Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 4, Exemptions from the Right of Access. Updated 8 April 2024. 41 Subsection 14(b) Information injurious to intergovernmental relations or national defence 14 A head may refuse to give access to a record, the release of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice, interfere with or adversely affect: … (b) the defence or security of Canada or of any foreign state allied or associated with Canada. Subsection 14(b) of FOIP is a discretionary harm-based exemption. It permits refusal of access in situations where the release of a record could reasonably be expected to prejudice, interfere with or adversely affect the defence or security of Canada or of any foreign state allied or associated with Canada. Prejudice in this context refers to detriment to national defence or security.140 To interfere with means to obstruct or make much more difficult.141 To adversely affect is to have a harmful or unfavorable impact.142 Defence means any activity or plan relating to the defence of Canada (or any foreign state allied or associated with Canada), including improvements to its ability to resist attack.143 A foreign state in this context refers to any allied or associated foreign nation or state, including the component state governments of federated states.144 An allied state is one with which Canada has concluded formal alliances or treaties.145 An associated state is one with which Canada may be linked for trade or other purposes outside the scope of a formal alliance.146 To determine the level of harm, the Supreme Court of Canada in Ontario (Community Safety and Correctional Service) v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner), (2014) set out the standard of proof for harms-based provisions as follows: 140 Adapted from Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 4 at p. 149. 141 Adapted from Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 4 at p. 192. 142 Pearsall, Judy, Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 10th Ed. at p. 19, (Oxford University Press). 143 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 4 at p. 149. 144 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 4 at p. 162. 145 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 4 at p. 149. 146 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 4 at p. 149.
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