HomeMy Public PortalAboutBy-Law 2018-25 Adopt Freedom of Information Request PolicyCORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF TWEED
BY-LAW NO. 2018-25
Being a By-law to Adopt a Freedom of Information Request Policy for the Municipality of
Tweed.
WHEREAS the Municipal Act, 2001 provides the general authority for Councils to adopt
policies;
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Tweed enacts
as follows:
1. THAT the Freedom of Information Request Policy attached hereto as Schedule "A"
to this By-law, is hereby adopted as the Freedom of Information Request Policy for
the Municipality of Tweed.
2. THAT this By-law shall come into force and take effect immediately upon the
passing thereof by the Council of the Corporation of the Municipality of Tweed.
Read a first and second time this 24th day of April, 2018.
Read a third and final time, passed, signed and sealed in open Council this 24th day of
April, 2018.
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SCHEDULE "A" TO BY-LAW NO. 2018-25
CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF TWEED
Freedom of Information Request Policy
Purpose
To establish a consistent process in which all formal Freedom of Information Request(s) will be
processed by the Municipality of Tweed and in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information
and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).
Policy
The Municipality of Tweed is committed to the security and privacy of records under its care and
control, as well as providing access to information as required under the Municipal Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). The Municipal Clerk is designated the Head and is
responsible for responding to all Freedom of Information Requests.
1. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST
The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) provides an individual
with the right to access information under the custody and control of an institution, including one's own
personal information. There are certain limitations that may exclude records from being accessible: the
records may be exempt, confidentiality provisions may apply, or the request may be considered
frivolous or vexatious.
2. EXEMPTIONS
The primary focus of the MFIPPA is to facilitate access to government information, but there are
limitations to that access. These limitations were enacted to protect personal information, as well as
sensitive information, in the custody and control of municipal government. Under the MFIPPA, there
are two types of exemptions that must be considered when assessing whether information is to be
disclosed:
a) Mandatory exemptions — requiring the institution to refuse disclosure of the record.
Such records include:
• Information pertaining to intergovernmental relations; if the information was received in
confidence;
• Third party information that reveals a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial,
financial or labour relations information if supplied in confidence, and where disclosure
could prejudice the interests of a third party;
• Personal information about individuals other than the requestor.
b) Discretionary exemptions — requiring an institution to apply discretion and good judgement
when determining whether or not to disclose the record. Such records include:
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• Draft by-laws, records of closed meetings where such are authorized by statute;
• Advice or recommendations within organization;
• Law enforcement records;
• Information which could prejudice the financial or other specified interests of the
organization;
• Solicitor -client privileged information;
• Information which could endanger the health and safety of an individual;
• Information already available to the public or soon to be published.
Although the above exemptions provide direction as to what must or may be considered when
assessing whether or not to disclose, there are times when the above exemptions do not apply. The
decision will require all members of Council to consider the above exemptions.
Certain exemptions (above) do not apply:
a) If a compelling public interest outweighs the purpose of the exemption; or
b) If there is a grave environmental, health or safety hazard, regardless of whether or not a formal
request for information has been made.
3. REQUESTS
Every individual has a right of access to a record that is in the custody and control of the
Municipality of Tweed, unless it falls within one of the exemptions. Requests for Freedom of
Information should be made to the Municipal Clerk's Office by completing a prescribed Freedom of
Information Request Form to be delivered to the Municipal Clerk.
4. ACCESS TO ONE'S OWN PERSONAL INFORMATION
MFIPPA provides that individuals have the right to access and correct their own personal
information if they believe there is an error or omission. Once access has been granted to their
personal information, an individual has the right to:
• Request a correction of their personal information;
• Require that a statement of disagreement be attached to the information reflecting any
correction that was requested but not made;
• Require that notification be sent to any person or body to whom the personal information
has been disclosed (within the year before) advising them of the correction or statement of
disagreement.
Access to one's own personal information shall be at the discretion of the Department
Manager/Supervisor (or delegate). Certain exemptions affecting access may be applied pursuant to
Section 38 of the MFIPPA.
5. FEES
The charging of fees is authorized by s.45(1), of the MFIPPA. Any individual who makes a request
under Freedom of Information; there will be a $5.00 application fee required from the Requestor.
The Requestor may be required to pay for the fees for:
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a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Manually searching for a record;
Preparing a record for disclosure;
Costs incurred in locating; retrieving, processing and copying a record;
Shipping costs; and
Other costs incurred in responding to a request, as set by the regulation — Section 6 of R.R.O.
1990, Regulation 823.
6. FEES SCHEDULE
List of Current Fee Amounts Based on MFIPPA and
Initial Request Fee:
Record preparation and search time:
Photocopies:
Preparing a record for disclosure, including
serving a part of the record:
CDs with records:
Other fees charged (e.g courier costs):
Fees estimated over $100.00:
7. FEE ESTIMATES, DEPOSITS, AND PAYMENTS
Regulations: R.R.O. 1990. Regulation 823, s6
$5.00 (FOI Request)
$7.50 for each 15 minutes
$0.20 for each page
$7.50 for each 15 minutes
$10.00 per disc
As invoiced
50% deposit
•
Requests for records that, in the opinion of the specific Department Manager/Supervisor that
requires substantial research and staff time and/or photocopying, shall require an estimate of costs
to be provided to the requestor prior to any work commencing on the collection of records. No
records shall be provided until the required fee has been paid.
