Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. A Guide to Submissions. Effective Sept. 2020. Updated Dec. 2022. 15 Commissioner’s office’s time. In addition, for discretionary exemptions, it may leave the Commissioner’s office wondering if the exercise of discretion was exercised appropriately or if section 8 of FOIP and LA FOIP or subsection 38(2) of HIPA were fully complied with. Remember, even where a discretionary exemption may apply, the head should still exercise discretion and consider releasing the record anyway. Once you settle on the exemptions that you will continue to claim, organize your submission with each of the exemptions as a heading (e.g., subsection 17(1)(c) of FOIP). Under each exemption heading, organize your submission into subheadings (e.g., using a heading such as page #1, severance #1, briefing note #1). Then, you might consider quoting the tests, elements or questions set out in the Guide to FOIP (for government institutions), Guide to LA FOIP (for local authorities), and Guide to HIPA (for trustees). This way, you put forward the exemption claimed, each record that you are claiming the exemption on, and the elements or the tests referred to in the appropriate Guide. A blanket statement such as “we submit subsection 17(1)(c) applies” is not helpful without providing evidence that supports the exemption and reasons why you believe that particular exemption applies to each portion of the record to which it is applied. Avoid just stating “yes” to the test questions in the Guide. Make sure you explain sufficiently how the information meets the test threshold (e.g., explain the ‘harm’ that you foresee in detail for harms based exemptions). The burden of proving your point is on the public body/trustee; section 61 of FOIP, section 51 of LA FOIP, and section 47 of HIPA. Failure to give evidence or provide reasons will result in the Commissioner finding that the public body/trustee has not met the burden of proof and recommend release of the records. Further, if the author will be claiming multiple exemptions on the same record, page, paragraph or line item, it is necessary that the author be specific regarding each exemption claimed, indicating the exact portion of the text that the exemption applies to. In summary, your submission should have the following four things for each exemption relied on: 1. List the exemption that has been applied; 2. List the sequential page numbers and sequential severance numbers that it applies to (group pages if the records are similar); 3. Reproduce the test from the appropriate Guide for that exemption; and 4. Layout your arguments for each part of the test (make sure to tie it to the information in the record). Finally, in planning your submission, put yourself in the shoes of the Commissioner’s office, and ask: “If I had to make this decision, what would I need to make it?” This will help you focus on the
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