Computer chips are the foundation of communication. This original artwork mimics the lines of electronic circuits, the conduits of the sharing of information through the veins of our technology. The artist is greatly influenced by the Bauhaus and punk zine eras in their artistic practice.

Original artwork by Aedán Crooke, on loan to the Information Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. The piece is copyrighted by the artist and is not permitted for use outside this website or project.

City of Brampton

Access Request Indexes published online show how and what records are released publicly under access laws

The City of Brampton’s Access Request Indexes makes details readily available online about how the city responds to each access to information request it receives.

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The City of Brampton posts detailed information online about the access to information requests it receives under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).

Narrator:

Here at the city of Brampton, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to improve government transparency and accountability. We also have many open data initiatives currently in place to ensure information is readily available wherever we can make it possible. One initiative led by the access and privacy team involves the access to information requests, also known as Freedom of Information Requests. The city of Brampton is bound by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. As this is a mouthful, I’ll refer to it as MFIPPA here on in.

At the city, we create an index of records to accompany all city decisions related to access requests received under MFIPPA, and this initiative that we’re talking about today actually publishes these indexes onto the city’s website. So just to showcase that, we’ll open up the city’s homepage. This is the homepage. And if you hover around City Hall and click on Access and Privacy, placed right under Accountability and Transparency, it will take you to this page.

Now, if you scroll down, you’ll see Archive of Access to Information Requests. If you click on that, this is the webpage that we are referring to. This webpage is intentionally organized the way it is, placing the 2022 request right in front, which is the most recent decisions made. And it also provides you links to the previous calendar year’s request. Now this allows members, staff, or the public to review what type of requests the city receives, and it gives you a little understanding of some trends that we’re seeing that are different from previous years. As you see on this webpage, the summary of the index is detailed right on the left and on the right we have some hyperlinks to the index, which is the index that is usually issued to the requester. Now I say usually because we do make some little modifications to ensure the personal privacy of individuals are always protected.

So just to take a look at one, we’ll click onto this one. There was no responsive records. Let’s choose another one. So in terms of index, what the city of Brampton discloses in on this webpage is not the records itself but the index and it describes the page numbers related to the records, a description of records, the type of access granted, whether that be full, in part, and sometimes denied.=, And the sections of the act that we applied of the MFIPPA Act. We also have a section for comments if we have any. And then we always put the wording of the request right at the bottom and then the unique identifier of the request at the top.

Now, going back, as I said, that we do modify certain requests because there is personal information in it. Now, it could be a property address or a name, but because it’s relating to some context, it becomes personal information. We want to be always mindful of this, so staff are always looking back at the indexes and ensuring anything personal is protected there.

This webpage has helped us a lot internally and externally. Internally with staff members. Staff members have an interest in understanding MFIPPA and they’re also really interested in understanding what the city’s decision is on certain access requests. And this webpage has helped us communicate that to staff members. I would say equally importantly, members of the public actually have been shared this webpage to show potentially similar requests to theirs and what type of decision is made on similar requests. Now, it’s important to know that all of our decisions are guided by MFIPPA and guided documents by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. So it provides them a little more understanding of what sections they can see applied to their potential request if it’s very similar to a previously submitted one.

This webpage has been working very amazingly for us, and we feel that it’s a great initiative that other organizations should look into. We have definitely reaped the benefits out of it, and we’d love to share this idea. We also hope this competition shows some great initiatives in place in other organizations that maybe we can start implementing in ours. So we’re very excited to share ours and looking forward to the other initiatives in place in other organizations. Thank you.

See the French for glossary

The city receives access to information requests on a range of topics, from city expenses to municipality-issued tickets, and all requests are treated equally. For each one, the city’s Access and Privacy team creates an index that includes a summary of the request, a breakdown of responsive records by page number, details on the applicable sections of the law, the type of access granted, and any additional comments. Before they upload the index, to protect privacy, they ensure the records contain no personal information. The city’s Archive of Access Requests web page provides an online summary of each request and then hyperlinks to the related records in the index. This gives the public a window into the access requests the city receives and how each one is treated.

Among the many benefits, Brampton’s Archive of Access Requests increases people’s awareness of freedom of information rights and the kind of information they have a right to see. It also enables them to exercise those access rights. Seeing what has already been released helps inform requesters’ decisions to submit requests. City staff can learn about trends in volume and the kind of government information the public is interested in. The approach also helps keep the City of Brampton accountable for releasing records publicly.

A requirement under federal access legislation, posting details about access to information requests online is not yet done by all those subject to Ontario’s access laws – the City of Brampton is an exception. It is, however, a best practice in open government and an excellent proactive transparency initiative that benefits the public and government.

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