Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 4, Exemptions from the Right of Access. Updated 8 April 2024. 235 Subsection 2(1)(h) of FOIP provides: 2(1) In this Act: … (h) “prescribed” means prescribed in the regulations; When considering subsection 19(1)(e) of FOIP, section 11 of the FOIP Regulations should be considered. Section 11 of the FOIP Regulations provides: Third party statements 11 For the purposes of clause 19(1)(e) of the Act, the Agricultural Credit Corporation is prescribed as a Crown corporation the head of which is required to refuse to give access to a record that contains a statement of financial assistance provided to a third party. Pursuant to subsection 19(2) of FOIP, where a record contains third party information, the government institution can release it with the written consent of the third party. Pursuant to subsection 19(3) of FOIP, where a record contains third party information, the government institution can release it if disclosure is in the public interest and the information relates to public health, public safety or protection of the environment. In addition, the public interest clearly outweighs in importance any financial loss or gain, prejudice to competitive position or interference with contractual negotiations of the third party. For further guidance, see Subsection 19(3) of this Chapter. IPC Findings In Review Report F-2013-003, the Commissioner considered subsection 19(1)(e) of FOIP for the first time. An applicant made an access to information request to the Ministry of Agriculture for records related to the planning, share purchase and takeover of two businesses by Agri-Food Equity Fund in 1998. The Ministry responded to the applicant advising that the records were being withheld in full citing several provisions under FOIP including subsection 19(1)(e) of FOIP. Upon review, the Ministry asserted that the correspondence and documents related to the provision of financial assistance to a business through the sale of the AgriFood Equity Fund (AFEF) shares. Further, that the AFEF was part of the Agricultural Corporation of Saskatchewan (ACS), which was a prescribed Crown corporation under FOIP at the time. Finally, that the records detailed proposed shares for debt transactions, as well as the loans owed AFEF by two third parties. The Commissioner found that although some of the records qualified as a statement of financial assistance, the Ministry did not identify which third party benefited from the financial assistance. As such,
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