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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION & PROTECTION OF PRIVACY
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) is provincial legislation that ensures transparency and accountability within public bodies while protecting personal privacy. Under FOIPPA, individuals have the right to request access to records in the custody or control of the Township of Spallumcheen, subject to certain exceptions set out in the Act.
The Act also establishes rules for how the Township collects, uses, stores, and discloses personal information.
The FOIPPA LEGISLATION applies to all records in the custody or under the control of a public body, subject to exceptions identified in the Act.
This Act is meant to help public bodies be open and responsible, while protecting people’s personal information. It does this by:
Most Township records are available to the public and can often be accessed without submitting a formal Freedom of Information request. These may include:
Residents are encouraged to contact the Township of Spallumcheen to determine whether the information sought is already publicly available.
If the information you are seeking is not publicly available, you may submit a formal Freedom of Information (FOIPPA) request under the FOIPPA Legislation.
Your request must:
FOIPPA request forms are available online or can be obtained from the Township office.
In addition to the $10.00 application fee, additional costs may apply for:
Under Section 75 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Township may charge fees to cover the cost of processing access to information requests. These fees are set out in the Township of Spallumcheen Fees and Charges Bylaw and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy bylaw and follow the maximum amounts allowed under provincial regulations.
There is no fee to access your own personal information. In addition, the first three hours spent searching for and retrieving records are free of charge. If your request involves a large number of records, we will provide you with a fee estimate before moving forward. A deposit may be required before we proceed with your request.
To help keep fees low and reduce costs, please keep your request as specific as possible and include a date range where you can. Our records go back many years, and narrower requests are faster and less costly to process.
The Act sets out specific situations where information cannot be shared. In these cases, certain records or parts of records must be protected and are not released to the public. Some exemptions are required by law, while others may be applied at the discretion of the FOIPPA Head, depending on the details of the request.
To provide a complete response, requests may be transferred to additional public bodies if they hold relevant records. You will be informed before any transfer takes place, as each additional public body is subject to an additional fee.
The Township may refuse access to certain information when disclosure is restricted by law. This usually happens to protect:
If any part of a record is withheld, you will be told why the information was removed and which section(s) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act apply. If you are not satisfied with how the Township has responded to your FOIPPA request, you may ask the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia to review the decision.