Recent Articles
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Here’s what an FOI app can do for you
When I tell FOI professionals that I am working on FOI software, I often get questions such as “what can it do?” or “how can software help?” These are great questions — and most of us are too busy responding to requests and processing files to think of exactly how an app might be able…
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FOI Assist Tech Demo #1: Interim Fee Estimate Tool
I am delighted to announce the release of the first FOI Assist technology demo: the Interim Fee Estimate Tool.
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An Introduction to Freedom of Information
Up to this point I’ve written many articles on the “finer points” of responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. But today I would like to present an article addressed to all of those people who are just starting out as an FOI professional – who might appreciate
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FOI In The News: Government rejects Senate changes to ATIA; “culture of secrecy” and more
The Senate proposed giving the Federal Privacy Commissioner the ability to have access decisions certified by the Federal Court of Canada (thereby becoming legally enforceable) if the government ignores the initial decision or refuses to comply. The Senate also proposed banning the use of “code words” to describe individuals or government entities as a means…
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Highlights from the “Reaching Out to Ontario – Waterloo” event
Highlights from the recent “Reaching Out to Ontario” event presented on Friday, May 31, 2019 by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO) at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.
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Reaching Out to Ontario – Waterloo
I’ll be attending the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario’s Reaching Out to Ontario event at Wilfrid Laurier University this Friday.
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When is labour and employment information exempt from disclosure?
In Ontario, both the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) contain special provisions regarding labour and employment information which often have the effect of giving institutions the option (or in some cases, an obligation) to refuse to disclose such information…
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FOI In The News (May 8, 2019)
Globe & Mail: Canada’s information czar says lack of stable funding ties her hands Jim Bronskill, May 1, 2019 Federal information commissioner Caroline Maynard warns that financial uncertainty is making it impossible for her office to set goals and maintain momentum. The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada handles complaints from Canadians who have…
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Why do requestors ask for electronic versions of records?
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 to…
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FOI In The News (April 23, 2019)
CBC News: Overburdened public bodies seek fees, restrictions on freedom of information requests Ian Froese, April 11, 2019 In Manitoba, there is currently no charge to apply for access to records, and requestors are allotted two free hours for search and preparation time. As part of a review of Manitoba’s Freedom of Information and Protection…
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Do institutions have to disclose electronic versions of records?
Can requestors specify whatever format they want? How should an institution respond to a request that specifies the format in which the requestor would like to receive the records? For example, an institution might receive a request for hundreds of pages of documents which are stored by the institution only in hard copy, but the…
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“I thought we deleted that!” Metadata and Hidden Data
What are Metadata and Hidden Data? Metadata Metadata refers to information “about” a record. For a Microsoft Word document, this could include information such as the author of the document, the date and time the document was created, the time spent editing the document, its length, its description, comments about the document, etc. For a…
FOI Assist Knowledge Base 