The Municipal Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (MFIPPA), which came into force on January 1, 1991, establishes a set of statutory obligations that must be considered when responding to formal access to information requests. There is a general right of access to records under MFIPPA however, this right is subject to the application of exemptions that may apply to the records.
Stone Mills Township Council has delegated its functions and responsibilities under MFIPPA to the Township Clerk. Records are disclosed to requesters in accordance with the disclosure provisions of MFIPPA.
What is MFIPPA?
Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, (the Act), provides individuals with a right of access to both general information and their own personal information maintained by municipal government, including local agencies, boards and commissions.
A decision by a municipal government, agency, board or commission to deny access to certain types of information can be appealed to the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario (IPC/O).
The Act also provides a privacy protection scheme relating to the collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal information in the custody and/or control of municipal governments.
There is a mandatory $5.00 application fee which must accompany each request for information.
Depending on the nature of your request (general records or a request for your own personal information) or the volume of records requested, additional processing costs may apply to your request.
How to make an access request
To make a request for a general record, your personal information or request a correction to your personal information, write a letter or forward a completed Access Request form to the Township Clerk.
Include with your request, the mandatory, non-refundable $5.00 application fee. Your cheque or money order should be made to payable to Stone Mills Township.
Be sure to describe, in detail, the types of records, which you are requesting access to under the Act.
If you choose to write a letter rather than fill out a form, include:
- your full mailing address
- a telephone number at which you can be reached during the day
- names of specific files or types of records to which you request access, including specific dates of those records, where possible.
Please provide as much detail as possible. This enables staff to conduct a faster search for the requested information and helps keep down any costs for search time or, if necessary, the transfer of your request to the appropriate institution for a response.
Identification required
If the request is for your own personal information, please include a photocopy of a piece of identification bearing your signature.
If you are acting as an agent for an individual other than yourself, please include a signed, dated note/letter of consent from that individual authorizing you to act on his or her behalf.
How to send your request to the Township
Completed requests for information and the accompanying mandatory application fee of $5.00 should be mailed or hand-delivered to the Township Clerk's office.
Please note: Personal information is not secure if sent by fax transmission. As you are required to provide your name, home address and telephone number with your request for information, we do not recommend sending your request by fax.
How to appeal an access decision
If you are not satisfied with the access decision made by the Township, you may appeal the decision to the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario, who is appointed by the Ontario Legislative Assembly. The Commissioner is independent and makes impartial decisions under MFIPPA independently of the Township.
If you wish to appeal an access decision made by the Township you must, within 30 days of receiving the decision, write to the Commissioner's office stating that you wish to appeal the Township's decision.
Include in your letter of appeal a copy of your original request for information and a copy of the Township's decision letter. Forward your request for an appeal together with the appropriate fee to the Commissioner's office.
The Commissioner's office is located at 80 Bloor Street West, Suite 1700, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2V1. Telephone number: 416-326-3333. You can also reach the office at http://www.ipc.on.ca.
Appeal application fees
If you are appealing a request for access to your personal information or a correction to your personal information, the mandatory appeal fee is $10.00. If you are appealing a request for access to general information, the mandatory appeal fee is $25.00.
The appeal fee must accompany your request to appeal and may be paid by cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance.
Fees for information requests
An individual making a request for information under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) will be required to pay certain fees. The rules regarding the payment and amount of fees are set out in the act and its regulations.
Fees – requests for personal information
A request for personal information about oneself is considered a “personal information request”.
The following fees apply to requests for your personal information.
Application fee: |
$5.00 |
To be paid when you submit your request. This fee is mandatory and not subject to waiver. |
Appeal fee: |
$10.00 |
To be paid to IPC with request to appeal. |
*Photocopying |
$0.20/page |
(Requester's copy only). |
Computer Programming |
$15.00/ ¼ hour |
If needed to develop program to retrieve information (requester's copy only). |
Floppy disks |
$10.00 |
For each disk. |
* Please note that you have the option of viewing originals on site. Select photocopying fees still apply.
Fees - request for general information
Requests for information, whether about a person other than yourself or about a government program or activity are considered “general information requests”. The following fees apply to requests for general information:
Application fee: |
$5.00 |
To be paid when you submit your request. this fee is mandatory and not subject to waiver. |
Appeal fee: |
$25.00 |
To be paid to IPC with request to appeal. |
Search time: |
$7.50/ ¼ hour |
Required to search and retrieve records. |
Record Preparation |
$7.50/ ¼ hour |
Required to prepare records for release. |
* Photocopying |
$0.20/ page |
(Requester's copy only). |
Computer Programming |
$15.00/ ¼ hour |
If needed to develop program to retrieve Information. |
Floppy disks |
$10.00 |
For each disk. |
* Please note that you have the option of viewing originals on site. Select photocopying fees still apply.
Privacy and security statement
Stone Mills Township is committed to protecting the privacy of any personal information you may provide when visiting our Web site. Part of that commitment is to explain what information may be collected and why, how it will be used and who may have access to it. Our practices have been designed to ensure compliance with the privacy provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
This privacy statement applies to interactions with the Stone Mills Township Web server. It does not apply to any other Web site. The following is an overview of our Web site practices:
Personal information When you visit the Stone Mills Township Web site, you do so anonymously – there is no need to tell us who you are. If you direct an inquiry to a Township department, we will ask you to provide your name and mailing address or e-mail address for the purpose of responding to your enquiry. Only those who “need to know” will have access to the personal information provided. The Township Web server does not collect or retain your e-mail address in a database format although some Internet Service Providers may automatically include your e-mail address with your IP address (Internet Protocol). Any Township site where personal information is requested will contain a notice outlining our legal authority to collect it and include the following information:
- the purpose for collecting the personal information;
- how it will be used and who will have access to it;
- who to contact if you have any questions about these practices.
Personal information is only disposed of according to a records retention schedule. To ensure personal information is unrecoverable, a utility program is used to remove the electronic data and any paper records generated are shredded.
Logging practices
Stone Mills Township logs HTTP requests to the Township Web server. These logs record the IP address of site visitors. An IP address is the number automatically assigned to the computer or to the ISP (Internet Service Provider) requesting a URL.
Our logging is passive and we don't use technologies such as “cookies” or “Web bugs” to maintain any information on site visitors. Logged information, also known as click stream data, is recorded in non-identifiable form and is used by Township staff or those under contract for Web site system administration. Log files are archived and used for systems analysis, maintenance and site evaluation. |
