Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER F.31

Consolidation Period: From December 4, 2023 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2023, c. 21, Sched. 10, s. 13.

CONTENTS

Purposes

1 The purposes of this Act are,

(a) to provide a right of access to information under the control of institutions in accordance with the principles that,

(i) information should be available to the public,

(ii) necessary exemptions from the right of access should be limited and specific, and

(iii) decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government; and

(b) to protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by institutions and to provide individuals with a right of access to that information. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31, s. 1.

Limited application re Assembly

1.1 (1) This Act applies to the Assembly, but only in respect of records of reviewable expenses of the Opposition leaders and the persons employed in their offices and in respect of the personal information contained in those records. 2002, c. 34, Sched. B, s. 2.

Same

(2) Sections 11, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 44, 45 and 46 do not apply with respect to the Assembly. 2002, c. 34, Sched. B, s. 2.

Definitions

(3) In this section,

“Opposition leader” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Cabinet Ministers’ and Opposition Leaders’ Expenses Review and Accountability Act, 2002; (“chef d’un parti de l’opposition”)

“reviewable expense” means a reviewable expense as described in section 3 of the Cabinet Ministers’ and Opposition Leaders’ Expenses Review and Accountability Act, 2002. (“dépense sujette à examen”) 2002, c. 34, Sched. B, s. 2.

Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, subsection (3) is repealed and the following substituted: (See: 2014, c. 13, Sched. 4, ss. 8, 9)

Definitions

(3) In this section,

“Opposition leader” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Politicians’ Expenses Review Act, 2002; (“chef d’un parti de l’opposition”)

“reviewable expense” means a reviewable expense as described in section 3 of the Politicians’ Expenses Review Act, 2002. (“dépense sujette à examen”) 2014, c. 13, Sched. 4, s. 8.

Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y)

2002, c. 34, Sched. B, s. 2 - 1/01/2003

2014, c. 13, Sched. 4, s. 8 - not in force

Definitions

2 (1) In this Act,

“close relative” means a parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece, including by adoption; (“proche parent”)

“ecclesiastical records” means the operational, administrative and theological records, including records relating to the practice of faith, of a church or other religious organization; (“documents ecclésiastiques”)

“educational institution” means an institution that is a college of applied arts and technology or a university; (“établissement d’enseignement”)

“head”, in respect of an institution, means,

(0.a) in the case of the Assembly, the Speaker,

(a) in the case of a ministry, the minister of the Crown who presides over the ministry,

(a.1) in the case of a public hospital, the chair of the board of the hospital,

(a.2) in the case of a private hospital, the superintendent,

(a.3) in the case of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute/Institut de cardiologie de l’Université d’Ottawa, the Chair of the board, and

(b) in the case of any other institution, the person designated as head of that institution in the regulations; (“personne responsable”)

“hospital” means,

(a) a public hospital,

(b) a private hospital, and

(c) the University of Ottawa Heart Institute/Institut de cardiologie de l’Université d’Ottawa; (“hôpital”)

“Information and Privacy Commissioner” and “Commissioner” mean the Commissioner appointed under subsection 4 (2); (“commissaire à l’information et à la protection de la vie privée”, “commissaire”)

“institution” means,

(0.a) the Assembly,

(a) a ministry of the Government of Ontario,

(a.1) a service provider organization within the meaning of section 17.1 of the Ministry of Government Services Act,

(a.2) a hospital, and

(b) any agency, board, commission, corporation or other body designated as an institution in the regulations; (“institution”)

“law enforcement” means,

(a) policing,

(b) investigations or inspections that lead or could lead to proceedings in a court or tribunal if a penalty or sanction could be imposed in those proceedings, or

(c) the conduct of proceedings referred to in clause (b); (“exécution de la loi”)

“personal information” means recorded information about an identifiable individual, including,

(a) information relating to the race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or marital or family status of the individual,

(b) information relating to the education or the medical, psychiatric, psychological, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved,

(c) any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,

(d) the address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual,

(e) the personal opinions or views of the individual except where they relate to another individual,

