1-003 Freedom of Information Request Policy1-003
Page 1 of 2
ADMINISTRATIVE
Policy 1 -003: Freedom of Information Request Policy
Approval Date: October 11, 2011
Approval Authority: Council, By-Law 3544
Effective Date: October 11, 2011
Next Scheduled Review Year: 2025
Department: Office of the Clerk
Last reviewed: 2021
Revision Date/s:
Schedules:
POLICY STATEMENT
Some of the Town of Tillsonburg's records might be available without having to make a
formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Some records - such as Council Minutes
and Reports are available on the Town's Website. Other records are available by
contacting the Clerk, clerks@tillsonburg.ca or (519) 688-3009, ext. 4040 or the Director
of Development & Communication Services.
Before making a formal FOI request, you may wish to search our website or contact the
appropriate department to find out if the record can be provided to you without a formal
request. If a FOI request is required, please contact the Clerk.
To make a formal FOI request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) for records in the care and custody of the Town,
follow these steps:
• Fill out a request form provided by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of
Ontario (IPC - attached); or by visiting our website at www.tillsonburg.ca of
www.ipc.on.ca;
• Send a letter to the Town Clerk, 200 Broadway, Tillsonburg, ON N4G 5A7;
• All applications must be accompanied by a $5 application fee.
Please Note: A $5 application fee stipulated by the Act must accompany the
form/request letter in order to initiate the FOI request. The application fee may be paid
1-003
Page 2 of 2
either by cash, cheque, money order or by Interac, if you are making your request in
person.
Cheques and money orders should be payable to the Town of Tillsonburg.
PURPOSE
SCOPE
IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE
1. MFIPPA Fees:
In addition to the $5 application fee, we are permitted under MFIPPA legislation
to charge the following fees which are typical for most requests:
• $7.50 per 15 minutes of time spent searching for, retrieving and preparing
a record for disclosure including the time to sever any part of the record in
accordance with the exemptions under the Act.
• $0.20 per page for photocopying and computer printouts.
Other fees may be charged depending on the nature of the request. The FOI
coordinator will apprise you in advance of what these fees are in accordance with
the Act.
If Town staff believes the request will cost more than $25, we will contact you for
approval to proceed with the request or to give you the opportunity to revise your
request in order to reduce the costs.
If Town staff believes the request will cost more than $100, we will contact you to
request a 50 per cent deposit of the estimated cost before proceeding with the
request. No records will be released until all outstanding fees are paid.
The Town reserves the right to request the fee to be paid prior to access to the
records being given.
2. Response Time
The Town has 30 calendar days (including weekends and statutory holidays)
from the date we receive your $5 application fee to respond to your FOI request.
There are circumstances where we may require an extension; if such an
extension is required, we will notify you in writing.
In the case where a 50 per cent deposit is required, our work on your request will
cease once we notify you of the need for the deposit, and resume once we
receive your deposit.