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Freedom of Information

Health Sciences North is subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). This Act provides the public with a right of access to general records held by HSN and outlines the hospitals obligations to protect the privacy of individuals whose personal information we have in our custody or under our control.  HSN’s Privacy Office is responsible for receiving and processing general and personal information access requests under FIPPA. In an effort to be transparent and accountable, HSN commits to making its operational records publicly available, wherever possible. The Act applies only to records that came into the custody or control of HSN on or after January 1, 2007.

A freedom of information request is a request completed by a member of the public for access or a correction to records. A freedom of information request does not apply to Personal Health Information. If your request is for health records, please view our Privacy and Confidentiality page.

 

You can request access to general records or your personal information or request a correction to your personal information using the Access/Correction Request form. Once you have completed and signed the form, send it or hand‐deliver it to:

Privacy Office

Health Sciences North | Sudbury Outpatient Centre
865 Regent Street South, Sudbury, ON P3E 3Y9

You may wish to consult our Directory of Records and Personal Information Banks when formulating your freedom of information access request. See below.

 

General Information Access Requests

Fee Type Fee Amount
FOI Request Fee $5.00 must accompany formal written request. This fee is mandatory and cannot be waived.
Photocopies or computer printouts $0.20 per page
CD‐ROMs $10 per CD‐ROM
Records search

$7.50 per 15 minutes spent by any person manually searching
Record preparation

$7.50 per 15 minutes spent preparing the records for
Computer programming

$15 per 15 minutes spent developing a computer program to

Costs, including computer costs, incurred to locate, retrieve, process and copy records as specified in an invoice received by HSN

Actual costs

Personal Information Access Requests

(does NOT include Personal Health Information Access Requests)

Fee Type Fee Amount
FOI Request Fee

$5.00 must accompany a formal written request. This fee is mandatory and cannot be waived.
Photocopies or computer printouts $0.20 per page
CD‐ROMs $10 per CD‐ROM
Computer programming

$15 per 15 minutes spent developing a computer program to

Costs, including computer costs, incurred to locate, retrieve, process and copy records as specified in an invoice received by HSN

Actual costs

Additional information regarding fees:

  • Payment of fees is required prior to the release of
  • Every effort will be made to provide a fee estimate when the fees of processing your access request are expected to exceed $25.00.
  • If estimated fees are greater than $100, a deposit of 50% of the total estimated fee may be required before any further steps are taken to respond to the request.
  • Appeal fees of $10.00 for personal information requests and $25.00 for general information requests are payable to the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner.
 

  1. The Privacy Office will log your request and review it to ensure it is complete and If there are any questions, the Privacy Office will contact you to discuss.
  2. The Privacy Office will contact the department at HSN that would have the records you have requested, asking them to locate the records and forward to the Privacy
  3. The Privacy Office will consider exemptions and exclusions and prepare a letter to advise you which of the requested records you are permitted to
  4. If access is granted in full, you will receive a copy of the
  5. If access is granted in part, this means access to some records has been. You will receive a copy of the records, however, information will appear blacked out on your copy. The letter will state the reason why access was denied to the information.
  6. In some cases information will be denied in If this is the case, the letter of response will explain what exclusion or exemption was applied to arrive at this decision. You will also be advised how to appeal HSN’s decision.
  7. HSN must respond to your request within 30 days of receiving your formal request. If your request is for a large number of records, requires extensive search, or consultation with an external third party, the time limit may be You will be advised of any time extensions.
 

HSN may decide not to release all of the information that you request. In our decision letter, we will cite the sections of FIPPA we are using to withhold the information from you. If you disagree, you can then ask the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario to review the decision by making an “appeal”. You can do this by writing a letter describing why you are not satisfied with HSN’s decision. Alternatively, you may use IPC’s Appeal Form which can be found online at the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Please enclose an appeal fee of $10.00 (for personal information) or $25.00 (for general information) and send your appeal to:

Registrar

Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario 1400‐2 Bloor Street East
Toronto, ON M4W 1A8
Tel: 416-326-3333
Toll‐free Ontario: 1.800.387.0073

 

We care about your privacy at Health Sciences North (HSN). When it comes to using, collecting and disclosing your personal information, we take measures to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the information is protected. Be assured that your personal information is shared at HSN only when it is necessary to do so and only with those who “need to know”.

 

When HSN collects personal information about you, they take measures to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of your information is protected. The Privacy Office is committed to establishing standards of privacy, confidentiality and data security to protect the personal information that it holds or has under its control. To support its information practices, the Privacy Office at HSN provides staff, volunteers and students with guidance and interpretation regarding the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). They also provide advice and answers questions regarding the handling of common situations involving access, use and disclosure of personal information as well as privacy and confidentiality of personal information.

 

A Directory of Records is required by FIPPA. It provides a listing of the types of records that HSN holds. Click here to view HSN's Directory of Records.

 

A Personal Information Bank is another requirement under FIPPA. It is a description of the personal information that is maintained by the hospital. Click here to view HSN's Personal Information Banks.

 

Click here for FAQ's related to freedom of information.

 
Contact Us
Address

Privacy Office
Health Sciences North
Sudbury Outpatient Centre
865 Regent Street South
Sudbury, ON P3E 3Y9​

Phone: 705-523-7100 x 3999

Fax: 705-523-7075

Email: privacyoffice@hsnsudbury.ca