Freedom of Information Requests

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, individuals can request access to any record held by government institutions, including a local police service.  Requests for copies of records that exist within the files of this police service are made through the Freedom of Information clerks in your respective region.

The requests processed by the Freedom of Information clerks are:

  • General Occurrence Reports

  • Personal Occurrence Reports

  • Correction of Personal Information Requests

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) permits the right of access to any of your own personal information contained in the files of the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, however, the Act does not permit you to obtain the personal information of other individuals unless written consent is granted from the affected individuals.

Depending on what is being requested and if the release of information would be deemed an invasion of another individual’s personal privacy, it would be reasonable to expect that the personal information of the other individuals involved will be redacted. This is done in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

If the records requested relate to an incident that did not involve you, and you were not spoken to during our investigation, it is highly unlikely that access to the records will be granted

TO MAKE AN ACCESS REQUEST

IN PERSON:

An access request can be made by attending the NAPS detachment closest to you, completing an FOI Request Form (download) and paying the $5.00 application fee.  You must provide 1 piece of identification (see acceptable identification below).

Please note, information will not be given to the applicant at the detachment. The officer will send all information and payments to their Regional Office for processing.

BY MAIL:

A request can be made by completing an FOI request Form (download) and mailing this, as well as a copy of photo identifications to us along with $5.00 cash or money order with money orders payable to Nishnawbe Aski Police Service for the application fee.  Addressed as follows:

NAPS Headquarters
973 Balmoral Street, Suite 301
Thunder Bay, ON P7B 0E2
Jennifer KENNARD 807-623-2161 ext 6172

Acceptable Forms of Non-Photo Identification

  • Birth Certificate

  • Baptismal Certificate

  • Hunting License

  • Outdoors Card

  • Canadian Blood Donor Card

  • Trades License

  • Immigration Papers

  • Student Card (Applicants under age 16 only)

Acceptable Forms of Photo Identification

  • Driver’s License

  • BYID Card

  • Canadian or Foreign Passport

  • Canadian Citizenship Card

  • Possession & Acquisition License

  • Permanent Residency Card

  • Certificate of Indian Status (Federal)

  • Canadian National Institute of the Blind Card

  • Canadian Military Employment or Family ID Card

  • Ontario Photo ID Card (MTO)

Fees and Processing times: 

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, a mandatory application fee of $5.00 is to be paid upon submission of each request.  We accept cash or money order.  If paying by money order, please make it out to Nishnawbe Aski Police Service.

In addition to the initial $5.00 (non-refundable) application fee, there may be additional fees upon completion.  Some examples of additional fees charged are: 0.20 cents per page for photocopying, $7.50 per 15 minutes of search time, $7.50 per 15 minutes for preparation time and mailing costs according to current Canada Post rates. See FIPPA Fee schedule below.

Processing time differs on a case to case basis, between 30 to 60 days.  A request that does not require us to contact third parties would be completed within a 30 day period as mandated by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. 

Where a report is needed sooner, this information can be conveyed to us and where possible will be accommodated, however, records can also be subpoenaed if they are needed for a court and our method of access is not practicable.

Completed FOI reports will be mailed to the address of the person requesting the report.

Correcting Information about yourself:

The legislation provides an individual who is given access to their personal information through the access request process, the right to request correction of the information. The IPC has found that there are three factors to consider in a correction request:

  • The information must be personal information;

  • The information must be inexact, incomplete or ambiguous; and

  • The information is not opinion material provided by another individual.

Opinion material that is provided by someone other than the individual requesting the correction is not usually subject to correction. Opinion material can be changed where it can be demonstrated that it was inaccurately recorded.

A head must determine whether the information submitted for correction can be verified and if so, approve the correction. If the correction is made, the requester should be notified with a copy of the corrected record.

If the correction was not made, the individual can require the institution to attach a “statement of disagreement” to the information. The statement of disagreement identifies the correction was requested but was not made.

Further, the requester should be informed of the reasons the institution refused to make the correction and informed of the right to:

  • Appeal the decision to the IPC;

  • Require that a statement of disagreement be attached to the information; or

  • Have the statement of disagreement provided to any person or body to whom the personal information was disclosed in the last 12 months.

The Service decides whether the correction will be made.  Once a decision has been made the Privacy Coordinator will notify the requester.  These decisions may be appealed to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

File an appeal or make a complaint:

You have the right to appeal any decision about access to records (including fees), made by institutions that are covered under Freedom of Information laws. This includes appealing a decision if your request for information is denied.

Appeal a decision:

You may file an appeal with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) (https://www.ipc.on.ca/) by:

Appeal fees:

  • $10 for requests related to access to, or correction, of your personal information

  • $25 for requests related to access to general records

Learn more about the appeals process (http://www.ipc.on.ca/english/Access-to-Information/Appeals-for-Public/)

Make a complaint

If you think that your personal information has been improperly collected, used, or disclosed by a public institution, child and family service provider, or by a health sector organization or practitioner, you have the right to make a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario (https://www.ipc.on.ca/privacy-individuals/filing-a-privacy-complaint/)

You can also make a complain to the IPC if you feel your request for access to, or correction of, your personal information was improperly denied.

For further information, please contact the IPC: