Access to Information Orders
Decision Information
• Records relate to number of times appellant contacted Ministry of Natural Resources regarding Wild Turkey Program
• Scope of request in accordance with appellant’s description
• Ministry ordered to prepare revised fee estimate in accordance with scope of appellant’s request
• Appellant’s request for a fee waiver dismissed
Decision Content
NATURE OF THE APPEAL:
The requester submitted a request, dated March 27, 2003, to the Ministry of Natural Resources (the Ministry) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to the following information:
…the number of times [the requester] has contacted District Offices requesting information on the Wild Turkey Program [the Program] since December 2002. It is very important that District Offices are directly contacted to obtain this information.
The Ministry denied access to the responsive records pursuant to section 10(1)(b) of the Act (request for access is frivolous or vexatious). The requester (now the appellant) appealed the Ministry’s decision and I conducted an inquiry into this issue. On November 26, 2004, I issued Order PO-2348, finding that the appellant’s request was not frivolous and vexatious and ordered the Ministry to issue a decision letter in accordance with Part II of the Act.
In response to my order, the Ministry issued a decision containing two fee estimates, involving alternative searches for records responsive to the appellant’s request, one in the amount of $2,520.00 and a second in the amount of $5,370.00.
Following communication between the parties, the appellant subsequently narrowed the scope of her request as follows:
In order to reduce the costs further, the 25 named staff members of the ministry can initially verbally confirm whether [named individual] contacted them. After which a more in depth search can occur.