Archive (Tag: duty to assist)
Elections and Responding to Access to Information Requests
In Canada, we are fortunate to live in a democratic society where citizens are able to express their wishes of who governs us through our right to vote. By living in a democratic society, citizens are able to ask questions and exercise their access to information rights to ensure elected officials and provincial and municipal... read more
Providing a Record in the Format Requested by the Applicant
Applicants often request records in a format which is convenient for their use i.e., paper, word spreadsheet, Excel or comma-separated values (CSV) or pdf. I find that public bodies are comfortable providing records in paper format but when it comes to electronic formats, they lean toward a pdf format. It appears they believe that the... read more
Absurd Results (updated)
From time to time, when interpreting and applying legislation, one can end up with a result that will be absurd. This can happen from time to time with The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP), The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LAFOIP) or The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA). These statutes are to... read more
Live Streaming a Public Meeting
The Legislative Assembly broadcasts its proceedings over the internet. Each word spoken by an MLA is recorded and published in Hansard. Hansard is available to the public. Similarly, committees of the Legislative Assembly are public, sometimes broadcasted and recorded in Hansard. Both video and text are available on the Legislative Assembly website at (www.legassembly.sk.ca/). Committees can decide to go... read more