This Act does not apply to (a) a record in the custody of a minister of the Crown or the minister's office; or (b) a record under the control of a minister of the Crown or the minister's office unless the record is in the custody of the rest of the institution of which the minister is the head or any other institution.
FIPPA will no longer cover records held by a minister or their office. If a record is under a minister's control but physically held by the ministry (the institution), it remains subject to FIPPA. If it is in the minister's office, it is excluded — even if the ministry also has control over it.
New exclusion
new s. 65(19)
For greater certainty, clauses (18)(a) and (b) apply with respect to a record in the custody or under the control of a minister or the minister's office even if the record is under the control of the rest of the institution of which the minister is the head or any other institution.
If a record sits in both the minister's office and the ministry, the exclusion still applies to the copy in the minister's office. Dual control does not override the exclusion.
new s. 65(20)
Subsections (18) and (19) apply, with necessary modifications, with respect to a record in the custody or under the control of a parliamentary assistant appointed to assist a minister of the Crown or the parliamentary assistant's office.
The same exclusion extends to parliamentary assistants and their offices. Parliamentary assistants are MPPs appointed to assist cabinet ministers.
new s. 65(21) — Transition
1. Subsection (18) applies even if the record was created before Royal Assent.
2. A person who had a right of access to such a record ceases to have such a right, even if they made a request before Royal Assent.
3. An order or decision under this Act before Royal Assent is of no effect to the extent it provides access to such a record.
4. An order or decision in any proceeding before Royal Assent is of no effect to the extent it provides access to such a record.
Rule 1: Applies to all records regardless of when created.
Rule 2: Any existing FOI request for ministerial records — even if already filed — is voided.
Rule 3: Any IPC order requiring disclosure of a ministerial record is nullified.
Rule 4: Any court order — Divisional Court, Court of Appeal — requiring access is also nullified.
Retroactive
02Retroactive Commencement
Sched. 7, s. 29(2)
Subsection 28(1) is deemed to have come into force on January 1, 1988.
The ministerial records exclusion is written as though it has been in effect since January 1, 1988 — the date FIPPA itself came into force. The exclusion is not prospective. It applies backward across the entire 38-year lifespan of the Act.
Deemed in force since 1988
03Response Timelines
s. 2(3) → new s. 2(5)
For the purposes of this Act, a business day is any day that is not a Saturday or a holiday.
Introduces a definition of "business day." All timelines previously counted in calendar days shift to business days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory holidays.
Changed
s. 6 — amending s. 26
Section 26 is amended by striking out "thirty days" and substituting "45 business days".
The base FOI response deadline moves from 30 calendar days (~4.3 weeks) to 45 business days (~9 weeks / ~63 calendar days, depending on holidays).
~30 days → ~63 days
s. 5 — amending s. 25
Section 25 is amended by striking out "fifteen days" wherever it appears and substituting "15 business days".
Third-party notification timelines shift from 15 calendar days to 15 business days (~3 weeks instead of ~2).
Changed
s. 8 — amending s. 28
Section 28 is amended by striking out "days" wherever it appears and substituting "business days".
Third-party challenge and appeal timelines also convert from calendar days to business days.
Changed
s. 24 — amending s. 50(2)
Subsection 50(2) is amended by striking out "thirty days" and substituting "30 business days".
The deadline for appealing to the IPC changes from 30 calendar days to 30 business days (~6 weeks).
Changed
s. 25 → new s. 57(3.2)
At the end of the day on which the estimate is given, the time limit stops running and resumes on the day any fee is paid or waived.
When a fee estimate is issued, the response clock pauses entirely until the requester pays or gets a waiver. This time does not count against the institution's deadline.
New provision
04Staged Access & Deemed Abandonment
s. 4 → new s. 24.1(1)
The head may respond by proposing a plan for providing access in stages if: (a) searching would unreasonably interfere with regular duties; (b) the scope is overly broad; (c) volume would unreasonably interfere with operations; or (d) the person has submitted other requests that would collectively unreasonably interfere.
