Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 4, Exemptions from the Right of Access. Updated 24 July 2025. 301 contracts and other benefits, where the information is provided explicitly or implicitly in confidence. Subsection 31(2) of FOIP enables the head to refuse to disclose to individuals, personal information that is evaluative or opinion material compiled solely for the purpose of determining suitability, eligibility, or qualifications for employment or for the awarding of government contracts and other benefits. The provision attempts to address two competing interests: the right of an individual to have access to his or her personal information and the need to protect the flow of frank information to government institutions so that appropriate decisions can be made respecting the awarding of jobs, contracts and other benefits.1030 The following three-part test can be applied: 1. Is the information personal information that is evaluative or opinion material? To qualify as personal information, the information must be about an identifiable individual and must be personal in nature. Some examples are provided in subsection 24(1) of FOIP. See Section 24 in the Guide to FOIP, Chapter 6, “Protection of Privacy”. Evaluative means to have assessed, appraised, to have found or to have stated the number of.1031 Opinion material is a belief or assessment based on grounds short of proof; a view held as probable for example, a belief that a person would be a suitable employee, based on that person’s employment history. An opinion is subjective in nature and may or may not be based on facts.1032 2. Was the personal information compiled solely for one of the enumerated purposes? Compiled means that the information was drawn from several sources or extracted, extrapolated, calculated or in some other way manipulated.1033 The enumerated purposes are: 1030 Adapted from ON IPC Order P-773. Ontario has a similar provision at subsection 49(c) of its Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSO 1990, c F.31. 1031 AB IPC Order 98-021 at p.4. 1032 AB IPC Order 98-021 at p.4. 1033 British Columbia Government Services, FOIPPA Policy Definitions at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/policiesprocedures/foippa-manual/policy-definitions. Accessed April 23, 2020.
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