What is the legal privilege attached to a TCHC employee’s emails?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Toronto Community Housing Corporation, 2012 CanLII 29954 (ON IPC):

The TCHC also states that all of the communications at issue involve discussions regarding existing or contemplated litigation involving the appellant, and that TCHC employees should be able to “communicate the facts of the case to legal counsel.” It states: The fact that almost all of these emails were generated solely for the purposes responding to the appellant’s questions regarding her rent calculations - the key issue at litigation between the parties - supports this portion of the test. … … the litigation between the parties commenced in 2009, and litigation with respect to the same issues, albeit at a different forum, is still ongoing. … where information is passed by the solicitor or client to the other as part of the continuum aimed at keeping both informed so that advice may be sought and given as required, privilege will attach [Balabel v. Air India, [1988] 2 W.L.R. 1036 at 1046 (Eng, CA.)]. The emails that aren’t directly seeking advice or gathering facts for the case fall under this test. … Each of these emails passing between counsel and client relate directly or indirectly to the conduct of the litigation.

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