Recent Articles
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FOI Tactics for Thriving
It was a pleasure to speak at the Freedom of Information Police Network (FOIPN) Fall Conference this week in Oakville. Thank you to the FOIPN conference committee for putting on such a wonderful event!
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Accept Freedom of Information Requests Online with FOI Assist
Would your institution like to accept freedom of information requests online? The FOI Assist software now makes it easy to do. Read today’s FOI Assist Knowledge Base article to learn more.
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Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario Employees Vote to Unionize
In an interesting development last week, staff of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO) voted to unionize with AMAPCEO, the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario.
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Alternative Fee Systems for Publicly Available Information
A recent decision from the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario makes it clear that in some cases, institutions can replace the standard FOI fee structure with a different fee structure better suited to the type of records requested.
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AMCTO 2023: What a great time!
Thank you David Arbuckle, Manjit Badh, Kathleen Barrett, Alexander Court, Jacquelyn Folville, Alex Gibson, Mark Hollerton, the AMCTO Conference Committee, and the entire AMCTO team for making this year’s event such a stunning success! FOI Assist is very proud to be a sponsor of the AMCTO 2023 Conference and we look forward to supporting AMCTO…
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“Fixing a Broken Access to Information System” on The Agenda
TVO’s The Agenda hosted Brooks Fallis, physician; Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim; and Robyn Doolittle and Tom Cardoso, the investigative reporters behind The Globe and Mail’s Freedom of Information series Secret Canada yesterday to discuss the state of Canada’s Freedom of Information (FOI) system.
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“Inside Canada’s Broken Freedom of Information System”
Today’s Globe and Mail article presents an opportunity to assess your own Freedom of Information program. Is your institution generally able to respond to requests within 30 days? Are your FOI staff forced to rush through files, potentially leading to errors, missed deadlines, and needless appeals?
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FOI Assist is a Proud Sponsor of the 2023 AMCTO Conference in Niagara Falls
FOI Assist is a Proud Sponsor of the 2023 AMCTO Conference. And of course, we will be there! If you are attending the conference, come by and visit FOI Assist in booth #10.
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Are Body-Worn Camera Recordings “Labour and Employment” Records?
There is currently an appeal underway before the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO) which raises an important issue relating to body-worn camera footage and which may have greater implications over how we apply exemptions and exclusions to records in general. As reported by Tom Cardoso and Robyn Doolittle in the Globe & Mail,…
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15 Tips to Make FOI a Breeze
It was a pleasure to speak at the 2023 AMCTO Information, Access, and Privacy Forum yesterday, where I presented “15 Tips to Make FOI a Breeze”.
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New Features: Email Notifications and Time Tracking
I am pleased to announce that two frequently-requested features have just been added to the FOI Assist software: Email Notifications and Time Tracking. Read today’s FOI Assist Knowledge Base article to learn more.
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Annual Statistical Report is due March 31
If your institution is in Ontario, responds to freedom of information requests, and is not a federal agency or otherwise regulated by the access-to-information framework under the federal Access to Information Act, you have an obligation to file a statistical report every year with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPCO).
FOI Assist Knowledge Base 