Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 29 record for the applicant. The Commissioner found that some jurisdictions, such as Alberta, have provisions within the requisite FOIP Act requiring a public body to create a record (e.g., subsection 10(2) of Alberta’s FOIP Act). However, Saskatchewan’s FOIP does not have a similar obligation. The Commissioner found that in general, the duty to assist does not include an obligation to create records that do not exist at the time of the access to information request. However, if the government institution (or local authority) has records containing the raw information that is sought that can be produced, then those records would be responsive to an applicant’s request. In Review Report 038-2018, the Commissioner reviewed a denial of access involving the University of Regina (U of R). An applicant sought access to all external research funding (both private and public) to the U of R. The U of R ran a query on its database that contained information about research grants and contracts and created a spreadsheet for the applicant. However, the applicant responded by requesting the U of R add the search term “petroleum” to its search on the database. The applicant was willing to pay a fee for the request. The U of R severed portions of the spreadsheet. The applicant requested the Commissioner review the U of R’s decisions in the matter. In its submission to the Commissioner, the U of R asserted that the applicant was requesting access to information and not records. Upon review, the Commissioner confirmed that local authorities did not have to create records that did not exist.
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