Recent Articles
-
The Privacy Breach Management Toolkit
The Government of Canada’s Privacy Breach Management Toolkit is intended to support the management and prevention of privacy breaches. Although its guidance is directed primarily at institutions who fall under Canada’s federal privacy legislation, it can be adapted to meet the needs of other types of institutions, and it is well-suited for adoption by provincial…
-
Changes to IPCO’s Appeal Process
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario recently introduced changes to the appeal process that will be of interest to all institutions who process FOI requests.
-
RFP Submissions Aren’t Public Information
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO) recently released a decision which provides guidance on the topic of disclosing information contained in RFP submissions. The decision explores whether information submitted by the winning proponent of an RFP process should be made available to the public under an FOI request.
-
Sharing Information in Situations Involving Intimate Partner Violence
The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO) has released new guidance to help institutions make informed decisions about privacy, confidentiality, and public safety in situations of intimate partner violence (IPV) risk.
-
Bill 194 mandates Privacy Impact Assessments
Bill 194 updates FIPPA to strengthen cyber security, enhance privacy protections, ensure the responsible use of AI, and mandate Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA’s) in certain cases.
-
The $5 Application Fee: Sorry, No Refunds!
What should an institution do if a requestor asks for a refund of the $5 application fee? And are there any situations where an institution should refund the $5 fee as a matter of course?
-
University of Toronto’s Sunlight Project
The University of Toronto has released the Sunlight Project, described as “the most comprehensive Canadian database of Freedom of Information requests.” Read today’s article on the FOI Assist Knowledge Base to learn more.
-
FOI reaches the Supreme Court of Canada: the Mandate Letter Decision
In today’s article, I don’t wish to focus on who made the best decision in terms of whether the mandate letters should be disclosed to the public. Rather, I think the most important issues from this case are the debate over the standard of review the court applied to the IPCO decision, and the court’s…
-
Seeking Expert Insights: Video Redaction for FOI Requests
If you have any recommendations for either software or a service for video redactions, I would love to see them! You can leave a reply below, or if you prefer you can contact me directly with any tips or advice you may have about good solutions for redacting or blurring video footage in response to…
-
The Public Interest Override Doesn’t Apply to Excluded Records
A recent decision of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has attracted significant media attention. A requestor was seeking access to the monthly number of internal disciplinary measures applied to members of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board.
-
Reflections
It has always been my dream to start a software company. I left my in-house legal counsel role to start working on the FOI Assist software in September 2018, just over five years ago. My first step was launching the FOI Assist Knowledge Base, where I figured I could help FOI professionals by answering the…
-
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario limiting appeals
Tom Cardoso and Robyn Doolittle of The Globe and Mail are reporting this week that the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO) is now imposing limits on the number of concurrent appeals from individual appellants. The story relates the experience of Jason Plotz, a “frequent filer of freedom of information requests” who was informed…
FOI Assist Knowledge Base 