(f) correspondence sent to an institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature, and replies to that correspondence that would reveal the contents of the original correspondence,

(g) the views or opinions of another individual about the individual, and

(h) the individual’s name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual; (“renseignements personnels”)

“personal information bank” means a collection of personal information that is organized and capable of being retrieved using an individual’s name or an identifying number or particular assigned to the individual; (“banque de renseignements personnels”)

“private hospital” means a private hospital within the meaning of the Private Hospitals Act; (“hôpital privé”)

“public hospital” means a hospital within the meaning of the Public Hospitals Act; (“hôpital public”)

“recognized party” has the same meaning as in subsection 62 (5) of the Legislative Assembly Act; (“parti reconnu”)

“record” means any record of information however recorded, whether in printed form, on film, by electronic means or otherwise, and includes,

(a) correspondence, a memorandum, a book, a plan, a map, a drawing, a diagram, a pictorial or graphic work, a photograph, a film, a microfilm, a sound recording, a videotape, a machine readable record, any other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, and any copy thereof, and

(b) subject to the regulations, any record that is capable of being produced from a machine readable record under the control of an institution by means of computer hardware and software or any other information storage equipment and technical expertise normally used by the institution; (“document”)

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“responsible minister” means the minister of the Crown who is designated by order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council under section 3; (“ministre responsable”)

“spouse” means,

(a) a spouse as defined in section 1 of the Family Law Act, or

(b) either of two persons who live together in a conjugal relationship outside marriage. (“conjoint”) R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31, s. 2 (1); 2002, c. 34, Sched. B, s. 3; 2005, c. 28, Sched. F, s. 1 (1, 3); 2006, c. 19, Sched. N, s. 1 (1); 2006, c. 34, Sched. C, s. 1; 2006, c. 34, Sched. F, s. 1 (1); 2010, c. 25, s. 24 (1-5); 2016, c. 23, s. 49 (1); 2018, c. 17, Sched. 19, s. 1; 2021, c. 4, Sched. 11, s. 11.

Personal information

(2) Personal information does not include information about an individual who has been dead for more than thirty years. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31, s. 2 (2).

Business identity information, etc.

(3) Personal information does not include the name, title, contact information or designation of an individual that identifies the individual in a business, professional or official capacity. 2006, c. 34, Sched. C, s. 2.

Same

(4) For greater certainty, subsection (3) applies even if an individual carries out business, professional or official responsibilities from their dwelling and the contact information for the individual relates to that dwelling. 2006, c. 34, Sched. C, s. 2.

Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y)

2002, c. 34, Sched. B, s. 3 (1, 2) - 1/01/2003

2005, c. 28, Sched. F, s. 1 (1) - 10/06/2006; 2005, c. 28, Sched. F, s. 1 (3) - 22/06/2006

2006, c. 19, Sched. N, s. 1 (1) - 22/06/2006; 2006, c. 34, Sched. C, s. 1 (1, 2), 2 - 1/04/2007; 2006, c. 34, Sched. F, s. 1 (1) - 1/04/2007

2010, c. 25, s. 24 (1-5) - 1/01/2012

2016, c. 23, s. 49 (1) - 01/01/2017

2017, c. 25, Sched. 9, s. 94 (1-4) - no effect - see 2023, c. 4, Sched. 1, s. 67 - 18/05/2023

2018, c. 17, Sched. 19, s. 1 (1, 2) - 06/12/2018

2021, c. 4, Sched. 11, s. 11 - 19/04/2021

PART I
ADMINISTRATION

Responsible minister

3 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may by order designate a minister of the Crown to be the responsible minister for the purposes of this Act. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31, s. 3.

Information and Privacy Commissioner

4 (1) There shall be an Information and Privacy Commissioner who is an officer of the Assembly. 2018, c. 17, Sched. 19, s. 2.

Appointment

(2) The Assembly shall, by order, appoint the Information and Privacy Commissioner. 2018, c. 17, Sched. 19, s. 2.

Selection by panel

(3) Unless decided otherwise by unanimous consent of the Assembly, an order shall be made under subsection (2) only if the person to be appointed has been selected by unanimous agreement of a panel...