The Acting Information and Privacy Commissioner, Jacqueline Lake Kavanagh, has released her Report A-2024-045 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/reports/.
| Report: | A-2024-045 |
| Report Date: | October 15, 2024 |
| Public Body: | Department of Justice and Public Safety |
| Summary: | The Complainant made five access to information requests to the Department of Justice and Public Safety seeking information on legal bills and the costs of expert witnesses for several criminal prosecutions. The Department withheld all responsive records, asserting that the legal bills were covered by solicitor-client privilege and the expert witness costs were covered by litigation privilege. The Complainant argued that not all aspects of a legal bill would violate solicitor-client privilege if disclosed, and that all litigation in the criminal prosecutions was over and therefore litigation privilege could not apply. Given that the prosecutions were over, that the identity of the client was known, and that there were multiple criminal proceedings for which information was sought, the Commissioner recommended releasing specific parts of the legal bills in order to disclose the overall cost. As for the claim of litigation privilege, the Commissioner determined that it was not applicable in this case as the prosecutions were finished. The Commissioner therefore recommended the release of specific information within the responsive records that disclosed the total payments made to experts in the criminal prosecutions at the center of the access request. |
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2024 10 16
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