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The Ontario Labour Relations Board (the Board) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to "the complete file #0033-91-U". The Board located the requested Board hearing file and, pursuant to section 28 of the Act, notified two persons whose interests might be affected by the disclosure of the requested information. The affected persons objected to the release of the information in the file.
The Board then issued a decision granting the requester access to the entire file. The affected persons appealed the decision. The Commissioner's office opened Appeal P-9200648 to consider the appeal of one affected person (the Union appellant). Appeal P-9200652 was opened by the Commissioner's office to address the appeal of the second affected person (the individual appellant). Because the records at issue are the same, this order will dispose of both appeals.
During mediation of the appeals, the requester agreed to narrow the scope of his request by eliminating certain pages of the record from the request. Based on the Board's numbering, the pages remaining at issue are: Pages 1 - 14, 18 - 27 and 40 - 94.
Further mediation was not possible and notice that an inquiry was being conducted to review the decisions of the Board was sent to the requester, the appellants and the Board. Representations were received from the requester and the individual appellant.
While the representations were being considered, Commissioner Tom Wright issued Order M-170, which interpreted several statutory provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in a way which differed from the interpretation developed in previous orders. Since a new approach to the operation of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act was being adopted and because similar statutory provisions under the Act are at issue in the present appeals, it was determined that copies of Order M-170 should be provided to the parties. The parties were then afforded the opportunity to state whether the contents of Order M-170 would cause them to change or to supplement the representations which they had previously submitted. Additional representations were received from the requester only.
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