Provincial department asked once again to seek help to handle information requests

Jean Laroche · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 3:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

Nova Scotia's acting accusation and privateness commissioner has recommended that a provincial section beef up resources to "fulfil its ineligible obligation" nether the state of accusation act.

In a study issued Tuesday, Carmen Stuart was captious of the Department of Opportunities and Social Development's handling of an entree petition filed connected Oct. 3, 2024, which the section had not responded to beyond seeking an hold due to the fact that of the "unusual size of the record."

The section anticipates it volition instrumentality until adjacent twelvemonth to process the much than 4,000 pages of records, Stuart noted successful her report. 

On Nov. 29, 2024 the section was denied support by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for an hold of 182 days to comply with the request.

Stuart noted her bureau was incapable to resoluteness the substance informally, which triggered her report. In it, she noted this was "the sixth study that the commissioner has made since August 2023 due to the fact that the (department) has failed to respond to the applicant wrong the statutory deadline."

"For this reason, the Commissioner is repeating the proposal … that elder enactment astatine the (department) code this occupation by ensuring it has capable resources to fulfil its ineligible work nether FOIPOP."

Tricia Ralph, the accusation and privateness commissioner astatine the time, made a akin proposal connected Oct. 23, 2024.

"Within a period of the day of this reappraisal report, elder enactment astatine the nationalist assemblage code this occupation by ensuring it has capable resources to fulfil its ineligible obligations nether FOIPOP," wrote Ralph. "This includes hiring further unit and exploring immoderate different avenues that could beryllium capitalized to implicit this work."

According to Stuart, the section rejected Ralph's recommendation.

Spring legislation

During the outpouring sitting of the legislature, the Houston authorities tabled authorities to amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to let nationalist bodies to garbage applications that are "trivial, frivolous oregon vexatious." 

The effort drew a rebuke from Ralph in the past days of her tenure.

The PC authorities backed disconnected those changes and different arguable measures, including an effort to summation the powerfulness to occurrence the province's auditor wide without cause. That came pursuing nationalist outcry. 

The Justice Department launched a reappraisal of Nova Scotia's entree to accusation authorities successful September 2023 with an anticipated merchandise of a study this spring.

Justice Minister Becky Druhan precocious acknowledged that enactment continues but could not accidental erstwhile it mightiness beryllium completed.

Department responds

The Department of Opportunities and Social Development "receives a ample measurement of idiosyncratic and wide FOIPOP applications," it said successful a connection Friday afternoon. "Some requests span decades and impact thousands of pages of some hard transcript and physics records. Requests whitethorn besides woody with delicate idiosyncratic accusation and necessitate consultation with 3rd parties.

"As the study states, successful this case, it is simply a 4,000+ leafage file. Work is underway, and we volition contented a determination to the applicant erstwhile we person completed the line-by-line reappraisal and consultations. The section volition proceed to enactment to amended our effect times and respond to requests arsenic rapidly arsenic possible."