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Report points to longer waits, higher fees for Manitoba freedom of information

Newly released figures show the Manitoba government is taking longer to respond to freedom of information requests and collected more fees after fulfilling over 1,200 in the fiscal year that ended in March.
After the NDP government elected in October 2023, Finance Minister Adrien Sala said centralizing FOI handling under the Finance department standardized fees and partly caused delays.
Each application gets two hours of free staff time, then applicants face $15 per half-hour, with some applications this year receiving fee estimates of $15,190 and $840.
On-Time completion fell to 55 per cent, down from 69 per cent last year, while people seeking information paid more than $13,000 collectively.
Amid a long-term decline in filings, experts warn last year's requests dropped below 2021 and 2022 totals, with Paul Thomas saying `Higher fees could discourage requests from individuals who do not have access to discretionary income for such a purpose`.

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Longer waits under Manitoba information law - Winnipeg

The Manitoba government has been taking longer to respond to freedom of information requests and collecting more money from people filing them, newly released figures show.

6 days ago·Toronto, Canada

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