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Document
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MO-1326
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Institution/HIC
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The Corporation of the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: On February 11, 2000, the appellant made a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) to the Corporation of the Municipality of Arran-Elderslie (the Municipality). The request was for access to "copies of the minutes of the last council meeting, marked 'not approved'." The Municipality responded in writing on February 18, 2000, advising the appellant that it did not have any records marked "not approved" but that it understood that she was seeking access to the February 7, 2000 Council meeting minutes. The Municipality also indicated to the appellant that, under section 19 of the Act , it is obliged to render a decision on access to a requested record within 30 days of the date the request is received. The Municipality informed the appellant that, pursuant to its obligations under section 19, it would provide notice to her within 30 days as to whether access to the requested record is to be granted or not. The appellant was also advised that the requested February 7th minutes would be made available to her on February 23, 2000. The Municipality also made reference to its disclosure obligations under section 74 of the Municipal Act , which requires that it make available to the public "all minutes of the proceedings of the council ... within a reasonable time" and "subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ". On March 14, 2000, the appellant appealed the Municipality's decision to the Commissioner's office on the basis that she ought to be entitled to timely access to the requested information, as mandated by section 74 of the Municipal Act . In a letter to this office dated March 31, 2000, the appellant sets out in greater detail her reasons for initiating the present appeal. She submits that: What is of utmost importance here is the connecting of the requirements of the Municipal Act to the parameters of MFIPPA, with the added admonition of "within a reasonable time" under the Municipal Act as a stop-gap to possible misuse of the provisions of the MFIPPA to unwarrantly delay release of pertinent and time-sensitive documents to the public. During the mediation of the appeal, the Municipality confirmed with the appellant that she was seeking access to the version of the minutes of the February 7, 2000 council meeting which was prepared for Council's approval. The Municipality agreed to provide her with access to this record, in its entirety. Accordingly, whether or not the appellant is to be granted access to the record requested is no longer at issue in this appeal and there is agreement between the parties that the requested record, in fact, exists. The appellant takes the position that, under section 74 of the Municipal Act , the Municipality is required to provide her with access to the requested unapproved minutes within a reasonable time, which she interprets as meaning within sufficient time for her to ensure that the contents of the minutes of a council meeting are available to be placed on the agenda for the following meeting. The appellant is also of the view that by requiring that a requester make a request under the Act , with its 30 day time limit for response, the Municipality is not meeting its obligations under section 74 of the Municipal Act to provide the information "within a reasonable time". I provided a Notice of Inquiry to the appellant, soliciting her representations on the issue raised in her appeal letter. I received detailed representations from her. Because of the manner in which I will dispose of this appeal, it was not necessary for me to seek the representations of the Municipality. DISCUSSION: TIMELINESS OF ACCESS In my view, the sole issue to be determined in this appeal is whether the Municipality's decision to grant the appellant access to the record within the 30 day period prescribed by section 19 of the Act is in compliance with its obligations under the Act . Appellant's Submissions The appellant argues that the public has two avenues of access to the requested information, under both section 17(1) of the Act and section 74 of the Municipal Act , which states: Subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act any person may, at all reasonable hours, inspect any of the records, books or documents mentioned in section 73 and the minutes and proceedings of any committee of the council, whether the acts of the committee have been adopted or not, and other documents in the possession or under the control of the clerk, and the clerk shall, within a reasonable time, furnish copies of them, certified under the clerk's hand and the seal of the corporation of the municipality, to any applicant on payment at such rate as the council may by by-law establish. Section 19 of the Act prescribes the time frames within which an institution must respond to a request made under section 17(1). It states that: Where a person requests access to a record, the head of the institution to which the request is made or if a request is forwarded or transferred under section 18, the head of the institution to which it is forwarded or transferred, shall, subject to sections 20, 21 and 45, within thirty days after the request is received, (a) give written notice to the person who made the request as to whether or not access to the record or a part of it will be given; and (b) if access is to be given, give the person who made the request access to the record or part, and if necessary for the purpose cause the record to be produced. The appellant submits that the Municipality has in place an unwritten policy whereby it denies access to unapproved council minutes (which is the requested record in this appeal) until such time as they have been approved by the council at its next meeting. The appellant argues that section 74 of the Municipal Act requires that records such as council minutes be disclosed within a reasonable time after they are prepared, rather than after the date they are a
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Published
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Jul 27, 2000
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Type
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Order
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