Guide to FOIP-Chapter 3

Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 160 When the Commissioner concludes a review, an applicant, individual or third party can appeal the decision of the head of the government institution to the Court of King’s Bench. The steps for this are as follows:265 1. The Commissioner issues report with recommendations. 2. The head of the government institution has 30 days from the date of the Commissioner’s report to make a decision in regard to the Commissioner’s recommendations or any other decision the head decides. The head’s decision must be sent to the applicant (if an access matter), the individual (if a privacy matter), the third party (if applicable) and the Commissioner within those 30 days of the Commissioner’s report. 3. Once received, the applicant, individual or third party can launch an appeal of the head’s decision to the Court of King’s Bench. The application form is called an Originating Application (Form 3-49). It should be filed at the Local Registrar’s office. There is a fee involved for filing the application. It is around $200. A sample of an Originating Application for an access to information appeal can be found at Appendix A of IPC resource, Guide to Appealing the Decision of a Head of a Government Institution, or a Local Authority, or a Health Trustee. 4. The applicant, individual or third party that launches the appeal is responsible for serving the government institution with the Originating Application once filed with the court. 5. Once the Originating Application is filed and served, the parties are embarking on a two-step procedure: i. The first step involves determining whether the parties can agree or whether the court will have to decide what is filed sealed and what is argued in camera or in open court. Because of the nature of the appeal, the government institution will have filed sealed records (both unredacted and redacted) which means they are not seen by the other parties to the appeal. If the parties agree that submissions need not be filed sealed and the representations can be made in open court, the parties can proceed directly to argue the appeal. 265 Modified from SK OIPC Resource, Guide to Appealing the Decision of a Head of a Government Institution, or a Local Authority, or a Health Trustee. Available at https://oipc.sk.ca/assets/guide-toappealing-to-the-decision-of-a-head.pdf.

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