Guide to LA FOIP-Chapter 2

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, CHAPTER 2, Administration of LA FOIP. Updated 2 March 2023. 55 IPC Findings In Review Report LA-2004-001, the Commissioner reviewed a denial of access by the Lloydminster Public School Division’s. An applicant sought access to meeting minutes and documents related to a complaint made against the applicant. The Commissioner noted that this was the first case in which the Commissioner had to consider the destruction/disposal of records that would otherwise be responsive to an access request under LA FOIP. The Commissioner stated that the consequences of improper destruction of records must be serious and must be communicated to all local authorities in an impactful way. The Commissioner recommended that the Legislative Assembly consider an amendment to LA FOIP that would make it an offence to destroy any records subject to LA FOIP or to direct another person to do so, with the intent to evade a request for access to records. That amendment was made and is now subsection 56(3)(d) of LA FOIP. This amendment took effect on January 1, 2018. In Investigation Report 228-2015, the Commissioner investigated a breach of privacy involving a SaskPower employee inappropriately accessing the personal information of 4,382 current and former SaskPower employees and copying two files from the data. Due to the number of records the employee snooped into, the Commissioner recommended that SaskPower send its final investigation report to the Ministry of Justice, Public Prosecutions Division. That was to allow prosecutors to further consider whether an offence had been committed and if charges should be laid. Not Cooperating with the Commissioner Subsections 56(3)(a) through (c) of LA FOIP set out other offences and require individuals to cooperate with the Commissioner or any other person performing the duties of the Commissioner. Subsections 56(3)(a) through (c) of LA FOIP provide that it is an offence to: • Willfully obstruct, hinder or resist the Commissioner or another person (such as the Commissioner’s staff) in the exercise of the powers, performance of the duties or functions of the Commissioner or other person under LA FOIP without lawful justification or excuse.

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