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Document
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PO-1775
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File #
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PA-990051-1 and PA-990150-1
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Institution/HIC
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Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The appellant submitted two requests to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to the following information, on audiotape, in French: 1. Appeal Number PA-990051-1 All information and evidence considered in the appellant's files with the Tribunal to arrive at Decision Number 325/95R dated November 13, 1998; and Transcripts of the hearings of the other decisions already rendered by the Tribunal. 2. Appeal Number PA-990150-1 All information contained in file 745/91 Decision Number 325/95; and Transcripts of hearings held by the Tribunal in rendering Decision Number 745/91 and Decision Number 25/95. The Tribunal decided to grant access to the requested information and issued fee estimates, described as follows: 1. Appeal Number PA-990051-1 The Tribunal provided a fee estimate of $973.80 for photocopying 4,869 pages of documents as follows: Materials in file 325/95R - 4,565 pages; and Hearing transcripts leading to Decision Number 745/91 - 304 pages. The decision did not address audiotapes, the format in which the appellant requested the information. 2. Appeal Number PA-990150-1 The Tribunal provided a fee estimate of $1,536.15, comprised of: Materials in file 745/91 - $122.00 for photocopying; Materials in file 325/95 - $913.00 for photocopying; Audiotape of hearing transcripts leading to Decision Number 325/95 - $476.15; Audiotape of hearing transcripts leading to Decision Number 325/95I - $25.00. In its decision, the Tribunal stated that hearing tapes for Decision Number 745/91 no longer exist and addressed the audiotape format only partially. The appellant appealed the Tribunal's decisions on the basis that it did not address the issue of providing access to the information in the audiotape format requested. The appellant claimed that all information should be provided to him on audiotape as a way of accommodating him for his visual impairment. During the mediation stage of the appeal, the Tribunal issued revised decisions addressing the issue of the appellant's request for audiotapes. The appellant narrowed the scope of his request to include only records which were created by the Tribunal with respect to his files. Specifically, he sought access to the hearing transcripts and decisions rendered by the Tribunal in files 745/91, 325/95I, 325/95, and 325/95R. In July 1999, the Tribunal issued two revised access decisions containing a total fee estimate of $1,530.85 for the cost of creating audiotapes from the responsive paper records. In their decisions, the Tribunal provided a breakdown of the fee estimate for producing audiotapes of the records and the cost of the audiotapes as follows: Decision Number 745/91 - $102.70; Decisions 325/95I and 325/95 - $5.40; Hearing Transcripts of April 25, 1995 for Decision Number 325/95I - $25.00; Hearing Transcripts of October 15, 1997 for Decision Number 325/95 - $476.15; Decision Number 325/95R and Hearing Transcripts of May 28, 1991 & October 9, 1991 for Decision Number 745/91 - $921.60. The appellant maintained his appeal of the fee estimates based solely on his belief that he is entitled to receive the information in the audiotape format without paying for it as an accommodation of his visual impairment. The appellant is not disputing the calculation of the fees, nor did he apply for a fee waiver under section 57(4) of the Act . Following the issuance of the Tribunal's July 1999 decisions, the appellant narrowed the scope of his request once again to include only records created prior to January 31, 1996 (the date when the Act was amended to allow for the charging of fees for personal information). The appellant is of the view that he should not be required to pay fees for access to records created prior to the Act 's amendment. Before the repeal of section 57(2) of the Act on January 31, 1996, institutions were precluded from charging a fee where a requester sought access to their own personal information. After that date, however, requests for access to one's own personal information were subject to the fee provisions in the Act , regardless of the date when the records were created. The date of the request, rather than the date of the creation of the record, governs whether fees may be charged for personal information [Order P-1186]. Accordingly, I find that the provision precluding the charging of fees of access to one's own personal information which was contained in the former section 57(2) does not apply to the present requests.
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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Donald Hale
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Published
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Apr 26, 2000
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Type
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Order
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2013
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
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