Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RTIPPA) Information page and FAQ.
Request for Information, Personal Information, or to Correct Personal Information
Overview
Any person is entitled to request and receive information related to the public business of public bodies; have access to records containing personal information about themselves; or request corrections to records containing personal information about themselves in the custody and control of public bodies in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RTIPPA).Eligibility
The Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act states that any person is entitled to request and receive records relating to the public business of public bodies, have access to their personal information and to request corrections to records containing their personal information in the custody and control of a public body in New Brunswick. Record is defined as information contained in a record that is written, photographed, recorded or stored by graphic, electronic or mechanical means. Public business includes any activity or function carried on or performed by a public body. Personal information means recorded information about an identifiable individual. There is no right to access certain types of information prescribed under sections 17 to 33 of RTIPPA.RTIPPA does not replace existing procedures for accessing any information that is normally available to the public; nor does it affect any fees that may be charged for such access; nor should it become the sole vehicle by which personal information may be accessed or corrected.
Description
The Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act sets out a legislated process by which people can exercise their right to access information respecting public business; have access to their own information; or request correction of their own personal information.Information you are looking for can, in most cases, be obtained by simply contacting the appropriate public body or by checking out their website, where many reports and other materials are made available.
If you were unable to access the information you need or request to correct your personal information using an informal approach, you can make a request under RTIPPA, in writing, to the head of the public body that you believe has the information. You can either use the appropriate form available (see below) or write a letter outlining your request under RTIPPA.
Oral requests are accepted from applicants with limited ability to read and write English or French or with a disability that prevents them from completing a written request.
If you need to exercise someone’s right under RTIPPA, you will need written authorization (letter, Power of Attorney, etc.) to do so. See section 79 of RTIPPA for more details.
If you have been denied access, in whole or in part, the head of the public body must state the reason(s) for the decision and specify the provision(s) of RTIPPA on which the refusal is based (sections 17 to 33), and inform you of your rights to have the decision reviewed by the Access to Information and Privacy Commissioner or a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench, as prescribed in RTIPPA; or if your request for correction has been refused, the head must notify you of the refusal to correct, the reason for the refusal, attach the request for correction to the record in question and advise you of your right to file a complaint with the Commissioner.
RTIPPA - FAQ: Frequently asked questions
Making a Request for Information
 When do you need to use RTIPPA to access information? |
| Are there records that cannot be accessed? |
| Which public bodies are subject to RTIPPA? |
| How can you make a request? |
| When can you expect a response? |
| What if you don’t receive a response? |
| What information cannot be released to you? |
When looking for public information, the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (RTIPPA)
is intended to be used as a last resort. In most cases, information
you are looking for can be obtained by contacting the appropriate
public body or by checking out their website, where many reports and
other materials are made available. If you are still unable to get the
information you are looking for, you can make a request under the
provisions of RTIPPA.
RTIPPA does not replace
existing procedures for accessing any information that is normally
available to the public. Also, if a certain type of documentation is
already available for a fee, such as a birth certificate or a driver
abstract, the documents cannot be accessed under RTIPPA. You must
follow the regular processes for obtaining these types of records.
Are there records that cannot be accessed?
Section 4 of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act lists the various types of records that are not subject to the Act, and therefore cannot be accessed by a RTIPPA request. These include:
(a)
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information in a court record, a record of a judge, a judicial
administration record or a record relating to support services provided
to a judge or to a court official;
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(b)
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a record
pertaining to legal affairs that relate to the performance of the
duties and functions of the Office of the Attorney General;
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(c)
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a note made
by or for, or a communication or draft decision of, a person who is
acting in a judicial or quasi-judicial capacity;
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(d)
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a record of a member of the Legislative Assembly who is not a Minister of the Crown;
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(e)
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a personal or constituency record of a Minister of the Crown;
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(f)
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a record made by or for an officer of the Legislative Assembly;
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(g)
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a record made by or for an elected official of a local public body relating to constituency matters;
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(h)
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teaching
materials of an employee of an educational institution or other
research information of an employee of an educational institution;
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(i)
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information the release of which is prohibited under the Security of Information Act (Canada);
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(j)
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a record in the care, custody and control of the Provincial Archives; and
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(k)
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a record in
the care, custody and control of the archives of a public body placed
in the archives by or for a person or agency other than the public
body.
