Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner – Report A-2025-040 Released

  • Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner

September 10, 2025

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has released Report A-2025-040 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act2015. A summary of the Report is included below.

To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/reports/reports/.

Report: A-2025-040
Report Date: September 9, 2025
Public Body: Memorial University
Summary: The Complainant made an access to information request to Memorial University for a copy of the protected disclosure report regarding a complaint about the University’s former President and a potential conflict of interest. The University responded that all information in the report and its appendices were covered by section 40(1) (disclosure harmful to personal privacy) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. The Complainant made a complaint to this Office and during our investigation this Office requested a copy of the report and appendices for review. The University advised that it could not provide a copy to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, claiming that the report was highly confidential and it would not be fair to those involved in the protected disclosure process. Eventually the University did provide this Office with a copy of the responsive records, though it provided no explanation as to how section 40(1) applied to the material. This Office reviewed the responsive records and recommended that the University conduct a line-by-line assessment of the responsive record to justify the use of section 40(1).

-30-

Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research & Quality Assurance
709-729-6309

2025 09 10 4:10 pm