The Cadre published a store last week on the impending application of Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPP) legislation to the University of Prince Edward Island, Taking Care of Our Own: What the Amended FOIPP Legislation Holds for UPEI.
From the newspaper’s reporting I learned that my own access request (detailed in my post I Paid $166 for Data about Parked Cars) was one of only 8 requests received so far under the university’s existing self-managed access system.
I’m hopeful that a simpler, unified regime for access will lower barriers and encourage others to take advantage of this powerful capability.
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Comments
I just learned that the new
I just learned that the new Act is not retroactive, and will only apply to information created after the new Act becomes law in 2019 - that's too bad. All information should fall under the Act, with provisions to allow time exemption for older information that requires more work to locate and compile.
I encountered the same issue
I encountered the same issue with UPEI’s internal access policy when I made my request: I asked for parking permit information in the summer, but as their policy had only been passed that spring, there was no information that would be eligible for release. So I had to wait a year.
I have some sympathy for certain types of information not being retroactively-releasable, especially email correspondence that might be written assuming no public scrutiny, pre-FOIPP. While we would hope that all email, regardless of FOIPP, would be free from politically embarrassing content, I’ve sent and received enough email over the years to know this isn’t likely the case.
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