QUESTION

Background An important element in a lawsuit is “discovery” where the parties are required to share with each other documents relevant to the dispute. Excluded from such disclosure obligation are documents in which a claim of solicitor-client privilege are claimed. In a lawsuit, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (OIPC) ordered the production of records over which the University of Calgary had claimed solicitor-client privilege. The University provided a list of documents indicating solicitor-client privilege had been asserted over the records. The OIPC issued a Notice to Produce Records under s. 56(3) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act which requires a public body must produce required records to the Commissioner “[d]espite . . . any privilege of the law of evidence”. The University disputed the release of the privileged documents.

Question

Please advise what the Supreme Court of Canada decided about S. 56(3) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and whether it applied to the privileged documents.

Public Answer

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