Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 28 In Review Report 187-2015, the Commissioner considered whether information removed from records by Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) was responsive to the applicant’s access to information request. The applicant had requested copies of all records regarding their insurance claim files. Upon review, the Commissioner found that the information removed related to the applicant’s claim files. Therefore, the Commissioner found that the information deemed as not responsive by SGI, was indeed responsive. In Review Reports 061-2017 and 023-2017 & 078-2017, the Commissioner considered the Ministry of Economy (Economy) and the Saskatchewan Power Corporation’s (SaskPower) claims that records or information were not responsive to the applicant’s access to information requests. In both reviews, the Commissioner found that Economy and SaskPower did not indicate in its section 7 response to the applicants that it was severing or withholding information deemed non-responsive. The Commissioner recommended that Economy and SaskPower revise policy and procedures so that its section 7 letters indicate when records are being withheld as non-responsive or information is being severed from a record as nonresponsive and give reasons why. Creating Records Local authorities are not obligated to create records which do not exist. A local authority’s “duty to assist” (section 5.1 of LA FOIP) does not include an obligation to create records which do not exist at the time the access to information request is made. However, if a local authority has records containing the raw information that is sought by an applicant that can be produced, then those records would be responsive to the applicant’s access request.45 LA FOIP does not require a local authority to create records in response to an access to information request. However, if the information requested is contained within a database the information must be provided consistent with subsection 10(2) of LA FOIP. For more on subsection 10(2) of LA FOIP see Section 10: Manner of Access, later in this Chapter. 45 SK OIPC Review Reports 313-2016 at [18], 038-2018 at [21] and 057-2019 at [9] to [15].
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