|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Document
|
|
P-503
|
|
|
|
|
|
File #
|
|
P-9200541
|
|
|
|
|
|
Institution/HIC
|
|
Ministry of Environment and Energy
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summary
|
|
ORDER BACKGROUND: The Ministry of the Environment (now the Ministry of Environment and Energy) (the Ministry) received a request for access under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for: Any and all records, wherever situate, respecting the extension of the environmental levy to non-refillable beverage alcohol containers announced in the April 30, 1992 provincial budget to be implemented, inter alia , by amendments to Ontario Regulation 548/90 and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, particulars of any consultations which have taken place with other provincial and federal government departments respecting the extension of the levy. The Ministry located a number of records responsive to the request. The Ministry also transferred portions of the request to another ministry which had a greater interest in the records pursuant to section 25(2) of the Act . The Ministry subsequently granted access in whole or in part to the majority of documents in its custody. Access to certain other records, however, was denied pursuant to sections 12(1)(b), (c) and (e) and 13(1) of the Act . The requester appealed the denial of access and maintained that additional records responsive to the request should exist. Mediation was not successful and notice that an inquiry was being conducted to review the Ministry's decision was sent to the Ministry and to the appellant. Representations were received from the Ministry only. In its representations, the Ministry agreed to disclose to the appellant the documents described as Records 7, 8, 9 and 10 in the Ministry's index of records, as well as some additional correspondence received from members of the public prior to the date of the request. The records which remain at issue in this appeal may, therefore, be described as follows based on the original index numbers used by the Ministry: Record 2 A Cabinet Submission with an attached covering memorandum dated February 3, 1992 prepared by the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations (MCCR). Record 3 A briefing note dated February 12, 1992 regarding the Cabinet Submission. Record 4 A further briefing note dated March 9, 1992 regarding the Cabinet Submission. Record 5 A memorandum from the Deputy Minister of the Environment to the Deputy Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations dated February 11, 1992 respecting certain matters contained in the Cabinet Submission. Record 6 A response from the Deputy Minister of the Environment to a second draft of the MCCR's Cabinet Submission which is undated. ISSUES: The issues arising in this appeal are: A. Whether the search undertaken by the Ministry for records responsive to the request was reasonable in the circumstances of the appeal. B. Whether the mandatory exemptions provided by sections 12(1)(b), (c) and (e) of the Act apply to Records 2 through 6. C. Whether the discretionary exemption provided by section 13(1) of the Act applies to Record 6. SUBMISSIONS/CONCLUSIONS: ISSUE A: Whether the search undertaken by the Ministry for records responsive to the request was reasonable in the circumstances of the appeal. In its representations, the Ministry provided detailed information on how the records which are responsive to the request were originally created. The Ministry has also supplied three separate affidavits sworn by staff within its Waste Reduction Office and Fiscal Planning and Economic Analysis Branch which set out the nature of the searches which the Ministry undertook after the access request was received. The steps taken by the Ministry to locate responsive records are summarized in the affidavits as follows: (1) The branches of the Ministry involved with the environmental levy issue were identified. (2) A search was undertaken by two staff members of the Waste Reduction Office who were part of a team of four individuals within the Ministry who were responsible for reviewing waste management policy. (This search yielded Records 7, 8, 9 and 10, all of which have now been released to the appellant) (3) A further search was conducted within the Ministry's Fiscal and Planning and Economic Analysis Branch which located Records 1 through 6. The search was carried out in consultation with those staff members most directly involved in the formulation of the Ministry's response to the Cabinet Submission authored by the MCCR. Based on my review of these representations, I am satisfied that the search undertaken by the Ministry to locate responsive records was reasonable in the circumstances of the appeal. ISSUE B: Whether the mandatory exemptions provided by sections 12(1)(b), (c) and (e) apply to Records 2 through 6. I propose to deal with the application of the exemptions claimed under section 12(1) to each record individually. Record 2 This record consists of a Cabinet Submission with an attached covering memorandum dated February 3, 1992. Both documents were authored by the MCCR and provided to the Ministry for comment. The Cabinet Submission deals with a number of issues respecting the Ontario beer industry which were to be discussed during the February 13, 1992 meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic and Labour Policy. The Ministry claims that this record is exempt from disclosure pursuant to sections 12(1)(b) and (e) of the Act . Section 12(1)(b) reads as follows: A head shall refuse to disclose a record where the disclosure would reveal the substance of deliberations of an Executive Council or its committees, including, a record containing policy options or recommendations submitted, or prepared for submission, to the Executive Council or its committees; In Order 73, former Commissioner Sidney Linden established a two part test that a Ministry must meet to bring a record within the ambit of section 12(1)(b) of the Act . For this exemption to apply: 1. the record must contain policy options or recommendations; and 2. the record must have been submitted or prepared for submission to the Executive Council or its committees. The Cabinet Submission which forms part of Record 2 describes a variety of policy options available to the Government to address various issues associated with the Ontario beer industry. In add
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legislation
|
|
-
FIPPA
-
12(1)(b)
-
12(1)(e)
-
29(1)(a)(ii)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subject Index
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signed by
|
|
Irwin Glasberg
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published
|
|
Jul 23, 1993
|
|
|
|
|
|
Type
|
|
Order
|
|
|
|
|
|
<<
Back
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
|
 |
|
|
|
© Copyright
2013
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
|