Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, CHAPTER 5, Third Party Information. Updated 9 March 2023. 19 and location of information within records do not constitute financial, commercial, scientific or technical information.34 2. Was the information supplied by the third party to a government institution Supplied means provided or furnished.35 Information may qualify as “supplied” if it was directly supplied to a government institution by a third party, or where its disclosure would reveal or permit the drawing of accurate inferences with respect to information supplied by a third party.36 Information gathered by government inspectors via their own observations does not qualify as information “supplied” to the government institution. Judgements or conclusions expressed by officials based on their own observations generally cannot be said to be information supplied by a third party.37 Records can still be “supplied” even when they originate with the government institution (i.e., the records still may contain or repeat information extracted from documents supplied by the third party). However, the third party objecting to disclosure will have to prove that the information originated with it and that it is confidential.38 Whether confidential information has been “supplied” to a government institution by a third party is a question of fact. The content rather than the form of the information must be considered: the mere fact that the information appears in a government document does not, on its own, resolve the issue.39 The following are examples of information not supplied by a third party: • Information that reflects the viewpoints, opinions or comments of government officials; • Reports resulting from factual observations made by government inspectors; and 34 Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. v. Canada (Health), [2012] 1 SCR 23, 2012 SCC 3 (CanLII) at [141]. 35 British Columbia Government Services, FOIPPA Policy Definitions at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/policiesprocedures/foippa-manual/policy-definitions#supplied. Accessed August 21, 2019. 36 SK OIPC Review Reports F-2005-003 at [17], F-2006-002 at [40]. 37 Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. v. Canada (Health), [2012] 1 SCR 23, 2012 SCC 3 (CanLII) at [156] and [158]. 38 Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. v. Canada (Health), [2012] 1 SCR 23, 2012 SCC 3 (CanLII) at [157]. 39 Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. v. Canada (Health), [2012] 1 SCR 23, 2012 SCC 3 (CanLII) at [158].
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