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Document
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P-372
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File #
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P-911136
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Institution/HIC
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Ministry of the Solicitor General
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Summary
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ORDER On October 1, 1992, the undersigned was appointed Inquiry Officer and received a delegation of the power and duty to conduct inquiries and make orders under the provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. BACKGROUND: The Ministry of the Solicitor General (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to a named police officer's (the investigator) report and his recommendations relating to the investigation of the requester's complaint against three named police officers (the three officers) of the Ontario Provincial Police (the O.P.P.). Specifically, the requester wanted access to the statements of the three officers and any information relating to the investigator's conclusion that the requester and his lawyer did not agree as to the course of events which led to the complaint. The requester also sought access to "a report of the number of complaints, if there had been others besides mine, made against [the three officers] in the last five years". The Ministry notified eight individuals named in the record of the request, and asked them for their views regarding disclosure of the record. Seven of these individuals objected to the disclosure of any personal information that relates to them. The record which the Ministry identified as being responsive to the request consists of 71 pages. A total of 32 pages were released to the appellant in their entirety. Access to the remaining 39 pages was denied, in whole or in part, pursuant to sections 14(2)(a), 49(a) and 49(b) of the Act . The requester appealed the Ministry's decision to deny access. Mediation was not successful notice that an inquiry was being conducted to review the decision was sent to the Ministry and the appellant. Written representations were received from both parties. The pages or parts of pages of the record that remain at issue are: 11 to 18 inclusive, 22, 36 to 62 inclusive, 65, 66 and 71. Pages 11 to 18 are parts of a 22-page report prepared by the investigator. The severances on these pages consist of the investigator's summaries of the statements of the three officers and the witnesses interviewed in relation to the complaint. Page 22 is an appendix which lists the attachments to the investigator's report. The severances on this page consist of the home addresses of witnesses. Pages 36 to 62 are the actual signed statements of the three officers and the witnesses. These pages were withheld in their entirety. Pages 65 and 66 are severed copies of an O.P.P. Occurrence Report. All of the above pages form part of the investigation of the appellant's allegations of wrongdoing against the three officers. Page 71 contains information that relates to the number of complaints against each of the three officers investigated by the O.P.P., during the five years preceding the appellant's request. This page was withheld in its entirety. ISSUES: The issues in this appeal are as follows: A. Whether the information contained in the record qualifies as "personal information", as defined in section 2(1) of the Act . B. If the answer to Issue A is yes, whether the discretionary exemption provided by section 49(b) of the Act applies to any parts of the record. C. If the answer to Issue A is yes, whether the mandatory exemption provided by section 21 of the Act applies to any parts of the record. D. Whether the record qualifies under the discretionary exemption provided by section 14(2)(a) of the Act . E. If the answer to Issue D is yes, whether the discretionary exemption provided by section 49(a) applies. SUBMISSIONS/CONCLUSIONS: ISSUE A: Whether the information contained in the record qualifies as "personal information", as defined in section 2(1) of the Act . In all cases where the request involves access to personal information, it is my responsibility, before deciding whether the exemptions claimed by the Ministry apply, to determine whether the information falls within the definition of "personal information" as set out in section 2(1) of the Act , and whether it relates to the appellant, another individual or both. Section 2(1) of the Act reads, in part: "personal information" means recorded information about an identifiable individual, including, (a) information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or marital or family status of the individual, (b) information relating to the education or the medical, psychiatric, psychological, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved, ... (d) the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual, (e) the personal opinions or views of the individual except where they relate to another individual, ... (h) the individual's name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual; In my view, all of the information contained in the parts of the record which remain at issue falls within one or more of the aforementioned paragraphs of the definition of personal information under section 2(1) of the Act , and, with the exception of pages 22 and 71, relates to both the appellant and other identifiable individuals. The information on page 22 consists of the addresses of individuals interviewed by the investigator as witnesses to the appellant's complaint. I find that this information relates solely to other identifiable individuals. The information on page 71 relates to the number of complaints against the three officers, filed by individual's other than the appellant. I find this information relates solely to the three officers. ISSUE B: If the answer to Issue A is yes, whether the discretionary exemption provided by section 49(b) of the Act
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Legislation
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FIPPA
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21(1)(a)
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21(1)(b)
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21(1)(d)
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21(1)(e)
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21(1)(h)
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Asfaw Seife
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Published
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Nov 24, 1992
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Type
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Order
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2013
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
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