On February 20, 2024, I received notice from Stewart McKelvey lawyer Koren Thomson that she is counsel for Memorial University and advised that Memorial has filed an Originating Application for a declaration that it does not have to comply with recommendations of the Information and Privacy Commissioner as set out in Report A-2024-006, pursuant to section 50(2) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015, SNL 2015, c A-1.2.
Report A-2024-006 recommended that Memorial release the records sought, including Genesis Centre and C-Core executive bonuses and vehicle allowances paid to Genesis Centre and Centre for Fisheries Innovation executives.
In its court application, Memorial’s arguments include that the information sought is remuneration information of employees of third-party corporations, the remuneration of the SEIs employees is not funded by Memorial, the SEIs operate under their own articles of incorporation, Memorial has bare possession of the information sought as payroll agent for the SEIs but has no authority to regulate the content, use or disposal of the information sought, and the information sought does not appear as a line item in the SEIs Financial Statements, nor in Memorial’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
However, Memorial is the sole shareholder or member of the SEIs and, therefore, obtains copies of the SEIs annual financial statements pursuant to section 262 of the Corporations Act, RSNL c C-36. The financial statements of the SEIs are also reflected in Memorial’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
According to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s (OIPC) Report A-2024-006, in Memorial’s annual consolidated financial statement, it is stated under “Significant Financial Policies” that Memorial controls its SEIs.
The Commissioner also stated that Memorial’s annual audits include the expenditures and revenues of its separately incorporated entities, and these expenditures and revenues are not listed separately but are instead subsumed within the figures set forth within the financial statements.
Furthermore, The Commissioner stated that Memorial has more than bare possession of the records and that it has sufficient possession to provide them to its auditor and the Auditor General to meet its legislative requirements.
Download Memorial’s court application below:
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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