Instead of responding to an FOI request all at once, the institution can break it into stages. Four grounds are available, including volume and the cumulative burden of multiple requests from the same person.
New provision
new s. 24.1(3)–(4)
The head shall give written notice with a statement that the person may appeal to the Commissioner within 30 business days. If the head amends the plan, the person may only appeal if the plan is being amended for the first time.
A requester can appeal a staged plan to the IPC, but only once. If the institution changes the plan again after that, there is no further appeal right.
new s. 24.2(3)–(4)
The time limit stops running when the plan is sent and resumes when the response is received.
The person is deemed to have abandoned the request if the person has not responded within the time frame or the response does not comply, and the person has not appealed.
The clock pauses while the requester considers a staged plan. If the requester does not respond within 30 business days — or responds improperly — the entire FOI request is treated as abandoned. The institution's obligation ends.
Deemed abandonment
05Second Extensions
s. 7 → new s. 27(1.1)
If the time limit has been extended under subsection (1), the head may extend the time limit one additional time:
1. The requester consents.
2. Records identified are significantly more than initially identified.
3. Employees knowledgeable in the subject matter are unable to assist, or additional consultations become necessary — provided it was not reasonably foreseeable when the first extension was granted.
Current law allows one extension. This adds a second. Combined with business-day counting, a request could face a base deadline of 45 business days plus two extensions of unspecified length, plus fee-estimate pauses and staged-plan pauses. No cap on extension duration.
New provision
06Data Governance
ss. 17–22 — amending Part III.1
Data standards previously approved by the Commissioner are now established by the Chief Digital and Data Officer. The Commissioner shall cease any review of multi-sector data integration units commenced before the amendment. The Commissioner may conduct reviews (previously: shall).
Data standards governing how personal information is collected, linked, and de-identified by government data units were set with IPC approval. Authority now moves to the Chief Digital and Data Officer — a government appointee. Mandatory IPC reviews are eliminated; ongoing reviews must stop. The Commissioner's role becomes advisory.
Authority shifted
s. 23 → new s. 49.14.1
The Commissioner may make comments or recommendations on the privacy implications of any matter related to this Part, including the data standards.
The IPC can comment on or recommend changes to data standards. It has no binding authority over them.
07Other Changes
s. 14 — repealing ss. 44–46
Sections 44 to 46 of the Act are repealed.
Repeals personal information banks — organized collections of personal information indexed by name or identifier. Removes the obligation to maintain and publicly index them, and removes the Commissioner's related review powers.
Repealed
s. 13 → new s. 42(1)(d.1)
Personal information may be disclosed to an employee in a ministry if previously employed in another ministry or on temporary assignment, and disclosure occurs as a result of continued access to an online account associated with the employee's email address.
Allows employees moving between ministries to retain access to online accounts linked to their government email. The responsible minister may establish guidelines governing this.
New provision
s. 28(2) → new ss. 65(22)–(23)
This Act does not apply to records prepared or collected under the Enhancing Digital Security and Trust Act, 2024: cyber security contact names; cyber security assessments; school board software inventories; any record whose disclosure could reasonably be expected to compromise cyber security.
Creates a new category of records exempt from FIPPA: cyber security assessments, contact lists, school board software inventories, and any record whose release could compromise public-sector cyber security.
New exclusion
s. 3(1) — amending s. 24(2)
An institution shall make reasonable efforts to assist a person with formulating a request and shall respond as soon as possible in the circumstances to any inquiries about formulating such a request.
Revises the duty to assist requesters. Institutions must respond to inquiries about formulating requests and inform the person if the request does not sufficiently describe the record sought.
Revised
08Commencement Dates
Sched. 7, s. 29
(1) Except as otherwise provided, this Schedule comes into force on the later of July 1, 2026 and Royal Assent.
(2) Subsection 28(1) is deemed to have come into force on January 1, 1988.
(3) Section 13 and sections 17 to 23 come into force on the later of September 15, 2026 and Royal Assent.