Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 175 The documentation need not carry the title, “manual”, “policy”, “guideline” or “procedure”. They may be stand-alone documents, or they may be part of larger documents. A decision-making process that affects the public means a process that determines how a government institution’s programs and services will be delivered to the public in general or the segment of the public that the government institution is intended to serve or to regulate.298 Examples of decision-making processes include: • Assessing or verifying eligibility for a program. • Calculating a fee. • Awarding a contract in a tendering business. • Applying standards in tests or inspections. • Deciding to use a law enforcement measure that carries a risk of harm.299 In the context of an access to information request by the public, there is no requirement under this provision for a government institution to provide access to a manual, policy, guideline or procedure that is already available to the public. However, government institutions should direct applicants to where they can find the manual, policy, guideline or procedure online. For more on published material or material that is available for purchase see the Guide to FOIP, Chapter 1, “Purposes and Scope of FOIP” at FOIP Does Not Apply. Subsection 65(1) applies to manuals, policies, guidelines or procedures that are used by employees of the government institution. Employee of a government institution is defined at subsection 2(1)(b.1) of FOIP as an individual employed by a government institution and includes an individual retained under a contract to perform services for the government institution. Subsection 65(1) of FOIP does not apply to manuals, policies, guidelines or procedures that do not involve decision-making, such as manuals and guidelines for administrative support staff who perform clerical functions relating to an application process. Nor does this provision apply to technical documentation for machines or equipment, even if these may be used in support of a decision-making process. It also does not apply to manuals, policies, guidelines or procedures that do not affect the public. For example, a government institution is not required to make internal administrative guidelines available under this provision (if they do not affect the public).300 298 Service Alberta, Bulletin No. 3: Access to Manuals and Guidelines at p. 2. 299 Service Alberta, Bulletin No. 3: Access to Manuals and Guidelines at p. 2. 300 Service Alberta, Bulletin No. 3: Access to Manuals and Guidelines at p. 2.
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