'Papers worth nothing': N.S. parent raises red flag over heavily redacted FOIPOP disclosure

For Kristen Somma, it all started last September, as kids were preparing to go back to into class full-time after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I kept getting told, 'nope,’ in-person or homeschooling, those are your options,” she says.

Somma has three children. Her middle son, she says, is on the autism spectrum and suffers severe anxiety, exacerbated by the pandemic.

Her oldest son, who still lived at home while attending university, is also on the autism spectrum, and has health conditions which compromise his immune system.

Somma first asked school officials if her two school-age children could continue online learning with their teachers as they had during pandemic lockdowns in order to minimize exposure to the virus.

She says while school principals at first said they could accommodate her request, that was soon retracted, a decision she says was made by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.

Frustrated, Somma filed a request for related documents through Nova Scotia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to find out why.

After waiting several months, Somma received her disclosure -- 400 pages, about half almost completely redacted.

“Subject lines, were getting blocked out,” she says. “They used to use our names, and then going into (documents) from November, our names went to only initials in the subject line,” she explains.

“Anything from HRCE discussing me or my children, has all been redacted,” she says.

The only material she could really read were emails she herself sent to the province and the HRCE.

“I had a feeling black lines were coming, but not to the extent that they came,” Somma adds. “A whole solid text blocked? That's not redaction to me, that's, you're trying to really hide something that maybe shouldn't have been said.”

Dalhousie University professor emeritus of law Wayne MacKay says the level of redaction seems unusual.

“To get something back, where most of the material is redacted seems like a very odd situation,” he says. “On its face, it’s seems like kind of a travesty under the Freedom of Information Act. “

There are 16 exemptions in the Act, including information protected by solicitor-client privilege, advice to government and Cabinet, or private contracts and meetings.

But the most commonly used, says MacKay, and is the exemption for personal information of a third party.

“Now that then raises, questions, well, which third party? Does it apply to the child? One wouldn't have thought so,” he explains. “But it might apply to any other third party, any personnel, other people who didn’t give their consent in any way to have that information released.”

Somma has 60 days to request a review from the provincial Office of the Privacy Commissioner to review the matter. But the Office can’t order government bodies to reverse any of its redactions.

“It’s one of the few places in Canada where that still is the case,” says MacKay. “And a whole series of governments, including our current Premier when he was the Opposition, have criticized that.”

Last fall, Nova Scotia Privacy Commissioner Trish Ralph called on the Houston government to update the Act and allow for more oversight.

At the time, Premier Houston said he had been “given pause” on his pre-election commitment to do so.

“Somewhere under all these black boxes, somebody allowed this to happen,” says Somma.

“They were free to send me papers worth nothing,” she says. “I was hoping I would be able to understand, what was their stand around why he should not be allowed to have his Google Classroom.”

Somma and her family have since moved to Ontario, but she isn’t giving up.

“Now I fight it,” she adds. “I’m the voice for my kids, and if I can be a voice for another family (too), then I’ve done my job.”

The Halifax Regional Centre for Education declined CTV’s request for an interview. Instead, spokesperson Lindsey Bunin provided an email statement.

“We know that the best place for students to learn is in school. All schools in Nova Scotia transitioned fully to in-person learning. Any family who has concerns about their child’s learning is encouraged to speak with their school Principal,” Bunin wrote.

“Redactions in information accessed through FOIPOP only occur due to exemptions under the FOIPOP act, in accordance with the Office of Information & Privacy Commissioner.”

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