What are FOI requests to a public body?

Freedom of information (FOI) requests to BC public bodies can provide you information about either:  

• government activities or programs, or 
• personal information from government records about yourself or on behalf of someone else. 

There is no limit to how much information you request, but the larger the size of the request, the more resources it will take for the public body to fulfill it. Consequently, extremely large requests will take a long time to be fulfilled. You are also not guaranteed to receive all the information you request, as aspects of the records can be redacted by the public body if they find it is not relevant to your request or involves other parties.  

Public bodies must respond with a notice to the requester that the request has been received within 30 days of receiving your FOI request. The public body may extend the time limit to another 30 days for several reasons, such as if the request is large or the applicant did not provide enough detail for the public body to identify the record. Further, the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) may grant the public body an extension longer than the additional 30 days if the commissioner finds it to be fair, reasonable, and appropriate.  

You will typically receive an email from the public body confirming your FOI request has been received and/or the public body has begun to process your request. The public body must detail whether the applicant has been granted access or not, and if granted access, the public body must provide when, where, and how to access the records. If the FOI request is not granted, then the public body must explain why and provide contact information for an officer or employee who can answer the applicant’s questions about the refusal.  

If the public body withholds and denies crucial information from your FOI request, you can contact the officer or employee the public body has provided in their response. Further, you can make a complaint to the OIPC and if the commissioner finds that the information should be released, the commissioner may order the public body to do so.  

For more information about FOI requests, please visit BC FIPA’s Get Help pages. 

Updated 2024.09. 20

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These pages were last updated and reviewed in the summer of 2024. 

The information on these pages only contains general information and guidance; none of the information constitutes legal advice. If you have a specific issue that you believe is a legal problem, the best practice is to consult a lawyer. 

The information is non-partisan, dynamic and ever changing. It is the result of FIPA’s research and public education programs.

If you note something that needs to be added, corrected, or removed, please contact us by email: fipa AT fipa.bc.ca.