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Document
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MO-1384
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Institution/HIC
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Peel Regional Police
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Summary
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NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The Peel Regional Police Services Board (the Police) received a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for records which contain information about the requester provided to the Police by an employee of Canada Post, and information collected by the Police when they visited the requester at her home on a specified date. The Police granted partial access to the responsive records, and denied access to the remaining records on the basis of sections 14(1)(f)/38(b) of the Act (invasion of privacy). The Police identified section 14(3)(b) in support of this exemption claim. The requester (now the appellant) appealed the Police's decision. During mediation, the appellant narrowed the scope of her request to the identity of the Canada Post employee (the affected person) and notes reflecting the content of this person's discussion with the Police. I initially sent a Notice of Inquiry to the Police. I tried unsuccessfully to locate the affected person, so I was unable to provide her with an opportunity to submit representations. I received representations from the Police, and sent the non-confidential portion of these representations to the appellant, along with the Notice of Inquiry. The appellant also provided representations. RECORDS: The record at issue in this appeal consists of excerpts from pages 6 and 7 of a police officer's notebook. It includes the name and telephone numbers of the affected person, and information which she provided to the Police concerning the appellant. DISCUSSION: PERSONAL INFORMATION Under section 2(1) of the Act , "personal information" is defined, in part, to mean recorded information about an identifiable individual, including the individual's name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual. Clearly, the record contains the appellant's personal information, including her name, date of birth and phone number, as well as observations made by the affected person about the appellant which were being conveyed to the Police. I also find that the record contains the name and two telephone phone numbers of the affected person, which constitutes her personal information (section 2(1)(d)). INVASION OF PRIVACY Section 36(1) of the Act gives individuals a general right of access to their own personal information held by a government body. Section 38 provides a number of exceptions to this general right of access. Under section 38(b) of the Act , where a record contains the personal information of both an appellant and other individuals, and the institution determines that the disclosure of the information would constitute an unjustified invasion of another individual's personal privacy, the institution has discretion to deny the requester access to that information. Sections 14(2) and (3) of the Act provide guidance in determining whether disclosure of personal information would result in an unjustified invasion of the personal privacy of the individual to whom the information relates. Section 14(2) provides some criteria for the institution to consider in making this determination, and section 14(3) lists the types of information the disclosure of which is presumed to constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy. The Divisional Court has stated that once a presumption against disclosure has been established, it cannot be rebutted by either one or a combination of the factors set out in 14(2) (Order P-1456, citing John Doe v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner) (1993), 13 O.R. (3d) 767). In this case, the Police have cited the presumption in section 14(3)(b) in conjunction with section 38(b). These sections read: 38. A head may refuse to disclose to the individual to whom the information relates personal information, (b) if the disclosure would constitute an unjustified invasion of another individual's personal privacy; 14(3) A disclosure of personal information is presumed to constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy if the personal information, (b) was compiled and is identifiable as part of an investigation into a possible violation of law, except to the extent that disclosure is necessary to prosecute the violation or to continue the investigation. The notebook entries which constitutes the record in this appeal reflect a telephone call made by the affected person to the Police concerning the appellant. The Police state that the information was compiled as part of an investigation into "the mental state and well being of the appellant with the potential need to invoke the Mental Health Act ", which was initiated as a result of the phone call received from the affected person. The Police make specific reference to section 17 of the Mental Health Act , and maintain that this section "requires a Police Officer to investigate the circumstances where it is believed that an individual may have threatened or be attempting to cause bodily harm to themselves". In order to satisfy the requirements of section 14(3)(b), the information at issue must have been compiled as part of an investigation into a possible violation of law. The Police have not suggested that the appellant was engaged in any potential criminal activity, nor that the "investigation" undertaken by the Police after receiving the phone call related to a possible breach of the Criminal Code or any other law. Section 17 of the Mental Health Act , referred to by the Police, allows a police officer to take certain actions where there is reasonable cause to believe that an individual: has threatened or attempted or is threatening or attempting to cause bodily harm to himself or herself; has behaved or is behaving violently towards another person or has
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Legislation
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Subject Index
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Published
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Dec 29, 2000
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Type
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Order
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© Copyright
2013
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
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