The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act establishes the right of access to records held by municipal governments and local agencies, boards and commissions.
The Act is governed by the following principles:
- Any information held by government, should, in general, be available to the public;
- Any exemptions from the right of access to information should be limited and specific;
- Any decisions relating to access to information can be reviewed by Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner;
- Anyone can make an information request.
Requesting information
If you require information, you should always contact the department that holds the information to see if it can be provided without a formal request. Many records can be provided without a formal request. If a record is not routinely disclosed, a formal request will be required.
If your request is for your own personal information, include a photocopy of a piece of identification with your signature. If you are requesting information on behalf of another person, include a letter with their signature authorizing you to make the request along with a photocopy of a piece of identification with their signature.
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Making a request
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To request information through MFIPPA, follow the steps below:
- Requesters must complete a request form or write a letter stating that they are asking for access to records under the Act.
- The form/letter must be emailed to the Chief Administrative Officer.
- There is a $5.00 application fee that must be paid for all requests. Cheques should be made payable to "Township of Southwold".
- We will locate the records requested and within 30 days make a decision to either release the records entirely, in part, or to deny access to them.
- On occasion, we may ask for an extension if the request is for an extensive number of records or if an outside party needs to be contacted.
- The Chief Administrative Officer will write a decision letter to the requestor advising which records are being released or explaining why access is being denied to records.
- The requester may access the records at the Municipal Office, or photocopies or electronic copies can be made for a fee.
- The decision letter will also explain the appeal process to the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) if the requester is not satisfied with the decision made by the Municipality.
- The IPC will attempt to achieve a mediated settlement of the appeal.
- If this is unsuccessful, the appeal will go to an inquiry. The IPC will issue an Order either upholding the decision or directing that some or all of the denied records be released to the requester.
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Fees for general information requests
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General information requests
| Service | Fee |
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Application fee
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$5.00 (must be received before we process request)
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Photocopy printouts
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$0.20 per page
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Search time
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$7.50 for every 15 minutes
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Record preparation
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$15 for every 15 minutes
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Disks (CDs)
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$10 each
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Shipping costs
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Additional
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NSF cheques
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$40
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- We will contact you with an estimated cost before processing your request if we believe it will cost more than $25.
- You will need to pay 50 per cent of that cost before we proceed if it is more than $100.
- All fees must be paid by cash, cheque or money order, payable to “Township of Southwold”. Do not mail cash.
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Fees for personal information requests
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Personal information requests
| Service | Fee |
|---|
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Application fee
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$5.00 (must be received before we process request)
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Photocopy printouts
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$0.20 per page
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NSF cheques
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$40
|
- We will contact you with an estimated cost before processing your request if we believe it will cost more than $25.
- You will need to pay 50 per cent of that cost before we proceed if it is more than $100.
- All fees must be paid by cash, cheque or money order, payable to “Township of Southwold”. Do not mail cash.
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