PO-2011

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) is responsible for, among other things, dealing with the assets of corporations that have been dissolved. When an Ontario corporation is dissolved and owns assets on the date it ceases to exist, the company's assets are forfeited to the Crown. Persons having a claim to these assets can apply for relief from forfeiture, pursuant to the Escheats Act.

In the circumstances of this appeal, the company, at the time of its dissolution, had shareholders that it could not locate. The assets to which these shareholders were entitled were paid to the PGT and held in trust for them.

Certain individuals and organizations are in the business of identifying and locating persons having a claim to the assets of dissolved corporations whose assets have forfeited to the Crown. They do so, in part, by seeking information held by the PGT.

NATURE OF THE APPEAL:

The PGT received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for information held by the PGT about the shareholders of a company that had been dissolved. The request included information about:

1. The names of the 38 shareholders whose whereabouts has not been determined;
   
   
2. The number of shares outstanding in total for these 38 shareholders;
   
   
3. The average number of shares outstanding for each of these 38 shareholders;
   
   
4. A list of those shareholders, of the 38 shareholders whose whereabouts has not been determined, who own more than the average number of shares;

...

• FIPPA
• 2(2)
• 21(2)
• 21(3)(f)
• Section 53

• benefit to unknown heirs
• Burden of Proof
• deceased person
• financial history