Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, CHAPTER 2, Administration of LA FOIP. Updated 2 March 2023. 48 IPC Findings In Investigation Report LA-2010-001, the Commissioner investigated an alleged breach of privacy involving the City of Saskatoon (City). The complaint alleged the City disclosed an employee’s personal information to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). To meet its burden of proof, the Commissioner determined that the City would have had to provide a copy of its agreement with the CRA and/or identify which laws, and its specific sections, the CRA was seeking to administer or enforce. The City did not provide such details. Therefore, the Commissioner was not persuaded that the City had authority to disclose the complainant’s personal information to CRA. Affidavit Evidence An affidavit is a declaration of facts written down and sworn or affirmed to be true by a party who has personal knowledge of the records or matters at issue in a review or investigation.78 An affidavit should be sworn or affirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public. There are serious legal consequences for a person who swears a false affidavit. Affidavits may be desirable because unlike other statements made to the Commissioner, an affidavit is evidence given under oath and makes a stronger case. A party is free to submit affidavit evidence in a review or investigation. In some circumstances, the Commissioner may request an affidavit to assist in determining factual issues in a review or investigation. For example, the Commissioner may request an affidavit where there is a question as to whether a reasonable or adequate search was undertaken for responsive records or where facts asserted by the local authority are contradictory or inconsistent with other material. Following the decision of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan in University of Saskatchewan v Saskatchewan (Information and Privacy Commissioner, (2018), the Commissioner is requiring an affidavit from the head where the local authority is claiming solicitor-client privilege over information or records. See The Rules of Procedure for more assistance with the process when claiming solicitor-client privilege over information or records. 78 Service Alberta, FOIP Bulletin No. 9, Burden of Proof, November 2009 at p. 9.
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