The Information and Privacy Commissioner, Michael Harvey, has released his Report A-2023-007 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. A summary of the Report is included below.
To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/reports/commissioner.
| Report: | A-2023-007 |
| Report Date: | February 16, 2023 |
| Public Body: | City of St. John’s |
| Summary: | The Complainant made a request under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 to the City of St. John’s for all records (applications, permits, correspondence, complaints, etc.) relating to a number of addresses in St. John’s. The City provided a large number of records, but redacted some information, particularly the names of property owners, on the basis of section 40(1) (unreasonable invasion of privacy). The Complainant objected to the redactions and filed a complaint with our Office. The Commissioner concluded that, while the City’s redactions were not unreasonable, the better practice would have been to disclose the names of the property owners and the names of other individuals in certain legal documents as they are otherwise publicly available or intended to be public; and to then ensure compliance with section 40 of the Act by redacting other information if its disclosure, coupled with the names, would be an unreasonable invasion of privacy. The Commissioner recommended that the City continue to withhold most of the redacted information in the present case, but that it should adopt the alternative practice in similar future cases. |
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Sean Murray
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2023 02 20
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