Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to FOIP, CHAPTER 5, Third Party Information. Updated 9 March 2023. 97 date on which the notice is sent should be marked on the notice indicating posting or electronic transmission (e.g., the postmark for regular mail, the transmission date for email or facsimile). Government institutions should choose a delivery method that ensures that notice is given promptly.214 Contacting a third party prior to giving written notice is a good practice. It enables the government institution to explain the process, the importance of responding, the consequences of not responding and the timelines.215 There is no provision within FOIP that permits an extension of the 20-day deadline on third parties to provide representations. However, if the third party requests a few extra days to respond and the government institution agrees, these additional days would be subtracted from the 10 days remaining which the government institution has to issue its notice of decision pursuant to section 37 of FOIP.216 See Overview of third party timelines earlier in this Chapter. Government institutions are not required to accept a late submission from a third party (i.e., outside of the 20-day window contemplated by subsection 36(1)(b) of FOIP), but they may elect to do so, if the government institution is still able to make its decision within the 30 days allowed by subsection 37(1) of FOIP.217 No response to the notice by the 21st day after the notice is given does not imply that the third party has consented to the disclosure of the information. It is good practice to contact the third party prior to sending the section 34 notice to the third party to ensure the third party understands the process and consequences of not responding. The government institution should document its efforts to contact the third party. This is helpful in the event of a review by the Commissioner.218 For calculating “20 days of receiving notice”, The Legislation Act establishes general rules that govern the interpretation of all statutory instruments in the province of Saskatchewan. Section 2-28 of The Legislation Act provides the following for the computation of time: 214 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 5: Third Party Notice at p. 216. 215 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 5: Third Party Notice at p. 216. 216 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 5: Third Party Notice at p. 220. 217 British Columbia Government Services, FOIPPA Policy and Procedures Manual at Section 24 - Time limit and notice of decision - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca). Accessed Sept. 1, 2022. 218 Service Alberta, FOIP Guidelines and Practices: 2009 Edition, Chapter 5: Third Party Notice at p. 220.
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