FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY PROCEDURES

DEFINITIONS

Access – The availability of records of the Commission for a member of the public to view or copy. The Act provides any person with a right to access to records or to their own personal information that is in the custody or under the control of a public body.

Act – means Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSA 2000, c. F-25.

Applicant – Any person who makes a request under the Act for access to a record.

Collection – Collection occurs when a public body gathers, acquires, receives or obtains personal information. It includes activities where individuals respond through interviews, questionnaires, surveys, polling, or by completing forms in order to provide information to public bodies. The means of collection may be in writing, audio or video taping, electronic data entry or other such means that results in personal information being recorded.

Commission – means the Edmonton Police Commission

Complaint – A formal expression of dissatisfaction submitted by an applicant or other person to the Privacy Commissioner. A complaint may be based on one or more of the grounds specified in the Act:

  • The Commission has not met its duty to assist;
  • The Commission’s extension of time for responding to a request is not in accordance with the Act;
  • A fee charged by the Commission is inappropriate;
  • A correction of personal information has been refused without justification; or
  • Personal information has been collected, used or disclosed by the Commission in contravention of the Act.

Continuing Request – An access request that continues to be in effect for up to two years. A delivery schedule is provided to the applicant along with an explanation as to why those dates for delivery were chosen, and the request is reactivated at intervals set out in the schedule. Each time the request is processed, records newly in the custody or under the control of the public body since the last delivery are provided to the applicant.

Custody – For the purposes of determining whether a record is “in the custody of” a public body such that the Act applies, “custody” means physical possession.

Disclosure – Disclosure means to release, transmit, reveal, expose, show, provide copies of, tell the contents of, or give personal information by any means to someone. It includes oral transmission of information by telephone, or in person; provision of personal information on paper, by facsimile or
in another format; and electronic transmission through electronic mail, data transfer or the Internet.

Discretion – The power to make a decision that cannot be determined to be right or wrong in an objective sense. Discretion amounts to the power of the decision-maker to choose a particular course of action for good reasons and in good faith, after considering the relevant facts and circumstances; the applicable law, including the objects of the Act; and the proper application of the law to the relevant facts and circumstances.

Extension – In the context of the access request process under the Act, the lengthening of the 30-day time limit for responding to the request. An extension can be claimed only if:

  • the applicant does not provide enough details to enable the record to be identified;
  • a large number of records are requested or must be searched and responding within 30 days would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the public body;
  • more time is needed to consult with a third party or another public body before deciding whether to grant access to a record;
  • a third party requests a review of the public body’s decision on access to third party information; or
  • there are multiple concurrent requests made by the same applicant, or by two or more applicants who work for the same organization or who work in association with each other.

Fees – The charges that an applicant pays to the Commission for services related to the processing of an access request. The Regulation sets out the services for which fees may be charged and the maximum charges for providing these services. Fees may not exceed the actual cost of providing the service.

FOIPP – Refers to the Act.

FOIPP Coordinator – Means the person designated by the Commission responsible for the overall management of its access to information and protection of privacy functions and responsibilities.

Harm(s) Test – A test or set of criteria used to determine whether disclosure of records or information would cause damage or detriment to the Commission. To meet the standard required to decide that disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause harm the following must apply:

  • there must be a reasonable expectation of probable harm (not just a well-intentioned but unjustifiably cautious approach to the avoidance of any risk whatsoever because of the sensitivity of the matters at issue);
  • the harm must constitute damage or detriment, not mere interference or inconvenience; and
  • there must be a causal connection between disclosure and the anticipated harm.

Information – Information may mean, but is not limited to, operational or administrative records, knowledge or data, regardless of how it is stored or kept. It can include electronic data, written or printed information, and verbal conversation.

Personal Information – Is defined in s.1(n) of the Act and is recorded information about an identifiable individual, including but not limited to the individual’s name, home or business address or home or business telephone number, the individual’s race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religious or political beliefs or associations, the individual’s age, sex, marital or family status, information about the individual’s educational, financial, employment or criminal history, and anyone else’s opinions about the individual.

Privacy Commissioner – The Information and Privacy Commissioner appointed under the Act. The Privacy Commissioner is an Officer of the Legislature and is independent of government.

Public Body – Is defined in s.1(p) of the Act and includes the Commission and the City of Edmonton.

Public Interest – For the purpose of the mandatory provision for disclosure in the public interest found in section 32(1) of the Act, information “clearly in the public interest” refers to information of compelling public interest, not just of interest or of curiosity to the public, a group of people, a person, or the applicant.

Record – Is defined in s.1(q) of the Act and means a record of information in any form and includes notes, images, audio-visual recordings, x-rays, books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers and papers and any other information that is written, photographed, recorded or stored in any manner, but does not include software programs or packages or any mechanism that produces records.

