Case information

None.

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Constitutional law - Charter of Rights - Freedom of expression - Reasonable limits prescribed by law - Constitutional principle of democracy - Access to information - Compelling public interest - Administrative law - Judicial review - Disclosure of government records refused on basis of exemptions for law enforcement records, solicitor-client privilege and personal privacy under the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31 (the “Act”) - Whether s. 23 of the Act infringes s. 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and/or an underlying principle of constitutional democracy by failing to extend the public interest override to the law enforcement and solicitor-client exemptions - Justification under s. 1 of the Charter - Does s. 2(b) of the Charter include a right to compel government to disclose information? - Does the claimant who impugns a statutory exemption from a statutory right, seek a positive entitlement to government action or a right to be free from government interference? - Does the Charter require that government documents protected by solicitor-client privilege be subject to a balancing test on a case-by-case basis to determine if they will be disclosed?

Severe judicial criticism of the conduct of the Crown in its prosecutorial role and of the police in their investigative role, led to a stay of proceedings in the retrial of two men charged with the murder of Dominic Racco: R. v. Court and Monaghan (1997), 36 O.R. (3d) 263. The Ontario Provincial Police was asked to review the conduct of the police officers and Crown counsel and found no evidence of any attempts to obstruct justice. The Respondent submitted a request to the Appellant Ministry under the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31, seeking access to the records underlying the OPP’s investigation. The Appellant declined to produce certain records on the basis of the exemptions in ss. 14 (law enforcement records), 19 (solicitor-client privilege) and 21 (personal privacy) of the Act. The Respondent appealed the decision before the Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner, who upheld the Appellant’s decision. The Respondent applied for judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision. The application for judicial review was dismissed. On appeal, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and the matter was remitted to Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner for re-determination with ss. 14 and 19 read into s. 23 of the Act.