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Document
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PO-1828
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File #
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PA-000040-2
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Institution/HIC
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Ministry of Finance
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The appellant submitted a request to the Ministry of Finance (the Ministry) pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ), for access to the following records created from May 1, 1998 to the date of this request (January 31, 2000): a) All records showing a decision or direction by the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Minister of Finance, or an Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance regarding Pay Equity legislation and specifically regarding Proxy Pay Equity. Without limiting the generality of this request, this request includes any records showing a decision or direction by the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Minister of Finance, or an Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance related to either or both of the following: i) ongoing Pay Equity or Proxy Pay Equity adjustments ii) any communications between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health regarding Pay Equity or Proxy Pay Equity. b) A copy of the report created by KPMG (1998/99) for the Ministry of Finance regarding how to respond to the court decision to reinstate Proxy Pay Equity. c) This request is intended to gain information regarding this government's plan to comply with the following court decision which reinstated Proxy Pay Equity legislation: [1997] O.J. No. 3563 Court File No. RE 7248/96 ntario Court of Justice (General Division) Justice I. O'Leary Heard: April 7 - 11, 1997 Judgement: September 5, 1997. Therefore, any information pertinent to the government's response to this judgement is also requested. In a decision letter dated April 3, 2000, the Ministry denied access to the responsive records, pursuant to section 65(6)3 of the Act . The appellant appealed the Ministry's decision. I decided to seek the Ministry's representations, initially. The Ministry made submissions and agreed to share them, in their entirety, with the appellant. In response to the Notice of Inquiry provided to him, the appellant also made representations, which were shared with the Ministry. The Ministry chose not to make any submissions in reply. There are six records at issue in this appeal consisting of: a memorandum dated November 10, 1998 from the Deputy Minister of Finance to the Minister; a memorandum dated December 17, 1998 from the Deputy Minister of Finance to the Secretary of the Cabinet; a document entitled "Application and Report to Management Board" dated January 11, 1999; a Report from the Ministry to MBC dated January 26, 1999; a Report from the Ministry to MBC dated February 9, 1999 to which is attached a 16-page table; a Consultant's Report dated May 1998. DISCUSSION: JURISDICTION Section 65(6)3 In order to fall within the scope of paragraph 3 of section 65(6), the Ministry must establish that: the records were collected, prepared, maintained or used by the Ministry or on its behalf; and this collection, preparation, maintenance or usage was in relation to meetings, consultations, discussions or communications; and these meetings, consultations, discussions or communications are about labour relations or employment-related matters in which the Ministry has an interest. Requirements One and Two of the Test The Ministry submits that: [A]ll the records at issue were either collected, prepared, maintained or used by the [Ministry] to assist Management Board of Cabinet (MBC) in making decisions and providing directions in respect of the government's commitment to provide pay equity funding to employers in the broader public sector. Where records are used in the "decision-making process" they are "clearly collected and used" by the institution under section 65(6)(3). See Order MO-1190. . . . [A]ll the records were collected, prepared, maintained or used for the purposes of and in connection with Cabinet meetings and discussions regarding the government's commitment to provide pay equity funding to employers in the broader public sector. Based on my review of the records, I agree that the records were collected, prepared, maintained or used by the Ministry in relation to meetings, consultations, discussions or communications between the Ministry and other entities within the government as contemplated by section 65(6)3. Accordingly, I find that the first two requirements of section 65(6)3 have been met. Requirement Three of the Test Were These Meetings and Discussions About Employment-Related Matters? The Ministry submits that the records at issue concern the government's commitment to assist employers in the broader public sector in fulfilling their statutory obligations under the Pay Equity Act to achieve pay equity for their female employees. It goes on to state that "pay equity is a quintessential employment-related matter since its purpose is to redress inequities in employee compensation". The Ministry relies on the dictionary definition of the terms "employment" taken from the Dictionary of Canadian Law, Second Edition, Carswell, 1995 which includes "any activity for which a person receives or might reasonably be expected to receive valuable consideration" to argue that "[S]ince the records at issue relate to wages that the female employees in the broader public sector receive for their work, the records fall within the definition of 'employment'; wages are an essential component of 'employment'. " The Ministry also submits that regardless of the fact that the employees who are to be affected by the inclusion of pay equity in their workplaces are not employees of the Ministry, they are employed by employers in the broader public
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Donald Hale
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Published
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Oct 31, 2000
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Type
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Order
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Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
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