Community Services Department cited again over access to information

The Community Services Department has been cited for breaking Nova Scotia’s access to information laws — again.

Trish Ralph, Nova Scotia’s information and privacy commissioner, is reminding department officials for the fourth time in six months that they have a legal obligation to follow timelines set out in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Ralph released a review report this week showing that the department did not respond to a request for information in November within the mandated 30 days. Under the letter of the law, that’s considered a “deemed a refusal” to give records.

“The cause of the delay was that the public body did not provide the responsive records to the administrator responsible [for] processing the applicant’s request in a timely fashion,” Ralph writes.

The applicant appealed to the commissioner’s office and it was determined the department was in violation of the act.

When a department is not able to meet timelines, it’s required to notify the applicant and seek an extension from the commissioner’s office. That did not happen in this case.

“Responding to an access request in the time required by FOIPOP is not a choice,” the review report says. “It is a legal obligation.”

Commissioner makes 2 recommendations

Ralph found that the department collected one batch of responsive records in a timely fashion and provided it to the administrator processing the file.

But a second set of records was not provided until after the deadline for a response had passed. The final batch was not provided until almost a month after the response deadline passed.

In her report, Ralph writes that officials with the Community Services Department “identified that a consultation with another public body had to be completed before it could issue a decision to the applicant.”

“A decision to consult with another public body in this case is discretionary and not mandatory. The public body’s representations do not explain why discretionary consultations were required.”

Ralph’s report cites previous reviews of the department and notes that a lack of resources appears to be a consistent problem in officials meeting their obligations under the act.

Her review recommends the department issue a decision to the applicant within seven days and that “senior leadership at the public body address this ongoing problem by ensuring it has sufficient resources to fulfil its legal obligations.”

Department takes obligations “very seriously”

The Community Services Department did not make someone available for an interview.

In an email, a spokesperson said department officials take their obligations under the act “very seriously” and would work to improve response times and “respond to requests as quickly as possible.”

The spokesperson said a response has been provided to the applicant.

Ralph has limited recourse if a department does not follow her recommendations because they are not binding.

In opposition, Premier Tim Houston championed the need to give the commissioner’s office greater powers, including order-making power. He promised to make that happen not long after forming government in 2021, but his stance on the issue softened not long after that and Houston has since backed away from the commitment.

Instead, the Justice Department launched a review of the FOIPOP Act last fall, soliciting feedback from groups that include the media.

CBC and several other outlets have filed submissions as part of the review, which must be completed no later than spring of 2025, just months before the next provincial election is scheduled to take place.

The government has not committed to acting on whatever recommendations come from the review.