This appeal is about access to records relating to the granting and renewal of a firearms licence to an individual with a conviction for a violent offence and who later used a legally-owned weapon to kill his former girlfriend and himself in a murder-suicide. The ministry denied access to responsive records on the basis of the law enforcement exemptions in sections 14(1)(c) (reveal investigative techniques and procedures), 14(1)(i) (endanger security of a system or procedure), and 14(1)(l) (facilitate commission of an unlawful act or hamper control of crime), and the mandatory personal privacy exemption in section 21(1). The appellant raised the application of the public interest override in section 23.
In this order, the adjudicator partially upholds the ministry’s decision. The adjudicator finds that some of the records contain confidential law enforcement information that is exempt under sections 14(1)(c) and (i). She finds that disclosure of some of the remaining records, except where they contain the personal information of individuals other than the victim or the licensee, would not constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy under section 21(2)(a) because disclosure is desirable for subjecting the activities of government to public scrutiny. The adjudicator also finds that the public interest override in section 23 does not apply to the personal information she finds to be exempt under section 21(1). The adjudicator orders the ministry to disclose a severed version of the records to the appellant by removing information that is exempt under sections 14(1)(c) and (i), and some of the personal information belonging to the licensee and some individuals other than the licensee.