The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) is provincial legislation which balances an individual’s right to information and privacy in two ways:
The Town of Qualicum Beach is committed to:
Qualicum Beach prides itself on being open and accountable to members of the public. The Town readily shares its records on a routine basis. Most information sought by the public is available and such requests are handled without having to submit a formal request for Access to Records.
Review the Routinely Requested Information list to help determine whether a formal request is required.
If the information you are seeking is not routinely available, a formal request can be submitted under the Act. Formal requests are managed by the Corporate Services Department and submitted via the Request for Access to Records Form.
Be sure to make your request clear, specific and concise and if applicable, include the date range for the records you are seeking and whether you would like to receive the records by email, regular mail or held for pick-up. It is important to note that formal requests for records are treated in the order that they are received, and the Act allows 30 business days for the Town to respond to your request, although staff make every effort to respond to requests much sooner.
The Act provides that the Town may charge fees for the costs of providing applicants with records. Commercial applicants must pay the actual cost of providing the service.
The charge for non-commercial applicants is $7.50 per quarter hour after the first three hours for locating, retrieving and preparing records for disclosure.
Additional fees such as photocopying, document conversion and shipping may also apply. If there are costs involved in processing a formal request, you will be sent a fee estimate before processing your application. Should a fee be applicable, you must pay a 50% deposit to the municipality for the request to proceed.
See the full list of fees and charges.
Applications can be submitted by one of the following methods:
Town Hall hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Depending on the records requested, you may not gain access to all information contained within the records. The Act includes several specific exemptions to disclosure, which means by law, records and information are to be protected and not made available to the public. While some exemptions are mandatory, others are exercised at the discretion of the FIPPA Head. For example, reasons for denying access to information held by the Town are generally related to the protection of:
Did you know? Records such as permits, general building inquiries, zoning information, utility connections (water, sewer, storm) and fire inspection reports are routinely available records and do not require a formal access request. Tip! Do not include records that are routinely available in your Access to Records request. If listing a property is contingent on records requiring a formal request, obtain authorization from the property owner as soon as possible and submit the request to the Town.
