PO-1777

The appellant submitted a request to the Ministry of the Solicitor General (formerly the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to police records relating to the death of her mother.

The Ministry located responsive records and provided the appellant with partial access to them. The Ministry advised the appellant that portions of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers' notes had been removed from the records as this information was not responsive to the request. The information which was removed pertains to other matters recorded by the OPP officers during their tour of duty. The Ministry then denied access to the remaining portions of the records on the basis of the following sections of the Act

• discretion to refuse requester's own information - section 49(a);

• facilitate the commission of an unlawful act - section 14(1)(l);

• law enforcement report - section 14(2)(a);

• invasion of privacy - sections 49(b)/21(1) with reference to sections 21(2)(f) and 21(3)(b).

The appellant appealed the Ministry's decision.

During mediation of the appeal, the Mediator notified seven individuals (the affected persons) to determine whether they would consent to the disclosure of any information pertaining to them in the records. Four affected persons objected to disclosure and three did not respond.

Further mediation was not possible and this appeal was moved on to inquiry. I sent a Notice of Inquiry to the appellant and the Ministry. It appeared that the appellant may be the executor of her mother's estate and that she submitted her request on that basis. Therefore, I raised the possible application of section 66(a) (personal representative) as an issue in this appeal. Only the Ministry submitted representations in response to the Notice.

• FIPPA
• 21(3)(b)
• 2(1)

• compiled as part of an investigation
• witness