As a public body, we are committed to transparency and accountability. We fully support your right to access your personal information and records held by our organization.
The privacy and information obligations of public bodies like Consumer Protection BC and your right to personal privacy and access to information are outlined in British Columbiaâs Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
Make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request
Before making a formal FOI request, you can search our website or contact us to ask if the information you are seeking is already publicly available. If the information you are looking for is not already available, you can submit an FOI request.
Keep your request simple, clear and focused to reduce processing time and possible fees. Contact us if you have questions or need clarification about our records before you send your request.
We are required by law to fulfill your request within 30 business days, but we try to release information as soon as possible. Here is how we will process your FOI request:
We will confirm that we received your request, usually by the next business day
We will complete a preliminary assessment of your FOI request to determine whether we have the information and estimate how long it will take to retrieve
We may contact you to clarify your request
If we determine the information is held by a different public body, we will let you know and forward your request
We will conduct a full search for the information you requested
Our Information and Privacy Officer will complete a privacy assessment, which may include the redaction of personal or harmful information
We will share the information with you and explain any redactions we made
Normally an FOI request will not cost you anything and we do not charge an application fee. There will never be a charge to access your own records or information. If we think locating the information youâve requested will take more than three hours, we will contact you to provide an estimate of the cost (the cost of effort beyond the first three hours is $7.50 for every 15 minutes, which is $30 per hour). In our experience, only the most complex and large FOI requests exceed three hours.
All records will be released in digital formats. If you require printed copies, the cost is $0.25 per page and we must receive full payment before the information can be released.
You can reach our Information and Privacy Officer via email at privacy@consumerprotectionbc.ca to ask questions about FOI requests. You can also ask questions about how we collect information and how that information is managed and protected from inappropriate disclosure.
In certain circumstances, we may be unable to meet your request for information.
If you disagree with our decision, you have the right to ask for a review by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (an independent body that provides oversight and enforcement of BCâs access and privacy laws. Visit the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissionerâs website at www.oipc.bc.ca.
