Guide to LA FOIP-Chapter 3

Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 16 IPC Findings In Review Report 132-2019, the Commissioner considered whether the Rural Municipality of Blaine Lake (R.M) performed an adequate search for records. The RM appeared to not take seriously a request for access to council meeting minutes, which were a matter of public record. The RM did not have a satisfactory response for why the records did not exist, and did not respond to the Commissioner after the applicant stated they had gotten the council meeting minutes in question from another source. As the Commissioner felt the RM was not cooperating with the review, the Commissioner recommended the RM continue its search for records and provide the applicant with updated versions of the council meeting minutes that would be responsive to their request. In Review Report 104-2019, the applicant sought building inspector notes regarding their property from the City of Prince Albert (City). The applicant believed that they existed, but that the City was withholding them. The City provided rationale that in this case the inspector did not create notes because they were observing work at the applicant’s building that was to have been completed. Upon return to the office, the inspectors emailed the City lawyer to report what had been observed, and in turn that information was either drafted into an affidavit by the lawyer or the inspector. The Commissioner was satisfied with the City’s response. In Review Report 110-2017, the Commissioner considered whether the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety (LRWS) conducted a reasonable search for records. The applicant had requested a copy of their file from 2000/2001. The applicant believed that records were missing from the copy he received from LRWS. The applicant identified four records he believed were missing. Upon review of LRWS’ search efforts, the Commissioner found that LRWS had demonstrated that its search for records was reasonable and adequate. Furthermore, it persuaded the Commissioner in its attempts to explain why the four records did not exist. This finding was based partly on the fact that the applicant’s claim that records existed was based on speculation and conclusions drawn from snippets of information in the copy of the file the applicant had received. In Review Report 344-2017, the Commissioner considered whether the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training conducted a reasonable search for records. Upon review, the Commissioner found that the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training had not demonstrated that its search for records was adequate. This finding was partly due to a lack of details provided regarding search efforts. The Commissioner recommended that the

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