PO-1883

The Ministry of Finance (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to all records relating to the requester or any companies with whom he had been associated. The Ministry identified that responsive records were held by the Ontario Securities Commission (the OSC). The Minister of Finance is the "head" of the OSC for the purposes of the Act, and the Ministry processes requests and appeals under the Act on behalf of the OSC. Accordingly, although the Ministry participated in this matter on behalf of the OSC, the OSC is properly considered the institution for the purposes of this appeal.

The request specifically sought access to:

All notes, memoranda, correspondence or any other documentary or electronic records of any kind which disclose information relating to [the requester] personally or relating to [an identified company] or the companies on the attached list and which are contained in the Ministry's files.

The OSC identified 135 responsive records, and provided the requester with access to 116 of them. For the remaining 19 records, the OSC denied access on the basis of one of more of the following exemptions contained in the Act:

• section 13(1) (advice or recommendations);
• sections 14(1)(a), (b), (c) and (g) and 14(2)(a) and (c) (law enforcement);
• sections 15(b) and (c) (relations with other governments);
• section 21 (invasion of privacy);
• sections 49(a) and (b) (discretion to refuse requester's own information).

The requester, now the appellant, appealed the OSC's decision.

• FIPPA