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Document
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P-1031
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File #
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P-9500244
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Institution/HIC
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Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations
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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 Consumer and Commercial Relations (the Ministry) received a request from an individual for access to the "unamended version of [his] birth certificate", as well as to any explanatory notes or documents which may have accompanied the original birth certificate. The requester had previously obtained a certified copy of his birth registration from the Office of the Registrar General (the ORG), under the provisions of the Vital Statistics Act . Items 8 to 13 of the birth registration had been covered over by a glued piece of paper and therefore appeared as a blank on the photocopy. The requester wants to ascertain the nature of the information under the covered portion of the registration. The Ministry indicates that a "birth certificate" is only an extract of information from a long form registration, which is the record in which the requester is interested. The Ministry responded by advising the requester that it could not provide him with a copy of his unamended birth registration because to remove the overlay would risk damaging and destroying the original record. The Ministry thus claimed that, pursuant to section 30(1) of the Act , it was not practical to reproduce the record. It did advise the requester that, pursuant to section 30(2) of the Act , he could view the original document. The Ministry also stated that there were no other documents which accompanied the original registration. The requester appealed both aspects of the Ministry's decision. A Notice of Inquiry was sent to the Ministry and the appellant. Representations were received from both parties. Because the record appeared to contain the personal information of the appellant, a Supplementary Notice of Inquiry was sent to the parties to solicit their comments on the application of section 48 of the Act . Again, representations were received from both the Ministry and the appellant. The issues to be determined in this appeal are as follows: (1) Whether section 30(1) or 48(1) of the Act applies to the part of the record at issue; and (2) Whether the Ministry's search for all responsive records was reasonable in the circumstances of this appeal. DISCUSSION: WHETHER SECTION 30(1) OR 48(1) APPLIES TO THE PART OF THE RECORD AT ISSUE As I have indicated, the Ministry's decision was made under section 30(1) of the Act which states: Subject to subsection (2), a person who is given access to a record or a part thereof under this Act shall be given a copy thereof unless it would not be reasonably practicable to reproduce the record or part thereof by reason of its length or nature, in which case the person shall be given an opportunity to examine the record or part thereof in accordance with the regulations. Section 30 is found in Part II of the Act , that dealing with access to general records, including requests for another individual's personal information. Section 48 of the Act states: (1) An individual seeking access to personal information about the individual shall make a request therefor in writing to the institution that the individual believes has custody or control of the personal information and shall identify the personal information bank or otherwise identify the location of the personal information. (2) Subsections 10(2) and 24(2) and sections 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 apply with necessary modifications to a request made under subsection (1). (3) Subject to the regulations, where an individual is to be given access to personal information requested under subsection (1), the head shall, (a) permit the individual to examine the personal information; or (b) provide the individual with a copy thereof. (4) Where access to personal information is to be given, the head shall ensure that the personal information is provided to the individual in a comprehensible form and in a manner which indicates the general terms and conditions under which the personal information is stored and used. Section 48 is found in Part III of the Act which addresses issues related to one's own personal information. In its supplementary representations, the Ministry states that this matter must be decided under section 30(1) of the Act as the information at issue, items 8 to 13 on the birth registration, appear under the heading "Father". According to this argument, this information would be analysed under the general records provisions in the Act (Part II), rather than the provisions relating to requests for one's own personal information (Part III). On this basis, the Ministry maintains that, as the appellant is seeking access to the personal information of his father, rather than to his own personal information, section 48 has no application. To support this position, the Ministry refers to Order P-309 in which former Assistant Commissioner Tom Mitchinson analysed a record entitled "Statement of Live Birth" which contained the names and date of birth of babies born in Ontario, as well as the residential and mailing addresses of the mothers of the babies. The former Assistant Commissioner concluded that the addresses of the mothers constituted the personal information of both the babies and the mothers only because it could be reasonably assumed that the address of the baby was the same as the address of the mother. The Ministry states that: ... the Assistant Commissioner was careful in his characterization of personal information on a birth registration and considered each piece of information separately. [emphasis added] However, this order was decided before the Commissioner's office published the October 1993 edition of IPC Practices entitled "Responding to Requests for Personal Information". Amongst other things, this document sets out the approach which institutions should follow when responding to a request for access to records which contain any of the requester's personal information: Evaluate the request under Part III of the provincial Act (Part II of the municipal Act ). The sections found in these parts of the Acts provide guidance to institutions regarding disclosure of personal information. This approach establishes the record as
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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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Oct 23, 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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