Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Sample Section 7 Decisions for Government Institutions. 3 March 2025. 2 When a government institution receives a formal access to information request under The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP), it must provide a written notice regarding its decision, among other things, to grant or refuse access to a record. This written notice is referred to as the “section 7 decision”. Before issuing a section 7 decision, a government institution must also fulfill other obligations under FOIP, including meeting its duty to assist, determining if a fee estimate should be issued, and searching for records. Below are links for more information regarding these obligations: • Understanding the Duty to Assist: A Guide for Public Bodies and Trustees • Steps to Charging Fees • Search checklist • Applying exemptions (if any apply) Once the government institution is ready to prepare a section 7 decision, it must ensure that its section 7 decision is compliant with subsections 7(2) and 7(3) of FOIP. Subsection 7(2) of FOIP 7(2) The head shall give written notice to the applicant within 30 days after the application is made: (a) stating that access to the record or part of it will be given on payment of the prescribed fee and setting out the place where, or manner in which, access will be available; (b) if the record requested is published, referring the applicant to the publication; (c) if the record is to be published within 90 days, informing the applicant of that fact and of the approximate date of publication; (d) stating that access is refused, setting out the reason for the refusal and identifying the specific provision of this Act on which the refusal is based; (e) stating that access is refused for the reason that the record does not exist; (f) stating that confirmation or denial of the existence of the record is refused pursuant to subsection (4); or (g) stating that the request has been disregarded pursuant to section 45.1, and setting out the reason for which the request was disregarded. (3) A notice given pursuant to subsection (2) is to state that the applicant may request a review by the commissioner within one year after the notice is given. This resource provides templates that can be used by government institutions to prepare a written notice to an applicant pursuant to section 7 of FOIP.
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