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Document
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M-1153
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Institution/HIC
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City of Kanata
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The City of Kanata (the City) received a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ). The request was for access to the following electronic records: 1. All electronic files relating to the proposed amalgamation of the City of Kanata and other surrounding municipalities. 2. Council minutes for the period January 1996 to the date of the request. 3. Any papers prepared concerning the amalgamation issue for public use by Council or staff. 4. Past, present and planned capital expenditures. 5. Descriptions of the physical assets of the City, including street maps, maps of the recreational facilities, zoning maps and photographs of the major civic facilities such as libraries, pools etc. The City responded to the request by advising the requester that access to the information sought would be granted in paper format, but that records responsive to his request did not exist in electronic form. The requester, now the appellant, appealed the City's decision to deny access to the requested information in an electronic format. A subsequent request was made by the appellant for access in electronic form to all existing City by-laws, together with a list of the by-law numbers for any such files that no longer exist. Again, the City advised the appellant that this information did not exist in electronic format, but that access to paper copies would be granted. The appellant appealed this subsequent decision. As the issues in the second appeal were similar to those raised in the earlier appeal, the parties agreed that the two appeals would proceed together. The dispute between the parties revolves around whether the City is obliged to provide access to the requested information in the format requested by the appellant. Whether or not the appellant is entitled under the Act to access to information responsive to the requests as contained in the paper copies of the records is not in dispute, though the City advised the appellant that a fee may apply should he wish to have access to the paper copies of the records. In order to address the issues raised in this appeal completely, the appellant and the City were asked to respond to a number of questions set out in the Notice of Inquiry which I provided to the parties. Representations were received from both parties. DISCUSSION: REASONABLENESS OF SEARCH The first issue to be determined in this appeal is whether the City's search for responsive records in an electronic format was reasonable. Where an appellant provides sufficient details about the records which he or she is seeking and the City indicates that such records do not exist, it is my responsibility to ensure that the City has made a reasonable search to identify any records which are responsive to the request. The Act does not require the City to prove with absolute certainty that the requested records do not exist. However, in my view, in order to properly discharge their obligations under the Act , the City must provide me with sufficient evidence to show that it has made a reasonable effort to identify and locate records responsive to the request. There is no dispute that paper copies of all of the requested information exist in the City's record holdings. I must determine whether the search undertaken by the City for the electronic versions of these records was reasonable. The City has provided me with a memorandum from its Manager, Communications and Information Services Unit (the Manager), addressed to the City Manager. In this submission, the Manager describes in great detail the steps which he has taken to identify and locate the electronic versions of the requested records. The Manager also indicates that he has had a number of contacts with the appellant attempting to address the issues raised in his request and subsequent appeal. The Manager submits that he has been managing the record holdings of the City for the past ten years and has a thorough knowledge of which records are maintained in an electronic format. He also describes in detail the searches and inquiries which he has made in response to the appellant's request and this inquiry. Copies of the City's records management policies and retention schedules were also submitted by the Manager. I will now outline the results of the searches undertaken by the Manager in responding to each of the record categories requested by the appellant. 1. Council minutes, agendas and by-laws are all prepared electronically. However, once they are printed into hard copy and distributed, the electronic versions are deleted from the hard drive of the computer on which they were created, according to the City Clerk. 2. The City's Manager of Materials Management advised that no electronic records which describe the physical assets of the City exist. 3. The City's Capital Budget Officer and Manager of Financial Services informed the Manager that records relating to current, past and future capital expenditures, going back to 1990, are available in electronic format. 4. The City's Park Construction Technician and Landscape Architect advised the Manager that no digital photographs or documents relating to City facilities exist. 5. Other City staff indicated to the Manager that certain electronic drawings and maps of the City exist in the requested electronic format. The appellant indicates that, in his view, all of the requested information was originally prepared electronically and must still exist in that format. He submits that it is, therefore, not necessary to transfer this information from a paper copy into an electronic version. The appellant states that although the electronic records which he has requested originate with several City departments, each of those departments share a common computer network. I have reviewed the submissions of the parties with respect to this issue and have come to the following conclusions: 1
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Published
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Oct 16, 1998
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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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