Script 235 gives information only, not legal advice. If you have a legal problem or need legal advice, you should speak to a lawyer. For the name of a lawyer to consult, call Lawyer Referral at 604.687.3221 in the lower mainland or 1.800.663.1919 elsewhere in British Columbia.

You have a right to certain information.
BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (or FOIPPA for short) gives you the right to see many records kept by the provincial government ministries and other public bodies or organizations - including records of your personal information, such as your name, address, age, employment history, educational background, etc. Public bodies include provincial government ministries, local municipalities, schools and school boards, hospitals and health authorities, local police forces, colleges and universities, and self-governing bodies such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons and The Law Society of British Columbia.

In addition, BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (or PIPA for short) gives you the right to see records held by organizations in the private sector in BC, but only those records containing your personal information. Private organizations include stores, unions, hotels and restaurants, doctors, not-for-profit agencies, credit unions (but not chartered banks) and many others. Under this Act, you may request that a private organization give you access to your personal information, or explain the ways in which your personal information has been used or to whom it has been disclosed. You may also request information about the organization’s privacy policy.

How do you ask for information?
In some cases, there may be a quick and easy way to get information held by government, public bodies, or a private organization. Their website may contain the information you want, or a phone call may yield the information. But if there’s no other way of getting the information you want, you may send a written request to the information and privacy branch of the government ministry or other public body, or to the privacy officer for the private organization. For instance, if you want access to records on an ICBC claim, you would send a written request to the Information and Privacy Branch of ICBC. If you want access to records about your gym’s privacy policy, or about personal information it has on file about you, you would send a written request to the Privacy Officer for the gym.

How long does an organization or public body have to respond?
The FOIPPA says that public bodies have 30 business days to respond to your request. They can’t charge you any fees for personal information, but they can charge you something for copying and preparing non-personal information. You can always ask them to waive the fees if you can’t afford them, or if the information is in the public interest. A private organization also has 30 business days to respond to your request, but they can charge a reasonable fee for giving you access to your personal information.

Some information isn’t available.
Under the FOIPPA, you may not be allowed access to certain records, such as Cabinet records, someone else’s personal information, court files, current work files of the Auditor General or Ombudsman, or certain information if its release or disclosure would harm private business interests. You may also not be able to see information if its release would interfere with law enforcement, or harm individuals or the public.

What can you do if your request for information is refused?
If the public body or private organization refuses your request, or if you’re not satisfied with their response, you have the right to appeal to BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner. There’s a 30-day time limit to submit such a request to the Commissioner. The Commissioner is an independent officer of the provincial Legislature who reviews the decision and can force a public body or private organization to release information that the law gives you a right to see. See the website for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner at www.oipc.bc.ca for details of how to appeal.

What if an organization’s personal information about you is wrong?
An organization must make reasonable efforts to ensure that your personal information is accurate and complete. You can ask a public body to correct any factual error or omission (but not opinions or judgments) in your personal information. If the public body refuses your request, FOIPPA requires them to mark your information with the correction you requested. You can also ask a private organization to correct any inaccurate personal information. If you are not happy with the decision of the public body or organization, you can ask the Commissioner to review it.

You also have a right to privacy.
Both the FOIPPA and PIPA protect your right to privacy by regulating how public bodies and private organizations collect, use, and give out personal information. Organizations can only use personal information for the purposes they collect it for, unless they get your consent to use it for another reason. Organizations and public bodies must ensure that they don’t give out personal information without proper authorization.

What if you’re upset with how your personal information is being handled?
If you disagree with how your personal information is being managed, you should first complain directly to the organization or public body about how it collects, uses or discloses your personal information. If you’re not successful in resolving your concerns, you may submit a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Where can you find more information?
For general information on this topic, see the website for the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner at www.oipc.bc.ca. You can also phone this office at 250.387.5629 in Victoria. For toll-free access, call Enquiry BC (at 604.660.2421 in Vancouver and 1.800.663.7867 elsewhere in BC) and ask them to connect you the Office.

For information records, send your written request directly to the public body or private organization that has the information you want.

[updated September 2008]

Dial-A-Law© is a library of legal information that is available:

• by phone, as recorded scripts, and
• by audio and text, on the CBA BC Branch website.

To access Dial-A-Law, call 604.687.4680 in the lower mainland or 1.800.565.5297 elsewhere in BC. Dial-A-Law is available online at www.cba.org/bc in Public & Media.

The Dial-A-Law library is prepared by lawyers and gives practical information on many areas of law in British Columbia. Dial-A-Law is funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia and sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia.

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