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Document
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MO-1413
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Institution/HIC
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Town of Penetanguishene
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The appellant wrote to the Town of Penetanguishene (the Town) seeking access under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) to the following: . . . all records, notes and communications, including in camera meetings and communications between lawyer and Town, in the case of the "Lords Prayer" court case. This case has come to a conclusion and no appeal is possible. The Town responded by stating that the Town's relevant litigation file had previously been provided to the requester, with the exception of correspondence from the solicitors acting on behalf of or providing legal advice to the Town and letters from the public on the matter. The Town denied access to the outstanding records on the basis that they are exempt under section 12 (correspondence between the Town's solicitor and the Town) and section 14 (correspondence from members of the public) of the Act . The Town further advised the requester that formal minutes of in camera meetings are not available as they are not taken. The requester appealed the Town's decision to this office, both with respect to the denial of access to information and the non-existence of in camera minutes. During the mediation stage of the appeal, the appellant narrowed the information being sought to: the information the Town withheld on the basis of section 12 of the Act ; letters to the Town from organizations and from individuals where the letter does not contain the identity of the author. The Town then disclosed additional records to the appellant, either in part or in their entirety. The appellant subsequently removed two additional records from the scope of the appeal. As a result, the application of section 14 (personal privacy) is no longer an issue in this appeal. The appellant also informed the Mediator that he is no longer pursuing the issue of whether or not in camera meeting minutes exist. The Town subsequently located one additional record - correspondence between the Town's solicitor and another solicitor. This record is numbered 1(a). The Town is applying section 12 of the Act to deny access to this record. The sole remaining issue in this appeal is the denial of access to the records the Town withheld under section 12 (solicitor-client privilege) of the Act . I sent a Notice of Inquiry initially to the Town, the Town's solicitor, two law firms and another affected person inviting their representations on the issues raised by the appeal. In response, I received three sets of representations: (i) from the Town's solicitor on his own behalf and on behalf of the Town; (ii) from one law firm on its own behalf (the first affected person); and (iii) from another law firm on its own behalf and on behalf of the other affected person (the second affected person). I then sent the Notice of Inquiry, together with all three sets of representations, to the appellant, who provided representations in response. RECORDS: The following records remain at issue in this appeal, as described in the index of records provided by the Town: Record 1 Letter to the Town's solicitor from a law firm dated July 11, 1997 Record 1(a) Letter to a law firm from the Town's solicitor dated July 3, 1997 Record 2 Memorandum to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated June 21, 2000, with attached letter to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated July 18, 1997 Record 15 Memorandum to the Town Council from the Town Clerk dated November 16, 1999, with attached letter to a named individual representing a named organization, from a law firm, dated November 1, 1999 Record 16 Memorandum to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated November 16, 1999 Record 19 Memorandum to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated October 5, 1999, with attached memorandum to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated September 29, 1999 Record 20 Letter to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated October 6, 1999 Record 21 Memorandum to the Town Council from the Town Clerk dated July 16, 1998, with attached letter to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated July 15, 1998 Record 25 Letter to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated February 12, 1998 Record 28 Letter to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated January 28, 1998, with attached notice of appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal Record 35 Letter to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated December 11, 1997, with attached statements of account Record 50 Memorandum to the Town from the Town's solicitor dated December 10, 1997 ISSUES: SOLICITOR-CLIENT PRIVILEGE Introduction Section 12 of the Act reads: A head may refuse to disclose a record that is subject to solicitor-client privilege or that was prepared by or for counsel employed or retained b
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Published
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Apr 04, 2001
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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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