Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, CHAPTER 5, Third Party Information. Updated 9 March 2023. 58 connection between the information and public health, public safety or protection of the environment.132 Public health means the health of the community at large, the healthful or sanitary condition of the general body of people or the community collectively; especially the methods of maintaining the health of the community, as by preventative medicine an organized care for the sick.133 Public health refers to the well-being of the public at large. This may include physical, mental or emotional health.134 Public safety means the welfare and protection of the general public, usually expressed as a governmental responsibility.135 Protection of the environment refers to guarding or defending natural surroundings, i.e., plants and animals. For example, it may be necessary to disclose the information of an industrial plant that is discharging toxic wastes into a waterway.136 2. Could disclosure of the information reasonably be expected to be in the public interest There must be a public interest in disclosure of the information, not a private interest. Public interest is not black and white; it is a matter of degree. There is always a balance to be struck.137 In determining if there is a public interest, the following can be considered:138 • Whose interests would be affected by disclosure other than the third party. o Individual o General 132 Adapted from Ministry of Attorney General and Toronto Star, 2010 ONSC 991 (CanLII) at [43]. 133 Garner, Bryan A., 2019. Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th Edition. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group at p. 864. 134 Government of Newfoundland and Labrador resource, Access to Information: Policy and Procedures Manual, October 2017 at p. 103. 135 Garner, Bryan A., 2019. Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th Edition. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group at p. 1488. 136 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. 137 AB IPC Order 096-002 at p. 17. 138 Information Commissioner of Canada resource, Investigator’s Guide to Interpreting the Act, Section 20(2), (5), (6): Questions – Disclosure Authorized in Public Interest. Available at https://www.oicci.gc.ca/en/investigators-guide-interpreting-act/section-20256-questions-disclosure-authorizedpublic-interest. Accessed September 4, 2019.
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