Investigation Report: FIPPA Refused Access – Winnipeg Police Service
investigations & monitoring
fippa
Summary
Report with Recommendations & Response to Recommendations
The complainant made an application for access to the City of Winnipeg – Winnipeg Police Service (the WPS) for records related to officer discipline. The WPS provided partial access to 59 pages of records, withholding some information on the basis that disclosure was harmful to third parties’ privacy (section 17 of FIPPA). The WPS also refused access in full to 34 pages under clause 23(1)(b) of FIPPA (advice to a public body). Our office received a complaint about the WPS’ access decision. The WPS subsequently provided the complainant with a revised decision in relation to the 34 pages withheld in full. The revised decision disclosed some information from the 34 pages and withheld most information under section 17. The Ombudsman found that some of the information in the records was the personal information of identifiable individuals and disclosure would be harmful to multiple third parties’ privacy. Therefore, this information was subject to the mandatory exception to disclosure in section 17 of FIPPA. However, the Ombudsman also determined that additional information could reasonably be severed from the records and disclosed without a reasonable expectation that individual WPS members could be identified. The Ombudsman found that the WPS did not fulfill the requirements of subsection 7(2) of FIPPA. The Ombudsman recommends that the WPS reconsider the redaction of disciplinary penalties from the records and determine what penalties can be disclosed without reasonably expecting that an individual WPS member would be identified. In addition, the Ombudsman recommends that the WPS reconsider the ‘facts in brief’ and other information in the 34 pages to determine what information can be disclosed without reasonably expecting that an individual WPS member or member of the public would be identified. The Ombudsman recommended that the WPS provide the complainant with a revised access decision disclosing additional information as outlined in this report. The WPS accepted the recommendations and agreed to issue a revised access decision.
Case 2021-0214