One day, the newly elected reeve walks in to the municipal
office and requests all grader reports for the municipality from
the past year. While this seems like a simple request, it can raise
a host of issues for the municipality. Consider how your
municipality might respond and who is responsible to prepare the
response.
Municipalities are local authorities, subject to The Local
Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
("LAFOIP"). LAFOIP provides every person the right to be
permitted access to records within the municipality's
possession and control.
As a local authority, municipalities are required to search for
and disclose the requested records, subject only to limited
exemptions. The person ultimately responsible for managing the
search and disclosure efforts is called the "head" of the
local authority. For the purposes of LAFOIP, the "head"
is the mayor or reeve of the municipality.
