The Federal access to information regime
These types of requests are usually made by the general public or lawyers and are processed in about 38 days.
What are routine requests?
This Ontario law, in force since 1988, gives individuals the right to access records held by public institutions.
What is the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)?
This 2006 Act contains confidentiality provisions for "accountability officers" that specifically prevail over the access provisions of MFIPPA
What is the City of Toronto Act (COTA)?
The legal test requiring necessity and proportionality to justify limiting access
What is the Dagenais/Mentuck test?
This British newspaper published many of the Snowden leaks, bringing global attention to surveillance practices.
What is The Guardian?
Requests from this group often take 70–80 days and are more likely to be labeled as “sensitive.”
Who are journalists and political parties?
This is the amount applicants must pay when submitting a Freedom of Information request.
What is a $5 application fee?
Unlike private court cases, the IPC ruled that records concerning these official meeting results are "self-evidently" city business and subject to search.
What are City Council decisions (or minutes)?
The reason the court required notice to third parties before full disclosure
What is to ensure procedural fairness and protect the privacy rights of non-parties?
This former NSA contractor leaked classified documents in 2013, exposing mass surveillance programs.
Who is Edward Snowden?
This term describes when the government fails to respond within the legal deadline, with rates as high as 65% for political parties.
What is deemed refusal?
Under FIPPA, institutions must respond to an access request within this number of days.
What is 30 days?
If a Mayor sends a letter to this office revealing private correspondence, those attachments may be shielded by a duty of secrecy if they were sent "under instructions."
What is the Office of the Integrity Commissioner?
The core tension the court had to resolve in deciding the case
What is the conflict between the open court principle and privacy/procedural fairness?
This NSA surveillance program allowed direct access to data from major tech companies, including emails, chats, and stored files.
What is PRISM?
This internal label adds about 14.1 days to processing time and signals political sensitivity.
What is the “sensitive” or “advise the minister” tag?
This independent officer of the Legislature oversees appeals and ensures government accountability in access to information.
Who is the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC)?
Although it was founded by Robert Ford, this private charity was ruled "not part of any city business."
What is the Rob Ford Football Foundation?
Why the court allowed access but required redactions instead of denying access entirely.
What is because restrictions must be minimally impairing, so redaction was preferred over full denial?
The Snowden revelations about programs like PRISM highlight this core tension, where secrecy limits transparency and accountability in democratic systems.
What is the conflict between national security and democratic transparency (or access to information)?
This concept explains how the Access to Information system treats requests differently depending on who is asking and how sensitive the information is.
What are the “two standards”?
These types of exemptions allow institutions to withhold certain records, such as cabinet secrets or law enforcement information, under FIPPA.
What are mandatory and discretionary exemptions?
This occurs when a public official wrongfully combines their roles as a public office holder and a private citizen.
What is a breach of the Code of Conduct?
The broader constitutional value reinforced by allowing media access to court exhibits.
What is freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the Charter?
This global intelligence alliance, which includes Canada, enables countries to share surveillance data collected through programs like PRISM.
What is the Five Eyes?