Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 30 SECTION 5.1: DUTY TO ASSIST Duty of government institution to assist 5.1 (1) Subject to this Act and the regulations, a government institution shall respond to a written request for access openly, accurately and completely. (2) On the request of an applicant, the government institution shall: (a) provide an explanation of any term, code or abbreviation used in the information; or (b) if the government institution is unable to provide an explanation in accordance with clause (a), endeavor to refer the applicant to a government institution that is able to provide an explanation. Subsection 5.1(1) Duty of government institution to assist 5.1 (1) Subject to this Act and the regulations, a government institution shall respond to a written request for access openly, accurately and completely. Subsection 5.1(1) of FOIP requires a government institution to respond to an applicant’s written access to information request openly, accurately and completely. This means that government institutions should make reasonable effort to not only identify and seek out records responsive to an applicant’s access to information request, but to explain the steps in the process and seek any necessary clarification on the nature or scope of the request within the legislated timeframe.47 Government institutions are not obligated to create records that do not exist. In Review Report 313-2016, the Commissioner said that a government institution’s duty to assist does not include an obligation to create records that do not currently exist. However, if a government institution has records containing the raw information that is sought by an applicant that can be produced, then those records would be responsive to the applicant’s access request.48 It is not necessary for a government institution to put records in any specific order (e.g., chronological order) unless negotiated with an applicant beforehand. The only exception to the order of the records would be the attachments to emails. If a government institution is 47 SK OIPC, Resource, Understanding the Duty to Assist: A Guide for Public Bodies, January 2018, at p. 2. 48 SK OIPC Review Reports 313-2016 at [18] and 038-2018 at [21].
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