Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 1, Purposes and Scope of LA FOIP. Updated 7 March 2023. 10 Custody [possession] of records requires more than that the records be located on particular premises. In order for a public body to have custody [possession] of records, the public body must have immediate charge and control of these records, including some legal responsibility for their safekeeping, care, protection, or preservation. Control connotes authority. A record is under the control of a local authority when it has the authority to manage the record including restricting, regulating, and administering its use, disclosure, or disposition.15 Possession and control are different things. It is conceivable that a local authority might have possession but not control of a record or that it might have control but not possession.16 Section 5 uses the word, “or” which indicates that only one of “possession” or “control” is required. If a local authority has either possession or control of a record, LA FOIP applies to that record.17 To determine whether a local authority has a measure of control over a record(s), both parts of the following two-part test must be met: 1. Do the contents of the document relate to a local authority matter? The first question acts as a useful screening device. If the answer is no that ends the inquiry. If the answer is yes, the inquiry into control continues.18 Continue to the second part of the test. Unsolicited Information19 An individual may submit personal information on their own initiative without the information being requested by the local authority. Receipt of this information is not 15 SK OIPC Review Report F-2008-002 at [35]. 16 SK OIPC Review Report F-2008-002 at [22]. 17 SK OIPC Review Report LA-2010-002 at [43]. 18 Canada (Information Commissioner) v. Canada (Minister of National Defence), 2011 SCC 25 (CanLII), [2011] 2 SCR 306 at [55]. 19 From Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 6: “Protection of Privacy” at Section 24, Unsolicited Information.
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