Recent Articles

  • Forwarding or Transferring Requests

    Forwarding or Transferring Requests

    What happens when a requestor sends a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the wrong institution?

  • Charging Fees When No Records Are Found?

    Charging Fees When No Records Are Found?

    Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and its Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) both give institutions the right to charge fees for the work involved in responding to an Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Besides the $5.00 application fee (which is applicable to every disclosure request),…

  • Looking Forward

    Looking Forward

    I’m incredibly thankful for the time that many institutions have invested in learning about how the FOI Assist software can help their practice, whether through self-directed research, or by booking a demonstration of the software.

  • Why Charge an Application Fee for Each FOI Request?

    Why Charge an Application Fee for Each FOI Request?

    Last week, news organizations announced with dismay that British Columbia may impose an application fee of $25 for Freedom of Information requests filed in that province. Currently, in British Columbia, applicants can file an FOI request for free and pay no search charges unless the request is for public records (rather than personal information) and…

  • Should your institution accept FOI requests online?

    Should your institution accept FOI requests online?

    Today’s article is intended to dive into the complexities of accepting FOI requests online, and to help you evaluate whether accepting FOI requests online makes sense for your institution.

  • The “Law Enforcement” Exemption (FIPPA s.14 / MFIPPA s.8)

    The “Law Enforcement” Exemption (FIPPA s.14 / MFIPPA s.8)

    An overview of the Law Enforcement disclosure exemption, including why you should know it, and some of its more interesting features, such as when it permits institutions to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of a record.

  • FOI Software: “Off The Shelf” or Custom Built?

    FOI Software: “Off The Shelf” or Custom Built?

    You shouldn’t try to create your own FOI software, or even spend valuable institutional time in customizing existing software, when there is already an off-the-shelf solution available.

  • FOI Requests Dropped Sharply During COVID-19

    FOI Requests Dropped Sharply During COVID-19

    Freedom of Information (“FOI”) requests filed to provincial and municipal institutions in Ontario dropped by 27% in 2020, from 60,394 requests filed across the province in 2019 down to 44,167 requests filed in 2020. This drop occurred during a year dominated by the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Interim Fee Estimates are Optional

    Interim Fee Estimates are Optional

    There is no need for the institution to prepare a fee estimate between $25 and $100 until it has completed the work involved in processing the FOI request.

  • Should You Include a Time Extension in Your Interim Fee Estimate?

    Should You Include a Time Extension in Your Interim Fee Estimate?

    When an institution expects that it will be issuing both a fee deposit request as well as a time extension for the same FOI request, how should it proceed? Should the institution issue the time extension first, the fee deposit request first, or should it issue them both in the same letter?

  • Splitting up an FOI Request

    Splitting up an FOI Request

    Institutions in Ontario have the option of “splitting up” a request, that is, deeming that a request with multiple parts is actually a number of separate, smaller requests, all received on the same day.

  • An Introduction to the FOI Appeal Process

    An Introduction to the FOI Appeal Process

    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.