Where the total fee is estimated to exceed $100.00, an estimate must be provided to the requestor
before staff begins to process a request. The requestor must agree to pay the estimated cost before
staff continues to process the request by signing the fee estimate request form.
The payment of a deposit equal to 50% of the estimated cost may be required before proceeding. If
the actual fee is less than the deposit, the balance must be refunded.
If it becomes clear during the processing that the actual cost if likely to exceed the original estimate
substantially, a revised estimate must be provided to the requestor.
The full payment of all fees will be required before providing the requested information.
8. FEE WAIVERS
Some or all fees may be waived by a Department, in the following circumstances:
a) The total fee is less than $5.00;
b) It is in the general public interest to provide the information;
c) It is in the Municipality of Tweed's interest to provide the information;
d) A waiver is requested because payment could result in a demonstrable financial hardship; or
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e) If the record for disclosure contains the Requestors' personal information a fee cannot be
charged.
9. ROUTINE DISCLOSURE
There are a number of records and types of information which are available to the public through
routine disclosure. This means that a formal review of information through an FOI Request
(Freedom of Information) is not necessarily required in order to obtain or view municipal records or
documentation. Accessing Municipality of Tweed information and applicable records will, whenever
possible, be made available to the public on the Municipality of Tweed's website, orally, or through
public inspection at each respective municipal department.
The following list outlines possible records and types of information which are available through
routine disclosure. The determination of what records should be disclosed needs to be made by the
Municipality and where the request originated after reviewing the record type, MFIPPA exemptions,
information content, current practices, and the nature of the request, including, but not limited to:
• Information related to Municipality owned Surplus Land;
• Municipality of Tweed policies;
• demographic and statistical information;
• By-laws;
• Council, Committee, Board Meetings open to the public, with the Agendas and minutes;
• staff reports;
• resolutions;
• general community information (I.e. licensing, permits, waste disposal information;
• annual (approved) budgets;
• audited financial statements;
• summary of total tender results;
• tax certificates;
• Committee of Adjustment Notices and Decisions;
• planning related documents and development records (as per Planning Act);
• Subdivision/Site Plan Agreement Information;
• construction information;
• building services reports or compiled statistics;
• recreational programming and facility rental information;
• information pertaining to tourism events, special events and activities;
• Fire Incident Reports;
• official plans and amendments;
• zoning applications and notices decisions, minutes, staff reports;
• tax rolls and records;
• elections candidate Information/candidate financial reports;
• Council expenses, remuneration; and
• goals and objectives and strategic plan, of the Municipality of Tweed;
• Council approved Master Plans (i.e. Transportation, Parks, Waterfront, etc).
Requests that meet the requirements of this section may be released by all Municipal Employees;
however prior to the disclosure of any records, Municipal Staff should consult with their Department
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Manager/Supervisor and where uncertain about any disclosure requests should contact the
Municipal Clerk for verification.
Any requests for viewing of building, planning or engineered drawings should be reviewed by the
Department Manager/Supervisor, or in consultation with the Municipal Clerk, prior to the disclosure
due to copyright protection laws.
• Any specific requests for requesting tangible copies of any building, planning or engineered
drawings shall be done through the formal FOI process and followed under s.10 of the Act as
third -party information.
10. PERSONAL INFORMATION
To protect individual privacy, the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protections of Privacy Act
places restrictions on the collection, use, disclosure, retention and disposal of personal information.
The sharing of personal information both within and outside of the Municipality of Tweed is limited
by the Act. These privacy protection standards are always in effect, and all Municipality of Tweed
Staff are individually responsible for meeting all privacy requirements about an identifiable
individual as set out in s.2 of the MFIPPA:
a) information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual
orientation or marital or family status of the individual;
b) information relating to the education or the medical, psychiatric, psychological, criminal or
employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which
the individual has been involved;
c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual;
d) the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual;
e) the personal opinions or views of the individual except if they relate to another individual;
f) correspondence sent to an institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a
private or confidential nature, and replies to that correspondence that would reveal the
contents of the original correspondence;
g) the views or opinions of another individual about the individual; and
h) the individual's name if it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or
where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the
individual.
11. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMITTEE
A Freedom of Information Committee composed of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and the Councillor
who received the greatest number of votes at the last municipal election are designated as
members of the Freedom of Information Committee for the Corporation for the purposes of the
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The FOI Committee shall meet with the Municipal Clerk and the respective Municipal Staff to
determine whether or not and how information will be disclosed through the formal Freedom of
Information Request Process of the Municipality of Tweed.
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Following a decision of the FOI Committee, the Municipal Clerk shall prepare a formal letter of
response summarizing the decision, to be sent to the Requestor explaining that they have the right
to appeal the decision of the Committee to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
of Ontario.
Definitions:
"MFIPPA" shall mean the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act).
Scope
This policy shall apply to all Municipal Employees of the Municipality of Tweed.
Administration
The CAO/Clerk shall administer the terms of this policy and shall establish related operating
procedures as required.
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