Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 4, Exemptions from the Right of Access. Updated 18 Oct 2023. 61 3. Could disclosure reveal investigative techniques or procedures? Section 14 of LA FOIP uses the word could versus “could reasonably be expected to” as seen in other provisions of LA FOIP. The threshold for could is somewhat lower than a reasonable expectation. The requirement for could is simply that the release of the information could have the specified result. There would still have to be a basis for the assertion. If it is fanciful or exceedingly remote, the exemption should not be invoked.230 For this provision to apply there must be objective grounds for believing that disclosing the information could reveal investigative techniques or procedures. Reveal means to make known; cause or allow to be seen.231 When there is a review by the IPC, the local authority is invited to provide a submission (arguments). The local authority must establish how and why disclosure of the information in question could reveal investigative techniques or procedures. A local authority cannot rely on subsection 14(1)(e) of LA FOIP for a record that: a) Provides a general outline of the structure or programs of a law enforcement agency; or b) Reports, by means of statistical analysis or otherwise, on the degree of success achieved in a law enforcement program (see subsection 14(2) of LA FOIP). Subsection 14(1)(f) Law enforcement and investigations 14(1) A head may refuse to give access to a record, the release of which could: … (f) disclose the identity of a confidential source of information or disclose information furnished by that source with respect to a lawful investigation or a law enforcement matter; … (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a record that: (a) provides a general outline of the structure or programs of a law enforcement agency; or 230 SK OIPC Review Reports LA-2007-001 at [117], LA-2013-001 at [35], F-2014-001 at [149]. 231 Pearsall, Judy, Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Edition at p. 1224 (Oxford University Press).
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