. As far as the records related to the Ministry investigation are concerned, I am satisfied that, based upon all the requests the appellant has submitted and the materials which have either been disclosed to him or denied pursuant to the Act , the Ministry has conducted reasonable searches to locate this information. LAW ENFORCEMENT/DISCRETION TO DENY ACCESS TO THE REQUESTER'S PERSONAL INFORMATION Under section 2(1) of the Act , "personal information" is defined, in part, to mean recorded information about an identifiable individual, including any identifying number assigned to the individual and 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 reviewed the records at issue and find that they all contain the personal information of the appellant. In addition, the name and address of the recipient of Record 3, and references to a youth in the detention centre in Records 6 and 7 constitutes the personal information of these individuals. However, as I have noted this information is not at issue in this appeal. Many of the records also contain information related to individuals in their employment capacities. This is not the personal information of these Ministry employees. Thus, it is only the personal information of the appellant that is at issue in this appeal. Section 47(1) of the Act gives individuals a general right of access to their own personal information held by a government body. Section 49 provides a
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Anita Fineberg
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Published
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Jun 06, 1995
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Type
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Order
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2013
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
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