FOI Assist Seminar Series: Significant Changes to Ontario’s FOI Legislation

The FOI Assist Seminar Series (2026) is underway — a free, practical Freedom of Information training program designed specifically for Ontario’s provincial and municipal institutions.

This seminar series is available exclusively to FOI Assist Knowledge Base subscribers. Current subscribers have already received the registration link for Seminar #3 by email and can also access it in the subscriber-only the subscriber-only Knowledge Base post.

If you are not yet a subscriber, you can still join. New subscribers will automatically receive the registration link for the upcoming seminar after subscribing to the FOI Assist Knowledge Base.

Subscribing to the Knowledge Base is free and gives you access to:

• The full FOI Assist Knowledge Base
• Ongoing FOI updates and practical guidance
• Registration links for the 2026 seminar series
• Future seminar announcements delivered directly to your inbox

To subscribe to the FOI Assist Knowledge Base, enter your email below and click Subscribe.

What to Expect in 2026

Throughout 2026, FOI Assist is hosting a series of live, online seminars exploring Ontario’s Freedom of Information legislative framework — including FIPPA, MFIPPA, IPCO guidance, and practical examples drawn from real-world FOI scenarios.

Each seminar focuses on practical tools and best practices to help FOI professionals strengthen their workflows and improve legislative compliance.

Participants earn credit toward the FOI Practitioner Certificate — FOI Assist Seminar Series (2026), awarded to Knowledge Base subscribers who complete five or more seminars during the 2026 calendar year. (A minimum of four more seminars are being offered in 2026, including the seminar below.)

Seminar #3: Significant Changes to Ontario’s FOI Legislation

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Time: 10:00 am Eastern (Toronto Time)
Duration: 60 minutes
Format: Live online seminar (Zoom)

This seminar, the third in the series, will provide an update on the recently proposed legislative changes to FIPPA and MFIPPA. Many were taken by surprise when these reforms were first announced earlier this month. The proposed changes have now been incorporated into the government’s budget bill and are moving quickly through the legislative process.

If enacted, significant changes to the Freedom of Information process are expected to take effect on July 1, 2026, including:

• Extending the number of days institutions have to respond to an FOI request
• Changing the way days are counted from calendar days to business days
• Allowing institutions to issue “plans for staged access” to records
• Permitting institutions to issue a second time extension in certain circumstances

The proposed legislation would introduce several other changes, including:

• A requirement for municipal institutions to prepare Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)
• Prescribed content requirements for municipal PIAs
• New privacy breach reporting requirements for municipal institutions
• Enabling provincial employees to retain access to their email accounts across different positions in their public service careers
• A new retroactive exclusion for records in the custody or control of a minister, a parliamentary assistant, or their offices

FOI professionals should familiarize themselves with these upcoming changes and prepare to update their FOI processes as necessary. This seminar is intended to help participants understand the proposed reforms, how they may affect the day-to-day administration of FOI requests, and what steps institutions may wish to consider in preparation for their possible implementation.

Participants will also receive:

• A short post-session quiz
• An individualized Certificate of Completion for those who attend and pass
• Credit toward the FOI Practitioner Certificate (2026)

How to Register

Registration is reserved for FOI Assist Knowledge Base subscribers.

• Current subscribers: Your registration link has already been emailed to you and is available in the subscriber-only Knowledge Base post.
• New subscribers: You will automatically receive the registration link for Seminar #3 when you subscribe.

To subscribe to the FOI Assist Knowledge Base, enter your email in the subscription box and click Subscribe.

If you know a colleague who would benefit from this seminar, please feel free to share this announcement. To help support the seminar series, you may also consider reposting it for others in your network.

If you are interested in learning more about how FOI Assist can support your institution’s Freedom of Information program — particularly in light of the upcoming legislative changes — you are also welcome to request a demonstration of the FOI Assist software.

I look forward to seeing you!

— Justin Petrillo
President & Founder
FOI Assist Corporation