Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has ordered Hydro Ottawa to cut by 70% a fee it attempted to charge for access to records related to its handling of a 2023 strike.
Blacklock's Reporter says the public utility initially demanded $541,415 for time spent reviewing and censoring documents, an amount the adjudicator called excessive and unsupported.
“The estimated preparation fee is excessive and not reasonable,” wrote Adjudicator Diane Smith in her ruling, concluding that Hydro Ottawa provided “insufficient evidence” to justify its charges.
The ruling followed a request by Blacklock’s Reporter for internal records concerning the hiring of replacement workers during an 83-day strike by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 636.
The strike, which occurred before the federal government passed Bill C-58 banning replacement workers in federally regulated sectors, became a flashpoint in debates over labour rights.
Hydro Ottawa responded to the records request with a total bill of $669,762, including $128,047 for photocopying and various other fees.
Smith’s decision reduced the “preparation time” fee alone to $160,048.
According to the ruling, Hydro Ottawa said it needed 18,047 hours to apply severance to more than 640,000 pages of material, including emails, chat logs, software files, and other documents.
The utility claimed the documents were collected from email systems, Google Drive, and other sources during the strike period from May 1 to October 17, 2023.
Blacklock’s had specifically requested records about several contracting firms hired during the strike, including AFIMAC, XOH Powerline, Batte Pole Line Ltd., KPC Power Electric Ltd., Aerial Work Utilities, and Jet Electrical Contractors.
The dispute highlights tensions over transparency in public institutions and coincides with growing federal opposition to the use of replacement workers.
“Replacement workers distract from the bargaining table and prolong disputes,” then-Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said when Bill C-58 was introduced.
“We listened to the workers.”
