7(1)(h)

How the Public Access Counselor has treated 7(1)(h)

Section 7(1)(h) covers bids, proposals and proposed agreements submitted to or by a public body, allowing them to be withheld until a final selection or award is made. The decisions describe it as applying to records such as a proposed offtake agreement with a private company and a city's proposal to host a private headquarters project.

In these decisions, the PAC found no violation where public bodies withheld such records before a final selection. For the proposed agreement and the Amazon HQ2 bid, the PAC agreed the records were exempt at the time of the request. Where requesters sought bid-related records for a commercial purpose, including emails about a cancelled bid and records to support a bid protest, the PAC closed the matters without further action, stating it lacked authority under section 9.5(b) to review denials of commercial-purpose requests.

At a glance: 3 documents(0 binding opinions, 3 determination letters). Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(f) (Preliminary drafts, notes, and deliberative materials) (1); 7(1)(m) (Attorney/auditor communications and litigation-preparation materials) (1).

Recurring issues

• Whether a proposed agreement between a public body and a private company may be withheld before final action. (A proposed biogas production agreement)
• Whether a city's bid proposal to host a private project may be withheld before a final selection is made. (A city's bid proposal for a corporate headquarters)
• Whether the PAC can review a denial of emails about a cancelled bid when the request was made for a commercial purpose. (Emails about cancellation of a protested bid)
• Whether the PAC can review a denial of records sought to support a business's bid protest as a commercial-purpose request.

Practical points

• A public body withheld a bid proposal and a proposed agreement before final selection without violating FOIA.
• A requester seeking bid-related records for a commercial purpose, such as supporting a bid protest, cannot obtain PAC review of the denial.
• A commercial-purpose characterization prevented PAC review even where the underlying records concerned a cancelled bid.

Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.