Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC)

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is an independent body that oversees access to information and privacy protection for public bodies in BC. If the district is withholding records you are entitled to, or has violated your child’s privacy, the OIPC can help.

What it can do

For access to information complaints, the OIPC can:

Investigate whether the district properly responded to your FOI request
Order the district to disclose records it improperly withheld
Require the district to conduct a new search for responsive records
Reduce or waive fees

For privacy complaints, the OIPC can:

Investigate whether the district collected, used, or disclosed personal information improperly
Make findings about privacy breaches
Recommend corrective action

What it cannot do

The OIPC cannot award compensation. It does not address discrimination or accommodation failures directly—only records access and privacy.

Access to information complaints

If you submitted a freedom of information request to the district and:

The request was denied
The response was unreasonably delayed
Records were excessively redacted
The fee quoted was unreasonable
You believe responsive records exist but were not provided

You can ask the OIPC to review the district’s response.

How to file an access complaint

First, you must have made an FOI request to the district and received a response (or waited past the deadline for a response). The OIPC reviews the district’s handling of your request—they do not process the request for you.

File a request for review through the OIPC website at oipc.bc.ca. Include your original request, the district’s response, and an explanation of why you believe the response was improper.

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flowchart TD
    subgraph ACCESS [Access to information]
        A1[Submit FOI request to district] --> A2{District response}
        A2 -->|Denied, delayed,<br/>over-redacted| A3[Request review<br/>from OIPC]
        A2 -->|Adequate| A4[No complaint needed]
    end
    
    subgraph PRIVACY [Privacy breach]
        P1[District disclosed your child's<br/>information improperly] --> P2[File privacy complaint<br/>with OIPC]
    end
    
    A3 --> R[OIPC review<br/>oipc.bc.ca]
    P2 --> R
    
    R --> I[Investigation]
    
    I --> D{Decision}
    
    D -->|Access complaint| O1[Order to disclose<br/>or confirm refusal proper]
    D -->|Privacy complaint| O2[Findings on breach<br/>Recommendations]
    
    NOTE[OIPC handles records and privacy<br/>Not discrimination or accommodation]

Privacy complaints

If the district:

Shared your child’s personal information with people who should not have received it
Collected information about your child without proper authority
Used information for purposes beyond what it was collected for
Failed to protect personal information from unauthorized access

You can file a privacy complaint with the OIPC.

How to file a privacy complaint

File through the OIPC website. Describe what information was involved, how it was mishandled, and how you became aware of the breach.

Is this the right pathway?

The OIPC is the right choice if:

The district denied or delayed your records request
Records were improperly redacted
Your child’s personal information was disclosed without consent
You need records to support another complaint (tribunal, Ombudsperson)

The OIPC is not the right choice if:

Your complaint is about discrimination or accommodation (consider the tribunal)
Your complaint is about unfair process generally (consider the Ombudsperson)
You want compensation (consider the tribunal)

K12 complaints