|
The Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to records relating to any investigations undertaken by the Ministry respecting a named real estate broker and/or his company.
The Ministry located a total of 31 records that were responsive to the request and denied access to them in their entirety, pursuant to sections 13(1), 14(1)(b), 14(2)(a), 17(1)(b), 19, and 21(3)(b) and (d) of the Act. In a second decision letter, addressed to the requester, the Ministry also claimed the application of the exemptions contained in sections 14(1)(d) and 14(2)(c) of the Act. The requester appealed the Ministry's decision to the Commissioner's office.
Mediation of the appeal was not successful, and notice that an inquiry was being conducted to review the Ministry's decision was sent to the appellant, the Ministry and the named real estate broker (the affected person). Representations were received from the Ministry and the affected person only.
In its representations, the Ministry did not address the application of sections 14(1)(b), 14(2)(c) and 19 to the records. I will not, therefore, consider these exemptions in my order. The mandatory exemption provided by section 21(3)(b) was claimed by the Ministry in its decision letter but no representations as to its application were made. In my view, section 21(3)(b) does not apply to the records at issue in this appeal. The Ministry also raised section 21(3)(f) of the Act in its representations and, as it is a mandatory exemption, I will consider its application to the records at issue in this appeal.
The records at issue in this appeal are described in Appendix "A" to this order.
|