Thursday, August 3, 2017

Alberta Court of Appeal Closely Examines Employer's Privilege Claims


The Alberta Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Alberta v. Suncor Energy Inc., 2017 ABCA 221.  The court upheld the importance of lawyer-client and litigation privileges, holding that they play a "central role" in the Canadian justice system,.  However, where an employee had been fatally injured, the court took a closer look at the factual basis for the employer's claims of privilege over documents that formed part of its investigation into the death. 
 
On April 20, 2014, an employee of Suncor Energy Inc. (“Suncor”) was fatally injured at a worksite near Fort McMurray, Alberta.  The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (“OHS”) officers issued a stop-work order that day.  Immediately after the accident, anticipating litigation, Suncor began an internal investigation and threw a privilege blanket over all information relating to the investigation.  Legal counsel for Suncor directed the investigation team to segregate all documents and to endorse all material as “privileged and confidential”. 
 
The Suncor investigation team interviewed witnesses, recorded statements and collected photographs.  On May 5, 2014, OHS issued a demand under relevant section of the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “Act”) for Suncor to provide copies of the witness statements, as well as employees’ names and contact information.  Suncor replied and provided the names and contact information of employees but asserted privilege over the witness statements collected by its investigation team.   Later, nearly a year after Suncor had provided OHS with a copy of its report on the accident, OHS issued another demand for information and copies of witness statements, notes, records, photos and other documents collected by Suncor.   Suncor claimed privilege over certain documents and information.  OHS issued an administrative penalty against Suncor.
 
The province of Albert filed an originating application seeking an order that Suncor provide the refused materials and allow OHS to interview Suncor’s internal investigators or at least provide further particulars about the claims of privilege.  At the return of the application, the judge held that the dominant purpose of Suncor’s internal investigation was in contemplation of litigation and upheld its claim for privilege on that basis.  The judge ordered Suncor to meet with a referee who would assess the claims of privilege and provide recommendations to the court. 
 
Alberta appealed that decision to the Alberta Court of Appeal. 
 
The Alberta Court of Appeal concluded that the application judge had erred in finding that the dominant purpose of Suncor’s investigation was in contemplation of litigation so as to clothe all material “created and/or collected” during the investigation with legal privilege.  However, it also held that the judge had not erred in invoking the referee process under the Alberta Rules of Court. 

The Court of Appeal held that the relevant sections of the Act did not preclude claims of privilege.  After the application judge's decision was issued, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the law pertaining to lawyer-client privilege and litigation privilege in Lizotte v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada and in Albert (Information and Privacy Commission) v. University of Calgary.   Those decisions confirmed the central role of legal privilege in the justice system as well as the legal and policy reasons behind why privilege must be protected.  The Supreme Court held that both litigation privilege and lawyer-client privilege “cannot be abrogated by inference and that clear, explicit and unequivocal language is required in order to lift it”.
 
Lawyer-client privilege attaches to confidential communications between a client and a legal advisor that are connected to giving or seeking legal advice.  The communication does not have to be in contemplation of litigation and the privilege is of permanent duration. 
 
Litigation privilege attaches to documents created for the dominant purpose of litigation.  This includes any document created for the dominant purpose of preparing for related litigation that “remains pending or may reasonably be apprehended”.  The object of this inquiry is the purpose for which the document was created or came into existence as distinct from the purpose for which it may have been collected or put to use.   
 
Accordingly, the Court of Appeal held that if legal privilege does not cover particular records or information, and the requirements of the Act apply to those records or information, the question of whether the Act operates to override any aspect of privilege disappears.  Once the procedure for assessing the contested materials is complete, records or information sifted out of the scope of privilege will be subject to consideration under the correct legal interpretation of the Act.
 
In this case, the appeal judges found that the application judge had erred in finding that the dominant purpose of the investigation was in contemplation of litigation and that Suncor created and/or collected documents and material with the dominant purpose that they would assist in any litigation.   It held that a referee appointed under the Alberta Rules of Court must focus on the dominant purpose for creating each document as opposed to the purpose for its collection. 
 
Suncor could not simply by having legal counsel declare that an investigation had been commenced, throw a blanket over all materials “created and/or collected during the internal investigation” so as to clothe them with lawyer-client or litigation privilege.  The Court of Appeal held that where a workplace accident has occurred and the employer has statutory duties under the Act and simultaneously undertakes an internal investigation claiming legal privilege over all materials derived as part of that investigation, an inquiry is properly directed to a referee under the Alberta Rules of Court to determine the dominant purpose for the creation of each document.

Regards,

Blair