Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 4, Exemptions from the Right of Access. Updated 24 July 2025. 295 Legal advice includes a legal opinion about a legal issue, and a recommended course of action, based on legal considerations, regarding a matter with legal implications.1021 Legal service includes any law-related service performed by a person engaged by a government institution and who is licensed to practice law.1022 The government institution should explain how the correspondence relates to a matter involving advice or other services provided by legal counsel. Subsection 23: Confidentiality Provisions in Other Enactments The situation can arise that the council of a municipality may commission a report from a third party to investigate and report on a matter. As long as that report is not with respect to a legal issue from a lawyer retained by the board, section 117 of the Municipalities Act, S.S. 2005, c.M-36.1, as amended, provides that report is a public report. Section 117 provides as follows: Inspection of municipal documents 117(1) Any person is entitled at any time during regular business hours to inspect and obtain copies of: (a) any report of any consultant engaged by or of any employee of the municipality, or of any committee or other body established by a council, after the report has been submitted to the council, except any opinion or report of a lawyer; If a council contracts with a third party consultant to investigate and report on a “code of ethics” investigation involving an allegation of unethical conduct on the part of the mayor, access to that report is informed by section 117(1) of the Municipalities Act, and sections 15, 16, 21, and 22 of LA FOIP are inapplicable, as long as the third party consultant is not a solicitor giving legal advice.1023 The report must be severed appropriately, however, in order 1021 Definition originated from ON Order P-210 at p. 18. Adopted in SK OIPC Review Report F-2012003 at [97]. Definition also adopted by AB IPC in Order 96-017. 1022 Definition originated from AB IPC Order 96-017 at [37]. Adopted in SK OIPC Review Report F-2012003 at [96]. Adjusted to include “engaged by a government institution” in Review Report 171-2019 at [119]. 1023 SK OIPC Review Report 251-2023 (June 7, 2024)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTgwMjYzOA==