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Freedom of Information Requests

Some of the City of Kitchener's records might be available without having to make a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Some records - such as past minutes and reports - are available online. Other records are available by contacting us.

Before making a formal FOI request, you may wish to search our website or contact the appropriate department to find out if the record can be provided to you without a formal request. If a FOI request is required, we will put you in contact with our FOI coordinator.

To make a formal FOI request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) for records in the care and custody of the city, follow these steps:

Step #1

Fill out a request form provided by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC); or
Send a letter to the city's Freedom of Information coordinator, who is also the manager of corporate records and archives services.

Step #2

Send or bring the request along with your $5 application fee to:
Manager, Corporate Records and Archives Services
City of Kitchener
2nd Floor, Berlin Tower, City Hall
200 King St., W.
Kitchener, ON N2G 4G7

Please Note: A $5 application fee stipulated by the Act must accompany the form/request letter in order to initiate the FOI request. The application fee may be paid either by cash, cheque, money order or by Interac, if you are making your request in person.

Cheques and money orders should be payable to City of Kitchener.

MFIPPA Fees

In addition to the $5 application fee, we are permitted under MFIPPA legislation to charge the following fees which are typical for most requests:

$7.50 per 15 minutes of time spent searching for, retrieving and preparing a record for disclosure including the time to sever any part of the record in accordance with the exemptions under the Act.
$0.20 per page for photocopying and computer printouts.

Other fees may be charged depending on the nature of the request. The FOI coordinator will apprise you in advance of what these fees are in accordance with the Act.

If we believe the request will cost more than $25, we will contact you for approval to proceed with the request or to give you the opportunity to revise your request in order to reduce the costs.

If we believe the request will cost more than $100, we will contact you to request a 50 per cent deposit of the estimated cost before proceeding with the request. No records will be released until all outstanding fees are paid.

Response Timeframe

Normally, we have 30 calendar days (including weekends and statutory holidays) from the date we receive your $5 application fee to respond to your FOI request. There are circumstances where we may require an extension; if such an extension is required, we will notify you in writing.

In the case where a 50 per cent deposit is required, our work on your request will cease once we notify you of the need for the deposit, and resume once we receive your deposit.

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