IPCO 1995

The appellant requested access to his unamended birth certificate and any accompanying explanatory notes from the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations.

The Ministry refused to provide a copy of the unamended birth registration, claiming that removing the overlay would risk damaging the original record, and stated no other documents existed.

The Inquiry Officer found that section 48 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act applied, as the record contained the appellant's personal information.

The Inquiry Officer ordered the Ministry to provide a copy of the birth registration with the overlay removed, as it had been partially removed without damage, and upheld the Ministry's search for accompanying records as reasonable.

The appellants appealed a decision by the Ministry of the Attorney General denying access to a record under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The record was a memorandum prepared by a Police Complaints Commissioner investigator regarding the appellants' allegations of police misconduct.

The Inquiry Officer found that the record contained personal information and qualified as a report prepared in the course of law enforcement under section 14(2)(a).

Consequently, the record was exempt from disclosure under section 49(a), and the Ministry's decision to deny access was upheld.

The appellant requested access to records held by the Regional Coroner relating to the death of his wife in a hospital.

The Ministry denied access to portions of the records, citing the invasion of privacy exemption.

The appellant appealed, arguing he was entitled to the records as his wife's personal representative to determine whether to initiate a derivative action under the Family Law Act.

The Inquiry Officer found that the appellant could act as a personal representative for the purposes of the Act and that the request related to the administration of the estate.

After balancing the privacy interests of the affected persons against the appellant's right of access, the Inquiry Officer ordered the Ministry to disclose the records.

The requester appealed the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism's decision to deny access to 18 records relating to a named Crown agency corporation.

The Ministry and the third-party corporation claimed exemptions under the Cabinet records and third-party commercial information provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The Assistant Commissioner found that the Act applied to records supplied by the third-party corporation.

Applying the three-part test for third-party information, the Assistant Commissioner determined that most of the records contained sensitive financial and commercial information supplied in confidence, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the corporation's competitive position or cause undue loss.

However, portions of the records were ordered disclosed as their release would not cause the enumerated harms.

The Cabinet records exemption was found to apply only to one record and a small portion of another.

A union and its President appealed Ontario Hydro's decision to deny access to the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of approximately 40,000 members of the Pension and Insurance Fund of Ontario Hydro.

The appellants sought the information to communicate with members regarding the administration of the Pension Plan and ongoing litigation.

The Inquiry Officer found that the requested records contained personal information and that disclosure would constitute an unjustified invasion of personal privacy under section 21(1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, as the employees had a reasonable expectation of confidentiality.

The appeal was dismissed and Ontario Hydro's decision was upheld.