PO-1839

On May 30, 2000, the appellant submitted six identical requests to the Ministry of the Environment (the Ministry) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for information relating to six cities or towns for the period from January 1, 1994 to the present. The appellant is seeking correspondence between the Ministry or regional office and the named city or town, the public utilities commission in that town or a consultant/third party on their behalf, including any laboratory sampling test results.

In a letter to the appellant dated June 7, 2000, the Ministry confirmed that the scope of these requests had been clarified to include correspondence only in the Ministry’s district or regional offices. The Ministry also advised the appellant that she could expect a reply or "additional communication" by July 5, 2000. At the same time, the Ministry advised that a fee may be cited for search time and photocopying of records.

However, the Ministry did not issue any decision letters to the requester as required by sections 26 and 29 of the Act within the 30-days prescribed by the Act, nor did the Ministry request a time extension to process the requests under section 27(1) of the Act. Accordingly, the Ministry placed itself in a “deemed refusal” situation pursuant to section 29(4) of the Act. This provision states:

• FIPPA
• 29(4)

• deemed refusal