Freedom of Information and Privacy

*General Requests: any request that do not contain your personal information.

Examples of general requests include:

• An agreement
• A City report
• Emails about a City program 

Personal Requests: requests for records that contain your personal information. 

Examples of a personal request include:

• Your Human Resources Files (if you are/were a City employee)
• Bylaw complaints in which you are a party
• 311 call ticket notes in which you are a party

Personal Information Request on behalf of someone else: In some instances, someone else ​(an applicant) may be​ submitting a personal request on behalf of ​a​n individual, and it ​i​s necessary to determine whether the applicant has the authorization of the individual whose information is requested, or has some other right under the Act.

Common examples of persons who might reasonably request information about another individual are the legal representative of the individual and insurance companies who have their insured's authorization. Applicants may use the Authorization of Representative form form to document permission. When submitting your application online, you can upload the completed form.

The right of access to records does not apply to records that are excluded under section 4 of the FOIP Act. The right of access is also subject to limited and specific exceptions that are set out in the Act. 

There are 2 types of exceptions under the Act: "mandatory" and "discretionary." Mandatory means the City must apply the exception and discretionary means that the City may choose to apply the exception to withhold the records. For example, the City must (“mandatory”) withhold information that would be an unreasonable invasion of someone else’s personal privacy, but it may (“discretionary”) withhold information that is analysis or advice used to make a decision.

When information is withheld in response to an access-to-information request, the applicant will be advised of the exception to disclosure that was applied.

The Act provides some situations where fees can be reduced or waived entirely. The CAP Office can assist you in narrowing the scope of your request and provide other suggestions to reduce your costs. The CAP Office can also accept written requests with supporting documentation to be considered for a fee waiver.

The Act states that the applicant may not need to pay fees for the release of records in the public interest.  If you believe it is in the public interest to release the records you are requesting, please raise this with the CAP Analyst assigned to your file.

The FOIP Act provides the City with 30 calendar days to respond to your request. However, days spent clarifying the scope of your request or awaiting payment of fees will extend the 30 calendar day response time.

The City may take an additional 30 days if the scope of your request is large or if we need to consult with a third party about the records. Any other extensions of time must be approved by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.

No. We process requests in the order that they are received, but we do our best to respond as quickly as possible.

You may change your address and contact information for some City services by contacting 311.  If you want to correct other information about yourself please contact the CAP Office at foip@edmonton.ca or 780-496-5222.