Access to Information and Privacy

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is subject to Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act.

The FOIP Act provides that individuals have:

• The right to request access to records held by the Municipality.
• The right to access personal records about themselves held by the Municipality.
• The right to request correction to their personal information held by the Municipality.
• Controls on the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by the Municipality.
• The right to request an independent review by Alberta's Information and Privacy Commissioner of decisions made under the FOIP Act.

The Municipality endeavours to be as transparent as possible and makes general information available to the public through routine dissemination provided the information is neither subject to exemption from disclosure under the FOIP Act nor contains personal information about other individuals.

The Municipality also has a duty to adhere to the FOIP Act when we collect, use and disclose personal information in the conduct of our programs and services and to protect this information.

Making a request for records under the FOIP Act

First: Please contact the appropriate department or the FOIP Manager to see if the information you seek is readily available. You may be able to find the information you seek or determine which department to contact on our website.

If the information you seek is not obtainable by the above process, you may submit a formal request for records under the FOIP Act. The Municipality has 30 calendar days to respond to your request; there may be extensions as stipulated in the Act. Not all information requested may be released if an exception to disclosure under the Act applies.

In addition to the application fee outlined below, further fees may be charged as outlined in schedule 2 of the FOIP Regulation (Alberta Regulation 186/2008). These fees typically are for copying ($0.25 cents a page, over 40 pages) and for locating, producing, handling and shipping records when the costs exceed $150. In these cases, you will be provided with a fee estimate prior to processing the request.

You may submit a formal request using the Request to Access Information Form.

1. Enter your name, address and phone number.
   • If applicable, enter company name
   • Fax and e-mail are optional
2. Indicate if you are requesting general or personal information:.
   • General – enclose initial application fee of $25 (cash or cheque made out to “Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo”, or by cash, debit, or credit card in person at Jubilee Centre, Cashier's Office).
   • Personal information about you – no initial fee required.
   • For either type of request, please indicate if you would like to examine the records or receive a copy of the records.
3. Give as much detail as possible, describe the records you would like to access, the department of the Municipality that you believe holds the records and include the time period for the records.
4. Sign and date the request and send it to the FOIP Manager with fees, if applicable. The Municipality will accept requests not using the form above as long as the request is in writing (mail or email) and the request states that it is made under the FOIP Act and any fee required is submitted.

Please mail or hand deliver your request and cash/cheque to:

FOIP Branch
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
9909 Franklin Avenue, Fort McMurray
AB T9H 2K4