Privacy Office raps Holyrood over records response

By Mark Squibb / June 16, 2023

Newfoundland’s Privacy Commissioner says staff at the Town of Holyrood need training in how to properly provide information requested by the public.

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner released a report last week containing that and other recommendations. The report was in response to a complaint from someone who said the Town didn’t turn over all the information required in an Access to Information request.

According to the report, a resident asked the Town to provide “all internal and external communications including but not limited to letters, emails, SMS, text messages, Messenger, WhatsApp, etc. of elected officials and town staff” regarding the resident from the time period Jan. 1, 2021 to Feb. 9, 2023.”

That date was later changed to February 22, and the Town’s search produced 41 pages of records, much of which were emails to the Town’s ATIPP Coordinator from elected officials and staff noting they had no records related to the request.

The resident was not pleased with the results and filed a complaint with the Privacy Office. The Office then notified the Town of the complaint, and following the complaint, a new search was conducted, and additional pertinent records were discovered on equipment in possession of Mayor Gary Goobie and Deputy Mayor Michele Woodford.

“The Town provided copies of these newly discovered records to this Office on April 4, 2023, but not to the Complainant,” reads the report. “The Town advised that it would be providing copies to the Complainant immediately. After some delay, and after this Office advising the Town to do so, the additional records were provided by the Town to the Complainant on April 17, 2023.”

In the Commissioner’s decision, the Town is said to have confused its responsibility to the Complainant and the role of the Commissioner.

“When first contacted by this Office, the Town did not explain or defend its original search but rather performed a new one,” reads the report. “When this new search uncovered new responsive records, these were sent to this Office and not the Complainant.”

The report also alleged that based on the Town’s actions “it is clear that it paid greater attention to the Complainant’s request once this Office became involved and conducted a more thorough search that produced additional responsive records,” and also that files in the possession of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor “should have been thoroughly searched during the Town’s initial search.”

The report also says the Town did undertake a subsequent search before the Office could recommend such a course of action.

“That is a positive approach to the issue, but it does not negate the Town’s failure to properly assist the Complainant in the first instance,” reads the report.

The Commissioner, however, was satisfied with the results of the subsequent search, and did not recommend a third search.

“The Complainant’s unwillingness to accept the results of the new search conducted by the Town is somewhat understandable,” reads the report. “When the Town did not originally meet its duty to assist, it eroded the trust between the Town and the Complainant. With that said, the Complainant has not submitted anything beyond a strong belief that there are still records that have not been disclosed. Such a belief is not sufficient to discount the subsequent and comprehensive search conducted by the Town and to recommend that a new search be conducted.”

The report ends off with three recommendations: that the Town of Holyrood develop a clear set of directions on when, where, and what should be searched during an ATIPP request, and that these directions be included in email to council and staff when advised that an ATIPP request has been submitted; that the Town of Holyrood review its communication policies for ATIPP requests so that responsive records discovered after the initial search period are provided to the applicant on a timely basis; and that, if council and staff have not already done so in 2023, that it attend and participate in ATIPP training as soon as possible.