Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, Chapter 3, Access to Records. Updated 5 May 2023. 75 Search time does not include: • Time spent to copy the records. • Time spent going from office to office or off-site storage to look for records. • Having someone review the results of the search. Generally, the following has been applied: • It should take an experienced employee 1 minute to visually scan 12 pages of paper or electronic records to determine responsiveness. • It should take an experienced employee 5 minutes to search one regular file drawer for responsive file folders. • It should take 3 minutes to search one active email account and transfer the results to a separate folder or drive. In instances where the above does not accurately reflect the circumstances, the government institution should design a search strategy and test a representative sample of records for time. The time can then be applied to the responsive records as a whole. Where the search for responsive records exceeds two hours, the government institution can charge $15.00 for every half hour in excess of two hours for search or preparation (as per subsection 6(2) of FOIP Regulations. IPC Findings In Review Report 064-2016 to 076-2016, the Commissioner noted that where a search of active email accounts of current employees is required, search time should be calculated using subsection 6(2) of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations (FOIP Regulations) and not subsection 6(3) of the FOIP Regulations unless it is less expensive and the applicant agrees. Furthermore, the Commissioner found that government institutions cannot charge for searches of archived email accounts pursuant to subsection 6(3) of the FOIP Regulations because The Archives and Public Records Management Act requires records be useable and accessible. 2. Fees for Preparing Fees for preparing the record for disclosure is pursuant to subsection 6(2) of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations (FOIP Regulations). Preparation includes time spent preparing the record for disclosure including: • Time anticipated to be spent physically severing exempt information from records.
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