Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 129 Frivolous is typically associated with matters that are trivial or without merit, lacking a legal or factual basis or legal or factual merit; not serious; not reasonably purposeful; of little weight or importance.214 Vexatious means without reasonable or probable cause or excuse.215 A request is vexatious when the primary purpose of the request is not to gain access to information but to continually or repeatedly harass a government institution in order to obstruct or grind a government institution to a standstill. It is usually taken to mean with intent to annoy, harass, embarrass or cause discomfort.216 A request is not vexatious simply because a government institution is annoyed or irked because the request is for information the release of which may be uncomfortable for the government institution.217 However, FOIP must not become a weapon for disgruntled individuals to use against a government institution for reasons that have nothing to do with the Act.218 A vexatious proceeding means “…that the litigant’s mental state goes beyond simple animus against the other side and rises to a situation where the litigant is attempting to abuse or misuse the legal process”: Jamieson v Denman, 2004 ABQB 593 (CanLII), para 127.219 In Chutskoff v Bonora, 2014 ABQB 389 (CanLII), Michalyshyn J identified a “catalogue” of features of vexatious litigation: • Collateral attack. • Hopeless proceedings. • Escalating proceedings. • Bringing proceedings for improper purposes. • Initiating “busybody” lawsuits to enforce alleged rights of third parties. • Failure to honour court-ordered obligations. • Persistently taking unsuccessful appeals from judicial decisions. • Persistently engaging in inappropriate courtroom behavior. • Unsubstantiated allegations of conspiracy, fraud and misconduct. • Scandalous or inflammatory language in pleadings or before the court. 214 SK OIPC Review Report F-2010-002 at [57], [60] and [61]. 215 SK OIPC Review Report F-2010-002 at [62]. 216 Office of the Northwest Territories Information and Privacy Commissioner (NWT IPC), Review 17-161 at p. 10. Also, in SK OIPC Review Report 2010-002 at [69]. 217 SK OIPC Review Report F-2010-002 at [69]. 218 BC IPC Order 110-1996 at p. 6. 219 AB IPC Request to Disregard F2019-RTD-01 at p. 13.
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