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The Ministry of the Solicitor General (now the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services) (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to all records relating to all investigations and prosecutions pertaining to the requester. The request was subsequently clarified to involve all personal information of the requester pertaining to the investigation into the death of a named individual, and the prosecution of a murder offence.
The Ministry granted partial access to the records. Access was denied to the Crown Attorney's handwritten notes, numbered as pages 6-23, under section 49(a) with regard to section 19 of the Act. Access was also denied to other records which were determined to be not responsive to the request. The requester appealed the Ministry's decision to deny access to pages 6-23, and indicated that he believed additional records exist which are responsive to his request. These records were the notebooks of three police officers who were involved in the investigation.
During mediation, the Ministry conducted a further search for the notebooks of the three police officers, and issued a supplementary decision letter indicating that no additional responsive records were located.
Mediation was not successful, and notice that an inquiry was being conducted to review the Ministry's decision was sent to the Ministry and the appellant. Written representations were received from the Ministry and the appellant.
In its representations, the Ministry indicated that it was withdrawing the application of sections 49(a) and 19 to the Crown Attorney's notes. The Ministry stated that upon a further review of this portion of the record, it found that the notes did not contain the personal information of the appellant and, therefore, were not responsive to the request.
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