Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner – Report A-2026-023 Released

  • Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner

August 24, 2026

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has released Report A-2026-023 under authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. A summary of the Report is included below.

To view the Report in its entirety, please go to www.oipc.nl.ca/reports/reports/.

Report: A-2026-023
Report Date: August 20, 2026
Public Body: Town of Botwood
Summary: The Complainant made an access request to the Town of Botwood for records about Motion 25-190 and the call for a special meeting to rescind the motion. The Complainant also requested meeting minutes concerning the memorandum of understanding between the Town and the Exploits Valley Port Corporation and a lease agreement between the two parties. The Town provided responsive records to the Complainant, but withheld information under section 35 (disclosure harmful to the financial or economic interests of a public body) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015. The Complainant claimed that the Town had misapplied the exception to access, that section 9 (public interest) applied, and failed to conduct a reasonable search for records. This Office found that the Town had appropriately applied section 35 and section 9 and recommended that the Town continue to withhold the redacted information. This Office also determined that the Town had conducted a reasonable search for records.

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Media contact
Sean Murray
Director of Research & Quality Assurance
709-729-6309

2026 08 24 10:36 am