Freedom of Information and Privacy (FOIP)

FOIP is short for the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The FOIP Act is legislation that establishes the rules for how “Public Bodies” collect, use, and disclose personal information. Its purpose is to balance the public’s right of access information that public institutions have with individual rights to privacy. Legislation with similar purposes are in place for health records and information (Health Information Act (HIA)) and information held by private sector organizations (Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)).

Anyone can make a request for information under the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

If a FOIP request is required, you can make a request to the City’s FOIP Coordinator by submitting a Request for Information form.

No, although sometimes understanding the purpose of your request can help the FOIP Coordinator assist you in navigating the complexities of the City’s information management program.

You might not need to make a FOIP request to get the information you need. A lot of the information most people want to access is either publicly available or can be provided without submitting a FOIP request. In some cases, the City has established bylaws that facilitate access to commonly requested records for a fee through the department (e.g. Planning and Development file searches, Fire and Emergency Services file searches and reports).

Usually, unless the information that’s been requested contains certain types of information (e.g., third-party business information, personal information, confidential evaluations) the information can be provided without submitting a formal FOIP Request.

The FOIP Act allows 30 days to respond to a request however, in some situations the time period can be extended to 60 days.

You can ask for any information that you believe is in the custody or control of a City of Lethbridge business unit or special purpose body. Requests for information that is in the custody or control of other city agencies (e.g. Lethbridge Police Service, Lethbridge Public Library,) will be transferred by the City to the appropriate agency’s FOIP Coordinator.

You can request a correction to your personal information at the City of Lethbridge by contacting the FOIP office at FOIP@lethbridge.ca.

There is no charge to make a request for your own personal information however, there is a $25 initial fee for general information requests. Also, depending on the request there may be additional fees for services like searching, locating and retrieving a record, producing a record from an electronic record, or producing copies of audio or visual recordings. If there are additional fees associated with your request a fee estimate that explains the fees will be provided to you before your request is processed.

Yes – in certain circumstances, the City of Lethbridge can disclose your personal information to a law enforcement officer without your consent. It's important to note that while the FOIP Act provides the legal authority for the collection (section 34(1)(g)) and disclosure (section 40(1)(q) of personal information by law enforcement officer for law enforcement purposes, it does not authorize the disclosure of personal information to a private citizen. There are specific guidelines for when and how the information can be disclosed. Examples of law enforcement agencies under the FOIP Act include: 

• Municipal police services
• RCMP
• Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB)
• Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

To request the disclosure of personal information under section 40(1)(q) to Please complete the Law Enforcement Disclosure Request Form. After submitting the form, you will be contacted by a City of Lethbridge employee will contact you as soon as possible after your form is submitted, usually within 1 business day of receiving your request. The City of Lethbridge may require additional documentation to confirm your identity and authority before records containing personal information are released.