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Document
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PO-1934
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File #
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PA-000204-2
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Institution/HIC
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Ministry of the Solicitor General
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The appellant submitted a request to the Ministry of the Solicitor General (the Ministry) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to copies "of the interview questions and the anticipated answers to the questions with the associated maximum scores possible for the following job competitions": SGCS - 225 (Assistant Section Head, Gaming) SGCS - 194 (Forensic Document Examiner) SGCS - 64 (Senior Forensic Scientists) SGCS - 63 (Forensic Technician Electronics) SGCS - 662 (Forensic Biologists) SGCS - 406 (Senior Forensic Scientist, Hair and Fibre Unit) SGCS - 449 (Section Head, Biology) SGCS - 336 (Senior Forensic Scientist, Chemistry) SGCS - 405 (Forensic Technicians) SGCS - 235 (Property Clerk) SGCS - 81 (Quality Assurance Technologist) SGCS - 554 (Forensic Pathologist's Assistant) SGCS - 672 (Centre Receiving Officer). The Ministry denied access to the records on the basis that they were excluded from the scope of the Act pursuant to section 65(6). The appellant appealed this decision and Appeal PA-000204-1 was opened. Appeal PA-000204-1 was resolved by Order PO-1863, in which Adjudicator Dora Nipp found that all of the records, with the exception of Record 12 (SGCS - 554 - Forensic Pathologist's Assistant), were excluded from the scope of the Act . The adjudicator ordered the Ministry to issue a decision on access in respect of Record 12. The Ministry subsequently applied to the Divisional Court for judicial review of this decision. The Ministry then issued a decision as required by provision 1 of Order PO-1863 and denied access to Record 12 on the basis that the exemptions contained in sections 18(1)(a) (valuable government information), 18(1)(c) (economic and other interests) and 18(1)(h) (examination questions) of the Act applied. The appellant appealed the denial of access. During mediation, the Ministry indicated that it maintains its position that section 65(6) applies to the record. Mediation was not possible and the file was moved to inquiry. I decided to seek representations from the Ministry, initially, and sent it a Notice of Inquiry setting out the facts and issues in this appeal. The Ministry submitted representations in response, indicating that it withdraws its reliance on the discretionary exemption in section 18(1)(h) as a ground for non-disclosure of the requested information. After reviewing the Ministry's representations relating to the application of sections 18(1)(a) and (c) to the record at issue, I decided that it was not necessary to hear from the appellant. RECORD: The record at issue consists of the interview questions, the maximum scores possible and general reference questions for the position of Forensic Pathologist's Assistant DISCUSSION: VALUABLE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION/ECONOMIC AND OTHER INTERESTS Sections 18(1)(a) and (c) of the Act provide: A head may refuse to disclose a record that contains, (a) trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that belongs to the Government of Ontario or an institution and has monetary value or potential monetary value; (c) information where the disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the economic interests of an institution or the competitive position of an institution. Section 18(1)(a): information that belongs to an institution and has monetary value In order to qualify for exemption under section 18(1)(a), the Ministry must establish that the information contained in the record: is a trade secret, or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information; and belongs to the Government of Ontario or an institution; and has monetary value or potential monetary value. (Orders 87, P-662, PO-1921) Type of information The Ministry submits that the record at issue consists of technical and commercial information and states: In Order P-454, former Assistant Commissioner Irwin Glasberg defined the term technical information as used in section 17(1) of the [ Act ] as follows: In my view, technical information is information belonging to an organized field of knowledge which would fall under the general categories of applied sciences or mechanical arts. Examples of these fields would include architecture, engineering or electronics. While, admittedly, it is difficult to define technical information in a precise fashion, it will usually involve information prepared by a professional in the field and describe the construction, operation or maintenance of a structure, process, equipment or thing. Finally, technical information must be given a meaning separate from scientific information which also appears in section 17(1)(a) of the Act . In Order P-662, former Inquiry Officer John Higgins adopted this definition for the purposes of section 18(1)(a). The responsive records contain technical information relating to the process of recruiting a suitable candidate for the position of Forensic Pathologist's Assistant with the Office of the Chief Coroner. ... [t]he responsive information can also be viewed as commercial information which has an intrinsic monetary value. In Order P-493, former Inquiry Officer Anita Fineberg interpreted the term commercial information in section 17(1) of [the Act ] as follows: In my view, commercial information is information which relates solely to the buying, selling or exchange of merchandise or services. The term "commercial" information can apply to both profit-making enterprises and non-profit organizations, and has equal application to both large and small enterprises. This interpretation was adopted for the purposes of section 18(1)(a) in Order P-636. [T]he competition materials are valuable business information assets in the human resources marketplace. As per the attached information from two internet sites, it is clear that there is a market for quality recruitment tools. Private organizations are able to control dissemination of their valuable business information assets. The Ministry is of the view that similar protection should be extended to the responsive record which can be viewed as a business information asset belonging to the Ministry. I accept the Ministry's submission that the appropriate interpretations of "technical" and "commercial" information are set out in Orders P-454 and P-493, respectively. In addition, the term "scientific" information has been defined by this office as: Scientific information is information belonging to an organized field of knowledge in either the natural, biological or social sciences or mathematics. In addition, for information to be characterized as scientific, it must relate to th
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Laurel Cropley
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Published
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Jul 31, 2001
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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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