January 15, 2018

Barbara Van Fraassen

Manager, Corporate Information and Privacy
City of Vancouver
453 W. 12th Avenue
VANCOUVER BC V5Y 1V4

Sent via email to: Barbara.Vanfraassen@Vancouver.ca

Dear Barbara Van Fraassen:

Re: Request Time Extension (s.10);

City of Vancouver File 2017-402;
OIPC File F18-73002

This will reply to your letter dated January 12, 2018 in which the City of Vancouver (“the
City”) requested permission for a time extension in order to respond to a request for the
following records:

All correspondence between robertsongregor@gmail.com and any

@vancouver.ca email address from January 1, 2014 to October 20, 2017.

Under section 49 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA),
the Commissioner has delegated to me the authority to make a decision under section
10(2).

I have reviewed the chronology provided by the City and I have determined the current
due date is January 18, 2018.

The City is requesting permission to take a 250 day time extension on the basis of
sections 10(1)(b) and 10(2)(b) of FIPPA.

The relevant sections of FIPPA provide:

10(1) The Head of a public body may extend the time for responding to a request for
up to 30 days if one or more of the following apply:
...

Mail PO Box 9038, Stn Prov. Govt, Victoria BC V8W 9A4 Location 4th floor, 947 Fort Street, Victoria BC
Tel. 250-387-5629 | Fax 250-387-1696 | Toll free through Enquiry BC 800-663-7867 or 604-660-2421 (Van.)
Twitter @BCInfoPrivacy | www.oipc.bc.ca
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(b) a large number of records are requested or must be searched and meeting the time
limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the public body;

10(2) In addition to the authority under subsection (1), with the permission of the
commissioner, the head of a public body may extend the time for responding to a
request as follows:

(a) if one or more of the circumstances described in subsection (1)(a) to (c) apply, for a
period of longer than the 30 days permitted under that subsection;
(b) if the commissioner otherwise considers that it is fair and reasonable to do so, as the
commissioner considers appropriate.

Section 10(2)(b) is a discretionary section providing that the commissioner may extend
the time in circumstances where it is fair and reasonable to do so and allows the
commissioner to consider the full context of the processing of a request.

The factors considered in making a decision on the basis of section 10(2)(b) include the
merits of the reasons for the request for an extension, the efforts made by the public
body to process the request within the original time limit, the public body’s good faith in
attempting to resolve whatever problems have interfered with the timely processing of
the request; and prejudice to other parties if an extension of time is granted. There is a
very high threshold for granting an extension pursuant to section 10(2)(b).

After careful review of the information provided, I find that the City has not provided
sufficient evidence to grant a 250 day time extension for this request on the basis of
section 10(2)(b) of FIPPA.

However, I find that the City has provided sufficient evidence to grant a partial time
extension of 100 days on the basis of section 10(1)(b) of FIPPA.

Therefore, I grant permission for the City to take a 100 day time extension to June 13,
2018. The reasons for this decision are as follows:

 The City has identified at least 6,213 pages of potentially responsive records for
this request;
 Based on the information provided to the OIPC in the City’s request for approval,
it appears that the City has been diligently processing this request; and
 Meeting the time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the
public body.
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The new deadline of June 13, 2018 is approved with the following terms:

1. The City must immediately notify the applicant of this time extension, provide
reasons for the extension, and tell the applicant when a response can be expected. We
recommend that a copy of this decision letter be sent to the applicant. Please be aware
that if the applicant requests a reconsideration of our decision, a copy of this letter will
be provided to the applicant upon request.

2. The City must respond to the applicant as soon as possible with the responsive
records.

3. The City should release reviewed records to the applicant in stages as the review
progresses. The City should not delay releasing records merely to permit a "bulk
release" unless it is absolutely necessary for a global consideration of the disclosure
package.

If you have any questions about this letter, please call me at (250) 387-6637.

Sincerely,

James Gartshore
Intake Officer