| Archives
of Ontario
Customer Service Guide 109
Contents
What is the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
Act?
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
came into force on January 1, 1988. The Act has two main
parts. The first states that all Government information
should be available to the public with the exception of
a few specific types of information. The second part of
the Act states that the privacy of individuals should be
maintained.
What this basically means is that most government information
at the Archives is available to you. Examples of the main
types of information that can be withheld are personal information
relating to other individuals, information about companies
which has been supplied in confidence to the Government,
and confidential cabinet information.
Personal information can include, but is not limited to,
a person's medical information, information about their
criminal history, financial information, information on
a person's race, religion or political beliefs or an individual's
employment or educational history.
Personal information about an individual is considered
sensitive until the individual to whom it pertains has been
dead for a period of thirty years or more. If you are doing
research on an individual who has been dead for a period
greater than 30 years, the information pertaining to them
can be disclosed. However, if the records also contain information
about other individuals whose dates of death are unknown,
it may be necessary to remove this information prior to
disclosure to you.
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What records are covered by the Freedom of Information
and Protection of Privacy Act?
The Act applies to most records created and/or used by
the Government of Ontario. This means that the Act applies
to not only records created by the Government and its agencies,
but also any records that they receive. So, if you write
a letter to the Government, it becomes subject to the Freedom
of Information and Protection of Privacy Act when it is
received by the Government.
The Act does not apply to all records at the Archives of
Ontario. Records donated to the Archives by private citizens
and companies are not subject to the Act. Some government
records may be subject to restrictions other than the Freedom
of Information and Privacy Act. For example, records of
patients of psychiatric facilities may be covered by the
Mental Health Act. Records about adoptions are subject to
the Child and Family Services Act. In order to determine
whether the series you are interested in is subject to the
Freedom of Information and Privacy Act, consult the access
statement at the bottom of the series description.
This guide deals only with those records subject to restrictions
under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
Act.
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How does the Act affect my research?
When a series of records is cited as being either "restricted"
or "subject to review" under the Act, it must
be reviewed before the records can be released to you. This
is done to identify and, if necessary, remove any information
subject to exemption under the Act. When planning to undertake
any research project at the Archives of Ontario, you should
check the access status of the records that you intend to
work with and build additional time into your timelines
to allow for the review of records.
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How will I know if the records I want to look at are subject
to the Act?
Each description of a government records series provides
information about access restrictions. Many series descriptions
are available on-line in the Archives Descriptive Database,
accessible from our website (www.archives.gov.on.ca). Other
descriptions are available in paper inventories in the Main
Reading Room.
For some series, there are no access restrictions at all,
while others may be subject to review or restricted within
a specified time period depending on the kinds of information
contained in them. For example, records containing information
which would reveal the deliberations of Cabinet are restricted
for 20 years.
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If records are restricted, can I still see them?
When a series of records is identified as being restricted,
it will be necessary for staff to review them with careful
considerations to the requirements of the Act. In most cases,
a review will result in the requester being granted full
or partial access to the records in question. However, in
some cases, a request for access may be denied in total.
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How do I make a request to see records that are identified
as "Restricted" or "Subject to Review"?
The first thing to do is to locate as closely as possible
the information that you would like to see. Generally, this
means determining the Record Group number, Series number
and, if possible, the file number of the records you would
like to look at. If you are having trouble doing this, you
can ask for assistance from either the Reference Archivist
or an Archivist who is responsible for the particular records
in which you are interested.
Once you have identified the information you are interested
in, there are two ways of making a Freedom of Information
request. The first way is to send a letter in writing to
the Information and Privacy Unit stating that you are making
a request for information under the Freedom of Information
and Privacy Act. Clearly state the information that you
would like to see. Be as specific as possible as this will
make it easier for staff to locate the records. Send your
letter to:
Coordinator, Information and Privacy Unit
Coordinator, Freedom of Information and Privacy
Archives of Ontario
77 Grenville St., Unit 300
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1B3
Your request must be accompanied by a $5.00 application
fee made payable to the Minister of Finance. If you are
submitting your application by mail, send either a cheque
or a money order. Do not send cash through the mail.
The second way to make a Freedom of Information request
is to complete an Access/Correction Request form. These
are available in the Archives of Ontario reading rooms.
A reference archivist can contact a member of the Information
and Privacy Unit who will come down and take your request,
process the fee and provide you with a written receipt.
If you have trouble filling out the form, a member of the
Information and Privacy Unit is available to provide you
with assistance.
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What happens once I've made a request?
Once a request has been made, the Access Review Officer
who is assigned your request will locate the records you
have requested. The officer will then review them to see
if they contain any information which is exempt under the
Act and must be severed from the record before they can
be released to you. It may be necessary to contact you at
some point during the processing of your request, so make
sure you include your phone number on your request.
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How long does it take to process a request?
Once your request has been received, you should receive
a response within thirty days. However, while the Archives
responds to each request as quickly as possible, it is not
always possible to respond to a request within the thirty
day time period. The Act provides that the timeframe for
responses can be extended. Some factors which can affect
the speed at which your request is looked at include the
amount of material you are requesting access to and the
number of other requests already in the unit when you make
your request. Please feel free to discuss the estimated
response time with an Access Review Officer at the time
you make your request. If you are making your request by
mail, you can contact a member in the Information and Privacy
Unit by telephoning either 327-1600 or 1-800-668-9933 (toll-free
in Ontario).
You will be notified by an Access Review Officer if there
will be delays in processing your request beyond the time
initially discussed.
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How will I be notified of a decision?
You will be notified of the decision on your request in
writing by mail. The Freedom of Information and Privacy
Coordinator's letter will inform you of the Archivist of
Ontario's access decision, any fees involved and information
on filing an appeal should you not agree with the decision.
If you have any questions or concerns about the access decision,
please contact the Access Review Officer assigned to your
request at the number provided on the letter.
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You mention other fees. What are these for?
There are several types of fees involved when making a
request under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.
The Act states that fees must be charged for various services.
The basic fee schedule is:
Search time:
$7.50/15 minutes This is a charge for time that staff
spend looking for records responsive to your request.
Search costs can be kept to a minimum when you identify
the records you want as specifically as possible.
Preparation time:
$7.50/15 minutes If a record is found to contain information
that is exempt under the Act, this information must be
removed before you can look at the records. In order to
do this, a process called severing is done. This process
involves photocopying the original record and removing
the information in question with a black magic marker
on the photocopy and recopying the altered copy.
Photocopying:
$0.20/page This is the charge to provide you with
photocopies of the responsive records. If you choose to
examine the original records in the Reading Room and upon
examination decide to have copies made, you will be charged
the regular archives fee for reproduction. Copy charges
also apply to copies made for the purpose of severing.
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I really need this information but I can't afford to pay
the fee. What can I do?
There is a provision in the act which permits the Archivist
of Ontario to grant a fee waiver in certain specific cases
such as financial hardship. If you think it will be necessary
to request a fee waiver, please consult with the Access
Review Officer assigned to your request.
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Where can I get more information about the Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act?
A copy of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act is
available through the Archives of Ontario Library. You can
also visit the Access and Privacy Office, Ministry of Government Services web-site at:
http://www.accessandprivacy.gov.on.ca/english/act/index.html
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