Decisions

A joint custodial parent of a four-year-old child asked for records containing his child’s personal information. The children’s aid society denied his request on the basis that, as a parent with joint custody, the complainant requires the consent of the child’s other joint custodial parent to exercise substitute decision-making authority for his son under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017.
The adjudicator upholds the decision of the children’s aid society. She finds that, as joint custodial parents, the father and the mother are equally ranked substitute decision-makers for the child under the Act; and without the mother’s consent to the father’s request, the father cannot act as an independent substitute decision-maker to request access to the child’s personal information. The adjudicator also finds that the children’s aid society appropriately considered whether the disclosure provision in section 292(1)(g) of the Act applies to permit disclosure of some information about the child to the complainant. She dismisses the complaint with no order.

An individual submitted a request to the Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (the housing corporation) under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for the name of an individual involved in a theft. The housing corporation granted partial access to the records, withholding some information.

The housing corporation denied access to an individual’s name and apartment number because disclosure of that information would be an unjustified invasion of that individual’s personal privacy (section 38(b)). In this order, the adjudicator upholds the housing corporation’s decision not to disclose the withheld information and dismisses the appeal.

A graduate of the University of Waterloo made a request, under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, for records related to an accommodation request that he made during a certain period of time. This appeal is about the university’s decision to withhold one record completely on the basis that it contains advice and recommendations and a part of another record on the basis that it contains personal information of one or more university employees. The appeal is also about the appellant’s challenge of the reasonableness of the university’s search for records.
The adjudicator allows the appeal, in part. She finds that some of the information at issue is not personal information, so the personal privacy reason stated by the university does not apply. The adjudicator orders the university to disclose this information to the appellant.
The adjudicator upholds the university’s decision to withhold the other record for the advice and recommendation reason (section 49(a), read with section 13(1)).
The adjudicator also upholds the university’s search for records.

An individual asked a hospital for records from her deceased father’s two-day hospital stay. After receiving records from the hospital, the complainant stated that additional records should exist.
In this decision, the adjudicator finds that the hospital conducted a reasonable search for records responsive to the request, as it is obliged to do under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004. The adjudicator dismisses the complaint without issuing an order.

A requester sought access to a city bus video of an incident involving a then sitting city councillor. The city relied on the personal privacy exemption at section 14(1) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to deny access to the responsive record. This order upholds the city’s decision and dismisses the appeal.

An individual asked a hospital for access to correspondence, messages and documentation between specified doctors related to her deceased father’s two-day hospital stay. After receiving records from the hospital, the complainant stated that additional records should exist.
In this decision, the adjudicator finds that the hospital did not conduct a reasonable search for records as it is obliged to do under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, as it did not search for email communications to and from one named doctor. The adjudicator orders the hospital to conduct a further search for records responsive to the complainant’s request, to provide the adjudicator with a written explanation of the search, and to issue an access decision to the complainant regarding the any additional records it locates as a result of the further search.

An individual asked the Ministry of Health (the ministry) for records, under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act), related to his employment file with the ministry, including records related to his union’s dealings with the ministry, and to harassment and discrimination complaints. The ministry found records responsive to the request but would not release them.

The reason for this decision was that the ministry said that Act does not apply to the records since they relate to employment and labour relations (under the exclusions at sections 65(6)1 and 65(6)3 of the Act). In this order, the adjudicator upholds the ministry’s decision and dismisses the appeal. Since she finds that records responsive to two parts of the request would also be excluded under section 65(6)3, the adjudicator does not consider the issue of reasonable search.

The appellant, a lawyer, made a request to the Ministry of the Solicitor General for records of calibration tests performed on a specific breathalyzer used by a detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police over a two-month period. The appellant was asking for results of periodic “standalone” tests conducted on the equipment to determine if it was in proper working order and not any tests conducted on actual breath samples. As the appellant would not confirm whether the requested records related to an ongoing prosecution, the ministry assumed the records related to a prosecution for an alcohol related offence under the Criminal Code and issued a decision denying access. The ministry maintained that the Criminal Code provides a complete code for disclosing records relating to breathalyzer equipment. Consequently, the ministry claimed that the doctrine of federal paramountcy applies to oust the application of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act).

During the inquiry into the appeal, the possible application of section 65(5.2) of the Act that excludes records relating to an ongoing prosecution was added as an issue to be determined.
In this order, the Commissioner finds that there is no direct conflict in the operation of the Act and the Criminal Code and that the operation of the Act does not frustrate the legislative intent of the Crown disclosure provisions of the Criminal Code. As a result, the doctrine of federal paramountcy does not apply to oust the application of the Act.

