After the hospital commenced and settled a lawsuit, a request was made under the Act for a breakdown by year of the hospital’s costs for legal and accounting firm services, and for settlement payments made. The request was denied on several grounds and the requester appealed to the IPC.
In this order, the adjudicator first finds that the legal and accounting firm fees are not excluded from the Act under section 65(6) (employment or labour relations) as argued by the hospital. However, she upholds the hospital’s decision to withhold the legal fees and the settlement payments on the basis of sections 19(a) and (c) (solicitor-client information). She orders the hospital to disclose the accounting firm fees, finding that these are not exempt under sections 19 or 17(1).