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Ontario
Your Rights under Ontario’s Freedom of Information Laws
Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), which came into effect on January 1, 1988, establishes an Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) as an officer of the Legislature. The Commissioner is appointed by and reports to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and is independent of the government of the day.
The term freedom of information (FOI) refers to public access to general records relating to the activities of government – ranging from administration and operations to legislation and policy – and access to records of your own personal information that government offices may hold. Being able to access this information is an important aspect of open and accountable government.
FIPPA applies to all provincial ministries and most provincial agencies, boards and commissions, as well as to universities and colleges of applied arts and technology. The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), which came into effect January 1, 1991, broadened the number of public institutions covered by Ontario’s freedom of information and privacy legislation. It covers local government organizations, such as municipalities, police, library, health and school boards, and transit commissions.
The Acts provide that, subject to limited and specific exemptions, information under the control of provincial and municipal government organizations should be available to the public.
If you make a written freedom of information request under one of the Acts to a provincial or municipal government organization and are not satisfied with the response, you have a right to appeal that decision to the IPC.
Appeals concerning either general or personal information records may relate to a refusal by a government organization to provide access, the fees the organization wants to charge, the fact that the organization did not respond within the prescribed 30-day period, or other procedural aspects relating to an FOI request.
When an appeal is received, the IPC first attempts to settle it informally. If all issues cannot be resolved, the IPC may conduct an inquiry and issue a binding order, which may require the government organization to release all or part of the requested information.
2009 Activities
To help mark Right to Know Week in
Canada (September 27-October 3),
Ontario
’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian is:
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sending teams to three
Ontario cities on Monday, September 28, to set up information tables, where the teams will hand out IPC publications and answer questions from the public.
The IPC information tables are being set up, from noon to 4 p.m. on September 28, at;
·
Sherway
Gardens in
Mississauga (near Sears);
·
Lime Ridge Mall in
Hamilton (near Sears);
·
Yonge-Eglinton Centre in
Toronto (near the Metro store); and
·
Centrepoint Mall in
Toronto (near No Frills).
-promoting these information tables through radio advertisements and a news release;
-posting information to a special Right to Know section of her website (
www.ipc.on.ca
) about individuals right to know what governments are doing, plus information about Ontario’s two freedom of information (FOI) Acts; information on how to file FOI requests to provincial and local government organizations across Ontario; details on how to file an appeal to the IPC if you are not satisfied with the response you receive from a government organization; and lots more, including an FOI quiz that focuses on your rights; and
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arranging for presentations by her staff to media students at a number of Ontario universities and community colleges on the public’s right to know, and on how journalists can make good use of freedom of information laws.
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