Freedom of Information

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) promotes the general principles that public body information should be available to the public and personal information respecting individuals held by government should not be improperly disclosed.

Requesting access to information

FIPPA established a process by which an individual may request access to records held by the Town of Osoyoos. A "record" by definition in the Act includes "books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers, papers, and any other thing on which information is recorded or stored by graphic, electronic, mechanical or other means, but does not include a computer program or any other mechanism that produces records". The Act also provides an appeal procedure involving an independent Information and Privacy Commissioner.

The general right of access to records is restricted by certain specified and limited exceptions. For example, an applicant will not get access to someone else's personal information without their permission, or information which would harm third party business interests.

Follow the steps below to request access to information.

A non-refundable application fee of $10 is required for all General FOI requests and must be paid for the request to be processed.

Step 1: Confirm if the information is already available through routine release

The majority of information held by the Town of Osoyoos can be accessed through normal requests to staff without using FIPPA. Examples of this include: answers to questions related to departmental operations, open agendas, open minutes, bylaws, certain property related information, publications, policies and procedures. View the list of routinely available documents below:

Frequently Available Records List

Routinely releasable records from the last 7 years are the responsibility of the originating department.

Step 2: Contact the department directly to request records

Step 3: Contact the Corporate Services Department to locate your records

If you cannot access the records you seek via Step 1 or Step 2, please contact the Corporate Services Department to discuss your record needs. FOI staff can assist you to narrow the scope and time frame to avoid delays before you submit a formal request (step 4).

Email: info@osoyoos.ca
Phone: 250.495.6515

Some records are not held by the Town of Osoyoos, and may be under the custody and control of other government bodies. Examples of requests that should be handled by other bodies include:

Land title information: Please file your request with the Land Title and Survey Authority

Step 4: Submit a formal Request

A formal request or a request for access to personal information that is not routinely available can be made using a formal process specified in FIPPA. Unlike routine requests, the formal request must be made in writing. The request should provide sufficient detail to assist staff in locating/retrieving the records.

Download a FOI Request form here.

Owner Authorization Form (Contact Corporate Services if you are unsure whether you require this form)

If there is any reason why you are not able to submit this form online, we would accept your request in writing to Corporate Services, 8707 Main Street, Box 3010, Osoyoos BC, V0H1V0 or via email at info@osoyoos.ca

Formal and personal information requests are confidential and only FOI Department staff who are required to know your identity will be handling your personal information. Therefore, requesters are strongly encouraged to contact the Corporate Services Department to discuss their record needs prior to submitting a formal request to allow staff to advise on how to narrow the scope, time and potential costs and charges the FOI may require. Every effort is made to reduce the cost to Town of Osoyoos tax payers for handling FOI requests while also assisting applicants openly, accurately, completely, and without delay. Please be advised if formal or personal information requests are submitted with missing information or requests span over too broad of a search area or time period, staff are required to contact requesters and clarify or update the information before proceeding in each search and record request.

Step 5: Fees

Under the authority of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and the Town of Osoyoos Administrative Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 1331, 2017, a non-refundable $10 application fee is required for all FOI requests. Once the Town receives and verifies the scope of the request, a notice for application fee and payment instruction will be sent to the applicant. Your records request will only be further processed after receipt of application fee payment.

Pursuant to Section 75 of FIPPA and the Town of Osoyoos Freedom of Information Bylaw No. 1193, 2003 there may be fees for providing prescribed services to applicant. If a processing cost is required for the processing of a formal request, the Town will provide the applicant a written estimate of the total fees before providing the services.

Personal information requests

If you are requesting your own personal information, a request may be made through this form.

The non-refundable $10 application fee does not apply to requests for access to one’s own personal information. For protection of personal privacy, the Town is required to verify the identity of the applicant with a piece of government issued photo ID.

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC

If you would like further information about the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, you can contact the Provincial Commissioner's Office at:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC
Fourth Floor, 1675 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
Telephone: 250.387.5629
Email

Electronic copies of the Act, Commissioner's Orders, Investigation Reports and annual reports are available at the Information and Privacy Commissioner's website.

For more information regarding Freedom of Information requests please contact the Director or Corporate Services.

Privacy Management Program Framework

Alerts

Water Quality Advisory