Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, released a new grade 10 guide for Civics teachers, What Students Need to Know about Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy.
“Lessons in the guide should clearly demonstrate to students how material obtained through freedom of information requests can have a dramatic impact on their own lives,” said Commissioner Cavoukian. “One lesson includes a story that outlines how a reporter, who had become ill after eating at a Toronto restaurant, used FOI to obtain the results of health inspections at a large number of Toronto restaurants. A public outcry led the City of Toronto to start posting inspection results on a public website – a practice a number of other cities have since followed.”