Section 57(1) of FIPPA outlines those costs incurred by a hospital that can be charged to the requester as fees, namely:

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1 Page 1 of 5 Title: Freedom of Information Requests Fees Manual: Management Section: Document Number: Issuing Authority: Operations Team Date Issued: November, 2011 Date Revised: POLICY STATEMENT: FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) incorporates a user pay principle. FIPPA permits hospitals to charge several types of fees in connection with general records requests. These fees recover some of the costs incurred by the BCHS to process an FOI request. PROCEDURE: Section 57(1) of FIPPA outlines those costs incurred by a hospital that can be charged to the requester as fees, namely: (a) the costs of every hour of manual search required to locate a record; (b) the costs of preparing the record for disclosure; (c) (c) computer and other costs incurred in locating, retrieving, processing and copying a record; shipping costs; and (e) any other costs incurred in responding to a request for access to a record. Some of these fees are prescribed by FIPPA Regulation 460. The table below outlines the fees that can be charged in connection with a general records request and the fees that can be charged in connection with a personal information request.

2 Page 2 of 5 Fees for a General Record Request* s. 57(1) FIPPA, s. 6 Reg. 460 Amount / Rate Photocopies and computer printouts Records provided on CD-ROMs Manually searching a record Preparing a record for disclosure, including severing a part of the record Developing a computer program or other method of producing a record from a machine readable record Costs, including computer costs, incurred in locating, retrieving, processing and copying the record(s) if those costs are specified in an invoice received by the hospital $0.20 per page $10.00 for each CD-ROM $7.50 for each 15 minutes spent $7.50 for each 15 minutes spent $15.00 for each 15 minutes spent Actual costs incurred Fees for a Personal Information Request* s. 57(1) FIPPA, s. 6.1 Reg. 460 Photocopies and computer printouts Records provided on CD-ROMs Developing a computer program or other method of producing a record from a machine readable record Costs, including computer costs, incurred in locating, retrieving, processing and copying the record(s) if those costs are specified in an invoice received by the hospital Amount / Rate $0.20 per page $10.00 for each CD-ROM $15.00 for each 15 minutes spent Actual costs incurred Pricing structure is established by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Regulation 460. Sales tax does not apply to any fees charged by the BCHS under FIPPA.

3 Page 3 of 5 Mandatory Application Fee A $5.00 mandatory application fee must accompany a request for either personal information or general records. The application fee may be paid by cash, cheque or credit card, or in person by debit. Fees for a Personal Information Request In order to enable individuals to access their own personal information, FIPPA provides that some of the fees applicable to general information requests do not apply to personal information requests. Aside from the $5.00 application fee, the only fees that can be charged to process a personal information request are for photocopying and certain computer and related conversation costs (e.g. CDs). No fees can be charged for search time or preparation time relating to personal information requests. Estimating Fees and Taking Deposits (See Appendix A for Guidelines for determining a fee estimate) Although the BCHS is free to process a request and to collect fees once a final decision has been made, FIPPA permits the hospital to require the requester to pay a deposit in certain circumstances. A deposit helps ensure that the requester is aware of the potentially significant fees and still wishes to proceed. If the fee estimate is less than $100.00, BCHS shall complete all work necessary to respond to the request. In its decision letter, the BCHS shall advise the requester of any applicable fees in connection with the request and include a detailed breakdown of those fees. BCHS cannot require the requester to pay a deposit; however, the release of the records can be refused (according to the final access decision) until the requester pays the fee. If the fee estimate is $100 or more: The BCHS may choose not to do all the work necessary to respond to the request, and instead issue an interim decision letter. This letter must include a fee estimate and comments about the likely level of disclosure, each of which is based on a review of a representative sample of the records and/or the advice of knowledgeable hospital staff who are familiar with the type and content of the records. As part of the interim decision letter, the hospital may require the requester to pay a deposit of up to 50% of the amount of the estimate prior to taking any further steps to respond to the request.

4 Page 4 of 5 The requester may also choose to appeal the fee estimate to the IPC (Office of the Information and Privacy Commission of Ontario). Deposits and/or fees may be paid by cash, cheque, credit card or in person by debit. Waiving Fees Whenever the requester is asked to pay fees relating to an FOI requests, he or she should be advised that FIPPA permits the waiver of these fees in certain circumstances. The requester shall be provided with a copy of section 57(4) of FIPPA outlining those potential circumstances. The requester may ask for a wavier of fees and may offer reasons why a waiver is fair in the circumstances. The Head or delegate must consider the circumstances, and must waive all or part of the fees if he or she considers it fair and equitable. When considering whether a wavier of fees is fair and equitable, the following must be considered: Whether, and by how much, the actual cost of processing, collecting, and copying the record varies from the estimated amount; Whether payment of the fee will cause a financial hardship to the requester generally, the requester must provide details to establish this (which may include information about income, assets and expenses); Whether the requester is to be given access to the record; If the amount of a payment would be $5 or less, whether that amount is too small to justify requiring payment; Whether releasing the record will benefit public health or safety. If the requester asks for a waiver, the Head, or delegate, must respond to requester in writing. If the Head, or delegate, decides not to waive a fee, the requester has the right to appeal the decision to the IPC (and the Head, or delegate, must inform he individual of that right).

5 Page 5 of 5 In deciding whether a waiver of fees would be fair and equitable, the Head or delegate will consider the following: Did the hospital work with the requester to narrow or clarify the request? Did the hospital provide any documentation to the requester free of charge? Did the requester advance a compromise solution that would reduce costs? Did the waiver of the fee shift an unreasonable burden of the cost from the requester to the hospital? RELATED PRACTICES AND / OR LEGISLATIONS: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FIPPA) REFERENCES: OHA A Guide to Implementing the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (2011).