However, the Commissioner finds that the records are excluded from the scope of the Act under section 65(5.2). The right of access and the Commissioner’s jurisdiction under the Act are determined based on the facts and law existing at the time the institution issues its decision. Given that the requested records related to a prosecution that was ongoing at the time of the ministry’s decision, the exclusion at section 65(5.2) of the Act applied and the appellant did not have a right to access them. The Commissioner upholds the ministry’s decision denying access and dismisses the appeal.

The complainant is the mother of a child who was placed in the care of Ogwadeni:deo (the service provider) by a court order. For a period while the child was in its care under the terms of the court order, the service provider received child benefits from the federal government for the child’s care and maintenance. After the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) questioned the mother’s eligibility for a similar benefit over part of this time period, the mother alleged a number of privacy breaches by the service provider. Among other complaints, she alleges the service provider inappropriately shared personal information with its finance department, which applied for the federal benefit, and with the CRA. She also asserts that the service provider shared inaccurate information, by failing to report that the child lived with her for some of the period covered by the court order.

In this decision, the adjudicator finds that the service provider did not contravene the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) through its use and disclosure of personal information in connection with receiving federal child benefits. She dismisses the complaint.

The City of Mississauga (the city) received a request under the Act for access to three spreadsheets of voter information from the October 22, 2018 municipal election. The city issued a decision denying access to the responsive spreadsheets under the mandatory personal privacy exemption in section 14(1) of the Act.
In this order, the adjudicator finds that the Municipal Elections Act expressly authorizes disclosure of the eligible voters spreadsheet and, therefore, the section 14(1)(d) exception to the personal privacy exemption applies. She orders the city to disclose that spreadsheet to the appellant. However, the adjudicator finds that section 14(1) applies to exempt the actual voters spreadsheet and the ballot spreadsheet from disclosure, and she upholds the city’s decision to withhold them.

An individual made a request to the ministry under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for records of directives from the Premier’s office to the ministry regarding the removal of lands from the Greenbelt. The ministry’s searches did not locate any responsive records, apart from the June 2022 mandate letter.
The individual believes that the records he is seeking ought to exist and appealed to the IPC challenging the ministry’s interpretation of the scope of his request and the reasonableness of its searches.
In this interim order, the adjudicator considers the published evidence and findings about how direction was delivered to ministry officials and staff during the Greenbelt project. The adjudicator finds that the appellant has established a reasonable basis for believing that the records he is seeking exist but that the ministry has applied too narrow and literal an interpretation of his request. The adjudicator finds that the ministry conducted a reasonable search for responsive emails; however, the adjudicator orders the ministry to conduct a further search for other types of responsive records.

The college received a request for a copy of a certain contract. A company whose interests might be affected by disclosure of the contract asked that the college not release the contract to the requester, claiming that the college had to withhold it under the mandatory exemption at section 17(1) (third party information). However, the college decided that the contract did not meet one of the requirements of section 17(1) and said that it would release it.

The company appealed the college’s decision. The adjudicator finds that the contract (or any part of it) was not “supplied” to the college, so she upholds the college’s decision and dismisses the appeal.

On March 14, 2023, an individual asked Tribunals Ontario (the tribunal) for records related to its training materials. They filed an appeal with the IPC because the tribunal did not issue an access decision within the prescribed time limit. The decision-maker agrees that the tribunal is deemed to have refused the access request under section 29(4) of the Act and orders the tribunal to issue a final access decision by March 19, 2025.

This reconsideration decision addresses the custodian’s request for reconsideration of PHIPA Decision 268. In that decision, the adjudicator found that the custodian was obliged to provide the complainant with an electronic copy of her records of personal health information. The adjudicator also found that the custodian charged a fee in excess of what was permitted under section 54(11) of the Act.
In this reconsideration decision, the adjudicator finds that the custodian has established grounds for reconsideration of PHIPA Decision 268 under section 27.01(a) of the Code of Procedure for Matters under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004. The adjudicator grants the custodian’s reconsideration request and rescinds one of the order provisions of PHIPA Decision 268.

An individual asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (the ministry) for certain records under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The ministry provided partial access to the records. The ministry did not disclose some records and information because they were covered by the solicitor-client privilege exemption (section 19).
The appellant disagreed with the ministry’s decision to withhold the records and information. The appellant also argued that the ministry’s search with respect to one part of the request was not reasonable.
In this order, the adjudicator upholds the ministry’s decision to withhold records and information under the solicitor-client privilege exemption. However, the adjudicator does not uphold the ministry’s search. She orders the ministry to conduct another search and issue a new access decision.