Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 72 Subsection 9(2) Fee 9(2) Where the amount of fees to be paid by an applicant for access to records is greater than a prescribed amount, the head shall give the applicant a reasonable estimate of the amount, and the applicant shall not be required to pay an amount greater than the estimated amount. Subsection 9(2) of FOIP requires a government institution to provide a fee estimate where the cost for providing access to records exceeds the prescribed amount of $100. This prescribed amount is found in subsection 7(1) of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations (FOIP Regulations). Furthermore, applicants are not required to pay any fees beyond what is originally estimated. If the fees end up being less than what was originally estimated, the government institution should refund the applicant accordingly as required by subsection 7(2) of the FOIP Regulations. Fees cannot be charged when access to the record is refused pursuant to subsection 8(1) of the FOIP Regulations. Creating a Fee Estimate FOIP provides for reasonable cost recovery associated with providing individuals access to records. A reasonable fee estimate is one that is proportionate to the work required on the part of the government institution to respond efficiently and effectively to an applicant’s request. A fee estimate is equitable when it is fair and even-handed, that is, when it supports the principle that applicants should bear a reasonable portion of the cost of producing the information they are seeking, but not costs arising from administrative inefficiencies or poor records management practices.119 FOIP is an instrument to foster openness, transparency and accountability in government institutions. Fees should not present an unreasonable barrier to access to information in Saskatchewan. Therefore, fees should be reasonable, fair and at a level that does not discourage any resident from exercising their access rights. At the same time, the fee regime 119 SK OIPC Review Report 2005-005 at [21].
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