Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Prince Edward Island)
{{Short description|Prince Edward Island, Canada statute}}
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{{Infobox legislation
| short_title = Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
| legislature = Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
| citation = RSPEI 1988, c F-15.01
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| status = In Force
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The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSPEI 1988, c F-15.01 (FOIP Act) is the freedom of information and privacy act for Prince Edward Island, Canada. It was passed by the Alberta legislature in June 1994 and came into force on October 1, 1995.
Provision
The legislation does not apply to the committees of the Legislative Assembly, and responses can have redactions.{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Kerry |date=2025-01-27 |title=P.E.I. PCs 'trying to hide behind' FOIPP Act, as opposition parties flex their power to compel documents |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-foipp-act-standing-committee-1.7442368 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250128025645/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-foipp-act-standing-committee-1.7442368 |archive-date=2025-01-28 |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=CBC News}}{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Kerry |date=2021-10-16 |title=Access delayed, access denied: Here's why P.E.I's information system is broken |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-freedom-of-information-1.6210749 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016133136/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-freedom-of-information-1.6210749 |archive-date=2021-10-16 |access-date=2025-04-22}}
Implementation
In 2017, the government redacted a document that it had already made public.{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Kerry |date=2017-03-02 |title=P.E.I. government redacts information from document it's already made public |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-foipp-redacted-1.4006848 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303052023/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-foipp-redacted-1.4006848 |archive-date=2017-03-03 |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=CBC News}}
Between 2017 and 2019, the proportion of requests that were appealed to the commissioner rose from 1 in 12 to 1 in 5. In 2021, the commissioner announced that the workload under the legislation was increasing.{{Cite news |date=2021-06-03 |title=P.E.I. privacy commissioner says freedom of information workload increasing |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-freedom-of-information-privacy-commissioner-1.6052317 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131122611/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-freedom-of-information-privacy-commissioner-1.6052317 |archive-date=2023-01-31 |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=CBC News}} {{Cite news |date=2021-11-10 |title=Islanders 'more willing' to challenge decisions: P.E.I. privacy commissioner |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-privacy-commissioner-busy-1.6244832 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202174612/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-privacy-commissioner-busy-1.6244832 |archive-date=2023-02-02 |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=CBC News}}
In 2019, the province started to require payment for access to the service, which was criticised by the provincial privacy and information commissioner.{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Kerry |date=2019-12-20 |title=$1,318 fee for TOSH renovation documents 'not reasonably calculated,' says privacy commissioner |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-three-oaks-renovations-information-request-1.5402878 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223002347/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-three-oaks-renovations-information-request-1.5402878 |archive-date=2019-12-23 |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=CBC News}}
In 2021, the premier of Prince Edward Island was criticised for using a private email, for allegedly attempting to circumvent the legislation.{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Kerry |date=2021-09-20 |title=P.E.I. premier denies suggesting use of private email to circumvent freedom of information |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/p-e-i-premier-denies-suggesting-use-of-private-email-to-circumvent-freedom-of-information-1.6182595 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008162640/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/p-e-i-premier-denies-suggesting-use-of-private-email-to-circumvent-freedom-of-information-1.6182595 |archive-date=2021-10-08 |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=CBC News}}
Reform
In 2018, the provincial privacy and information commissioner issued a report saying that municipalities, post-secondary institutions and police should be included in the legislation.{{Cite news |last=Boekhoff |first=Iain |date=2018-01-24 |title=P.E.I.'s FOIPP review: Where the key players stand on releasing information to you |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-freedom-of-information-reform-where-everyone-stands-1.4472220 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127192221/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-freedom-of-information-reform-where-everyone-stands-1.4472220 |archive-date=2018-01-27 |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=CBC News}}