Regulation – The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulation, Alta Reg 186/2008.

Routine Disclosure – A process whereby access to a record is granted without a request under the Act, usually in response to a routine inquiry or request.

Severing – The physical removal, by masking or other means, of any information that is excepted from disclosure in order that the remainder may be disclosed.

Transitory Record – A record that has only immediate or short-term usefulness and will not be needed again in the future. Transitory records contain information that is not required to meet legal or financial obligations or to sustain administrative or operational functions and has no archival value.

ACCESS TO RECORDS

Subject to the exceptions set out in the Act, any person has a right of access to any record in the custody or under the control of the Commission, including a record containing personal information about the applicant (section 6(1) of the Act).

There are no restrictions as to who may make a request. The applicant can be any person who is residing inside or outside of Alberta, including individuals, corporations, and organizations.

The Act does not specify a minimum age, which means that minors may also make requests.

Section 7(2) of the Act requires that the request be in writing and provide enough detail to enable the Commission to identify the record.

Alternatively, an applicant may simply write a letter or send an email requesting records and referencing the Act.

The Act provides the Commission with 30 calendar days to respond to a request for access to records. However, days spent clarifying the scope of the request or awaiting payment of fees or a decision on fee waiver will extend the 30-calendar day response time.

The Commission may take an additional 30 days if the scope of a request is large or if we need to consult with a third party about the records. Any other extensions of time must be approved by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.

Section 7(3) of the Act permits an applicant to examine the record or to obtain a copy of it. The right to examine the record is subject to section 4 of the Regulation. A Harm’s test may be applied to the request to determine whether allowing examination of the record would unreasonably interfere with the Commission’s operations or might result in the disclosure of information that the Commission may or must not disclose. In those circumstances, the Commission may require that the applicant be given a copy of the record rather than examining it.

Section 6(3) of the Act states that the right of access is subject to the payment of any fee required by the Regulation.

Section 11 of the Regulation states that an initial fee of $25 for a one-time request, or $50 for a continuing request, must accompany a request for general records. There is no initial fee when the applicant is requesting his or her own personal information.

The FOIPP Coordinator for the Commission will make every reasonable effort to assist applicants, and to respond to each applicant openly, accurately and completely. The Commission’s obligations under section 10(1) of the Act will continue throughout the request process.

FEES

The Act allows the Commission to charge fees to help offset the cost of providing applicants with access to records. The Act provides for a fee structure that is intended to support effective provision of services under the Act. (See attachment #1 for Schedule of Fees)

The Commission may require an applicant to pay fees for services as provided for in the Regulation (section 93(1)).

For personal information, fees are restricted to the cost of producing a copy of the record as per the Regulation if those costs exceed $10.00 (section 93(2)).

If fees are required under section 93(1), an estimate of the total fee will be prepared by the Commission’s FOIPP Coordinator for the applicant prior to providing the services.

An applicant may, in writing, request that the Commission excuse the applicant from paying all or part of the estimated fees (section 93(3.1)).

The Commission may excuse an applicant from paying all or part of a fee if, in the opinion of the FOIPP Coordinator:

  • the applicant cannot afford the payment or for any other reason it is fair to excuse the payment; or
  • the record relates to a matter of public interest.

Section 11(4) and Schedule 2 of the Regulation set out the maximum fees that may be charged for processing a general access request.
The Commission’s FOIPP Coordinator may require an applicant who makes a request under the Act to pay fees for the following services if the total amount of estimated fees exceeds $150.00:

  • locating and retrieving a record;
  • producing a record from an electronic record;
  • preparing a record for disclosure (to cover the time taken to physically sever the record);
  • producing a copy of a record;
  • creating a new record from an electronic record under section 10(2) of the Act;
  • supervising the examination of an original record; and
  • shipping.

GST is not charged on fees for processing FOIPP requests and fees must be made payable to the City of Edmonton.

The applicant has up to 20 days to accept the fee estimate and to pay 50% of the estimated fees, or to modify the scope of the request to reduce the fees, to request a waiver of the fees, or withdraw the request. Processing of a request will not commence until the initial fees have been paid or waived.

Applicants who submit a continuing request of up to two years pursuant to section 9(1) of the Act will be provided with an estimate of the total fees payable over the course of the continuing request and the fees that will be required for each scheduled installment of the request. Processing of these requests will cease until the applicant has provided 50% of the estimated fees applicable to the first installment. Since each installment of a continuing request is viewed as a new request, the processing of any subsequent installment starts only on receipt of 50% of the estimated fees applicable to the delivery of that installment.

Attachment #1 – FOIPP Fees