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Document
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PO-1929
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File #
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PA-010011-1
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Institution/HIC
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Ontario Securities Commission
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The Ontario Securities Commission (the "OSC") received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to a copy of an OSC investigation report and the address of service for a named individual. The requester, now the appellant, and the named individual are involved in a legal dispute. The OSC located two responsive records and denied access to both in their entirety. With respect to the investigation report, the OSC claimed the exemption at section 14 (law enforcement) of the Act. It denied access to the address of the named individual on the basis of the exemption at section 21 (invasion of privacy). Mediation of this appeal was not successful and I sent a Notice of Inquiry to the OSC initially, inviting representations on the issues raised by this appeal. The OSC returned submissions, the non-confidential portions of which were shared with the appellant. The appellant, through her legal counsel, also submitted representations in response to the Notice. RECORDS: There are two records at issue in this appeal, a 21-page memorandum on the investigation of named companies ("investigation report"), and a two-page letter on which the address for service of the named individual appears ("address for service"). The named individual was a representative of one of the named companies. DISCUSSION: PERSONAL INFORMATION The first issue to determine is whether the records contain personal information, as defined under the Act , and to whom that information relates. "Personal information" is defined in section 2(1) of the Act , in part, as 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 ... financial transactions in which the individual has been involved, (c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual, (d) the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the 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; Investigation Report In past orders, this office has determined that information about identifiable individuals in their capacity as representatives of a business or corporation is not considered to be information "about" these individuals, and therefore does not qualify as their "personal information" within the meaning of the definition in section 2(1) (see Reconsideration Order R-980015). Previous orders have also considered the issue of whether certain information contained in records held by the OSC regarding its investigations qualified as personal information (see, for example, Orders P-1636 and PO-1883). In Interim Order P-1636, Adjudicator Laurel Cropley stated: The records pertain to several OSC investigations into the activities of a number of companies involved in the buying, selling and promotion of stocks. The OSC investigations examined a large number of transactions involving these firms, which necessitated the compilation of a great deal of information about the trading in securities by many identifiable individuals. As a result, many of the records contain a great deal of information which qualifies as "personal information" within the definition in section 2(1)(b) as it relates to "financial transactions" in which each of these individuals, including the appellant, were involved. In Interim Order P-1636, the records also included personal information that was generated from computer searches, such as birth dates, home address, social insurance number, employer, and place of birth. Adjudicator Cropley found this information to qualify as "personal information" under paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (h) of section 2(1). I agree with Adjudicator Cropley's analysis and find it to be relevant to the investigation report, which relates to an investigation of complaints to the OSC. In the case before me, the OSC conducted an investigation into various activities of the named companies which were involved in mutual funds. The investigation report contains the names of individuals in their capacity as representatives of these companies. It also contains information "about" these identifiable individuals, including detailed information about their "financial transactions", the allegations against them, their views and opinions in response to the allegations, and staff recommendations with respect to the allegations. I am satisfied that this information qualifies as personal information under paragraphs (b), (d), (g) and (h) of sections 2(1) of the Act. The investigation report does not contain the appellant's personal information. Address for Service The two-page letter relates to an "Application for Registration as a Mutual Fund Dealer". It was submitted by legal counsel on behalf of a named company, and cites the named individual together with his/her address for service. In their submissions, the OSC and the appellant both referred to Order 80 in which former Commissioner Sidney Linden distinguished "corporate information" from "personal information". The OSC argues that the named person's address for service is "recorded information about the individual". It states: ... it is not necessary to consider the address for service of the named individual to be information of the organization given that the named company would have been required to provide its own address for service as party of its registration with the OSC. The appellant's position is that the address of officers and representatives is "corporate information" as co
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Dora Nipp
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Published
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Jul 30, 2001
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Type
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Order – Interim
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