Municipal colleagues, you may be interested in the information below
(converted from the original fax). It outlines the latest ruling on
access to tax assessment rolls, basically upholding the previous ruling
that, while access to the hard copy rolls remains a public right, the
same information cannot be reproduced or distributed electronically.
Clearly the courts are struggling with how to balance access and
privacy in this case. Tax assessments remain fundamentally a public
record under the Assessment Act but only if they are viewed in hard-copy
in a municipal office or repository designated as the archivist under
the Municipal Act. MPAC is trying to prevent unscrupulous use of these
rolls by companies who may take advantage of their public status to
target homeowners for marketing purposes. It is felt by MPAC (and now
supported by the courts) that the time, effort and expense of
reproducing these rolls from hard-copy builds in a measure of protection
against this while at the same time ensuring public access is
maintained. Electronic copies, on the other hand, violate this spirit
and do not ensure a reasonable protection of privacy.
I have a couple of quick observations about this: While I have not
read the actual case file, it does seem to me that there is an absence
of guidance regarding other formats such as microfilm. There was a
period in the 1980's where the roll was only produced in microfiche for
some municipalities. Can these be sold or distributed? What about
hard-copies that have been filmed? Secondly, those of you who plan on
posting tax roll indexes or digital copies better ensure that the 30
year plus death rule has expired first. Regards,
Brian Masschaele, Archivist
Elgin County Archives
[log in to unmask]
___________________________________________________________________________________________
To the attention of the Clerk and Council
Association of Municipalities of Ontario
393 University Avenue, Suite 1701
Toronto, ON M5G 1E6
Tel: (416) 971-9856 fax: (416) 971-6191
email: [log in to unmask]
For Immediate Attention
August 9, 2004 - FYI 04/14
Divisional Court Upholds MPAC's Right to Refuse Information Requests
ISSUE:
On May 21, 2004, the Divisional Court issued a decision upholding the
Municipal Property Assessment
Corporation's (MPAC) right to refuse to disclose an electronic copy of
the provincial assessment roll in
response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
BACKGROUND:
In 1995, the Ministry of Finance denied a request for electronic copies
of property tax assessment roles and
instead suggested the applicant pay $1700 for the costs of the
information in hard copy form, or peruse the
information. The appellant refused and took the case to the Information
and Privacy Commission, which in
2000 ruled that MPAC must release the assessment rolls in electronic
form. Once released in electronic
format, there would be no control over its use or distribution.
MPAC began legal proceedings and asked for AMO's support in what it
viewed was a clear violation of privacy
rights. AMO wrote letters to the new Ministers of Finance, Community
Safety and Correctional Services, and
the Attorney General expressing its concern for the safety and privacy
of Ontario's citizenry, given how
businesses, homes, and individuals could be targeted by illegitimate
use of the property tax assessment
database. AMO urged the Province to intervene.
The Attorney General did intervene, during the judicial review of this
matter on February 10, 2004, in support
of MPAC's position that the electronic version of the assessment roll
should not be disclosed.
The Division Court ruled in MPAC's favour on May 21,2004.
ACTION:
MPAC will continue to deny access to the CD-Roll and to enforce
respective Licence Agreements as well as
assuring the public that all reasonable steps are being undertaken to
ensure their privacy.
For information, contact Pat Vanini, Executive Director at 416 971-9856
ext. 316 or e-mail [log in to unmask]
This information is available through AMO's subscription based MUNICOM
network at www.municom.com.
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