P.E.I. privacy commissioner concerned as IRAC withholds corporate land records

Prince Edward Island's privacy commissioner has asked the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission to explain why it's withholding documents on corporate land ownership.

CBC News requested the documents under freedom of information legislation.

The documents are the records of 17 corporations that are within 75 per cent of their land-holding limits. Under P.E.I's Lands Protection Act, corporations can own only 3,000 acres of land, though the limit rises to 5,700 acres wth allowances for leased and non-arable land.

One of the corporations appealed to the privacy commissioner, asking to have its information withheld from release. 

However, IRAC decided to withhold the records of all 17 corporations pending the results of that review.

"This approach causes some concern for us," Denise Doiron, P.E.I.'s privacy commissioner, said in a letter to IRAC.

Commissioner sees 'no authority'

In the letter, Doiron noted all the corporations were provided the same opportunity to request a review of the decision to release their records. The other 16 corporations did not ask for a review. 

"We do not consider them to be affected by this review," Doiron said.

"As they are not subject to this review themselves and are not affected by this review, we see no authority for IRAC to withhold the records/information relating to the other 16 third parties."

IRAC has not yet responded to the privacy commissioner's letter.

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