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Which public bodies are subject to RTIPPA?
For the names and contact information of public bodies that are subject to the Act, please consult the Directory of Public Bodies.
RTIPPA does not
apply to the private sector. The privacy obligations of private
sector business, non-profit and professional organizations in New
Brunswick are set out in the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act (S.C. 2000, c. 5) and its regulations.
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The Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
sets out a legislated process by which you can exercise your right to
access information respecting the public business of public bodies.
If you are unable to access
the information you want by using an informal approach or by other
established procedures, you can make a request for that information
under RTIPPA. You can either use the form available, or you can write a letter outlining your request under the Act.
Simply follow these three steps:
| 1. | Determine which public body is most likely to have the information you are looking for and get the relevant contact information from the Directory of Public Bodies. All requests for information should be addressed to the head of the public body. |
| 2. | You must include the following information in your request: |
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| 3. | Send your request to the head of the relevant public body. Please note: there are no longer any fees for requests made under the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. |
All requests must be in
writing. An oral request will only be accepted from an applicant if
the applicant is unable to read and write in English or French, or if
the applicant has a disability that prevents the applicant from
completing a written request.
If you are requesting public or
personal information on behalf of someone else, you will need written
authorization to do so. This authorization can be in the form of a
signed letter, a Power of Attorney, or other legislated authorization.
Please see section 79 for more details.
If you have any questions about making a request for information, please contact the RTIPPA Coordinator at the appropriate public body. The Coordinators are knowledgeable and trained to deal with requests under the Act.
The head of a public body will reply to you, in writing, within 30 days of receiving a request.
In this response, you may be
granted the information you are seeking, in whole or in part, or the
information may be refused for reasons that will be identified to you.
In certain circumstances, the head of the public body may need to do
the following before responding:
- Extend the 30-day time period.
The head of a public body is permitted to extend the time period
for providing the requested information for a maximum of 30
additional days if:
- There is not enough detail given in the request to enable the public body to identify the desired record(s). In such a case, the public body will contact the applicant for clarification and the applicant will have 30 days to respond. If the applicant does not reply within 30 days, the request will be considered to be abandoned, and the public body will send a notification to this effect.
- The request includes a large number of records, or responding to the request within the original 30-day timeframe would interfere unreasonably with the daily operations of the public body.
- The information requested includes information relating to a third party, and the head of the public body needs more time in order to determine whether it is appropriate to give access to the third party information.
- The information requested is related to records that are part of a court proceeding.
- Transfer your request to another public body. This would occur if the head of the public body has determined that the records you are requesting:
- were produced by or for the other public body;
- were first obtained by the other public body; and/or,
- are in the custody and control of the other public body.
The head of the public body has 10 days to transfer the request and to notify you that your request for information has been transferred to another public body. The head of the receiving public body has 30 days after receiving the request to respond (unless the time is extended for reasons described above), as if it was received directly from the applicant.
If you don’t hear back from the public body after sending your request, you have up to 120 days
(from the day you sent your request) to file a complaint to the Access
to Information and Privacy Commissioner regarding the public body’s
lack of a response. See Review Process for details on how to file a complaint.
RTIPPA
provides for two types of exceptions that may affect the release of
information: mandatory exceptions and discretionary exceptions. The
types of information that are considered to be exceptions to the
general right to information are listed below; more details can be
found in the wording of the legislation itself (see links).
If any records relating to a request for information are being withheld, the public body is required to identify the
reason(s) and inform the applicant of the right to have the decision reviewed by the Access to Information and
Privacy Commissioner or the Court.
reason(s) and inform the applicant of the right to have the decision reviewed by the Access to Information and
Privacy Commissioner or the Court.
For more information on the review process, please go to the Review Process section of this website
Acts & Regulations
Forms and Packages
Some forms may require the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Please fill, print and send form(s) to the mailing address provided on the form or in the Service Contact section.
Related Links
For more information please see:
