Access to Information Orders
Decision Information
NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The Ministry of Natural Resources (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to the following information: 1) all emails, briefing notes, notes, minutes of meetings, including minutes of the writing team meetings - from all levels of governments , all interested stakeholders including but not limited to the timber industry and non-governmental organizations regarding the Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation from July 20 2001 to December 15, 2001. Please do not include the actual document Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation. [requester's emphasis] 2) comments submitted to the EBR Registry # PB00E7004 in which the respondent was affiliated with or identified as - an academic institution, an academic or expert, commercial interest, timber industry, non-governmental organization. 3) summaries of the Provincial Forest Technical Committee meetings from June 2001 to November 2001. 4) summaries of the Provincial Forest Policy Committee meetings from January 2000 to November 2001. 5) summaries of the Woodland Caribou Recovery Team meetings from January 2001 to November 2001. 6) the discussion paper, Framework Policy For Room to Grow (Sharing Principle). The Ministry issued a fee estimate of $2592.50, based on the following calculation: Search time (40.25 hours x $30.00 per hour) 1207.50 Record preparation (9.5 hours x $30.00 per hour) 285.00 Photocopies (5500 pages x $0.20 per page) 1100.00 Total $2,592.50 The Ministry requested a deposit of $1296.25 before processing the request further, and also advised that, as it has not yet reviewed the records, no final decision has been made regarding access. The requester (now the appellant) appealed the Ministry's decision, stating: I wish to appeal the fees for MNR Reference Number: A-2001-152. I can only afford to pay for items 3-6, as these items are very straightforward. They are only minutes of meetings. I have asked for these before (older records) and they were sent to me without any charge. Items 1 and 2, I must appeal. During the mediation stage of the appeal, the appellant indicated that she also wished to pursue a fee waiver on the basis of financial hardship, as well as benefit to public health and safety, and therefore submitted her written request for a fee waiver to the Ministry. Upon further mediation of this appeal, the appellant agreed to remove Parts 2, 3 and 4 from the scope of this request. Accordingly, the appellant agreed to narrow her request to the following items: 1. all e-mails, briefing notes, notes, minutes of meetings, including minutes of the writing team meetings - from all levels of governments , all interested stakeholders including but not limited to the timber industry and non-governmental organizations regarding the Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation from July 20, 2001 to December 15, 2001. Please do not include the actual document Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation. [appellant's emphasis]; 5. summaries of the Woodland Caribou Recovery Team meetings from January 2001 to November 2001; and 6. the discussion paper, Framework Policy For Room to Grow (Sharing Principle). In response to the appellant's request for a fee waiver, the Ministry issued a further decision letter dated July 29, 2002, which indicated, in part: After careful review of the records you included with your letter, I have decided that the information provided is insufficient to support a claim of financial hardship. While the records provide details about income, there is no information regarding expenses. In the past you have requested information and correspondence with the Ministry on behalf of [a named organization]. Are you acting on behalf of [the named organization] in this instance? This may have an impact in deciding whether a fee waiver is warranted under a claim of financial hardship as the finances of the individual or organization that will pay the fee are at issue. Should you wish to provide additional information in support of your request for a fee waiver, the Ministry will reconsider this matter. However, with the information that has been provided to date, it is the Ministry's position that a fee waiver is not warranted in this instance. In response to the narrowed request, the Ministry also issued a revised interim decision dated July 29, 2002, in which it stated, in part: Our preliminary estimate is that there are approximately 3736 pages of records, which include meeting minutes, e-mail messages with attachments (presentations, spreadsheets, communications information, EBR postings and analysis of comments received, Executive Committee pro formas), and a discussion paper. We believe that most of the information that you have requested will be available to you, however the records may contain information that would qualify for exemption under sections 13 (advice to government), and 21 (personal privacy). In its decision, the Ministry also provided an estimated fee of $2134.70, calculated as follows: Search time (40.25 hours x $30.00 per hour) 1207.50 Record preparation (6 hours x $30.00 per hour) 180.00
Decision Content
ORDER PO-2130
Appeal PA-020062-1
Ministry of Natural Resources
NATURE OF THE APPEAL:
The Ministry of Natural Resources (the Ministry) received a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to the following information:
1) all emails, briefing notes, notes, minutes of meetings, including minutes of the writing team meetings – from all levels of governments, all interested stakeholders including but not limited to the timber industry and non-governmental organizations regarding the Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation from July 20 2001 to December 15, 2001. Please do not include the actual document Forest Management Guide for Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation. [requester’s emphasis]
2) comments submitted to the EBR Registry # PB00E7004 in which the respondent was affiliated with or identified as – an academic institution, an academic or expert, commercial interest, timber industry, non-governmental organization.
3) summaries of the Provincial Forest Technical Committee meetings from June 2001 to November 2001.
4) summaries of the Provincial Forest Policy Committee meetings from January 2000 to November 2001.
5) summaries of the Woodland Caribou Recovery Team meetings from January 2001 to November 2001.
6) the discussion paper, Framework Policy For Room to Grow (Sharing Principle).