In today’s article, I want to provide an introduction to the FOI appeal process from the perspective of the institution. My main goal is to build the confidence of the many FOI professionals in Ontario who have seldom or never faced an appeal.
The identity of the person who requested a list of all Ontario farms from OMAFRA, and why the request was made.
In this article, FIPPA and MFIPPA refer to Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, respectively. There are a number of reasons that a requestor might ask an institution to disclose records digitally rather than in hard copy: The requestor is hoping toContinue reading “Why do requestors ask for electronic versions of records?”
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Manual (the “FOI Manual”) notes that when a requestor asks an institution for the requestor’s own personal information, the institution must first verify the identity of the requestor before any personal information is disclosed. The FOI Manual suggests that an institution may be able to fulfill theContinue reading “Verifying the Identity of the Requestor”
Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and its Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) both provide members of the public with a general right of access to government information, subject to certain exclusions and exemptions. But what is the difference between an “exemption” and an “exclusion”? InContinue reading “Exemptions vs. Exclusions: What is the difference?”