Privacy

The Municipality of West Perth values your privacy and is committed to protecting any personal information you share with us. We handle all personal information in accordance with applicable privacy laws and this policy.

Most content on our website is available without requiring you to identify yourself. You may browse anonymously. However, if you choose to submit personal details—such as your name, address, phone number, or email—we collect only what is necessary to support your interaction with the Municipality.

Personal information may be collected and used for the following purposes:

• To respond to service requests, inquiries, or applications
• To communicate with you about services or programs you've engaged with
• To verify your identity when addressing questions or concerns
• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations

The Municipality of West Perth follows privacy practices that align with the requirements of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). We are committed to making municipal records available to the public wherever possible. However, certain documents may include confidential or personal information and are protected under the Act. Access to such records requires a formal written request and may involve applicable fees.

For more information, please see the Freedom of Information section below.

The Municipality of West Perth does not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise disclose personal information to external individuals, organizations, or third parties, except where required by Canadian law.

Any personal data collected may be used internally for research, reporting, or service improvement purposes. When used for statistical or comparative analysis, all results are anonymized to ensure that no individual or business can be identified.

To maintain and improve website performance, our servers automatically log certain technical details about each visit. These logs may include the IP address used to access the site, the type of operating system and browser, and the date and time of access. This information is not linked to any personally identifiable data and is used solely for administrative and analytical purposes.

A mandatory $5.00 application fee must be submitted with the form. Depending on the request, additional fees may apply as per Section 45 of the Act.

Additional fees are as follows:

• Search Time $7.50 - per ¼ hour
• Preparation Time $7.50 - per ¼ hour
• Computer programming $15.00 - per ¼ hour
• Photocopying $0.20 - per page
• Any shipping costs
• Any other costs incurred in responding to a request

The Municipality has 30 days after receiving the complete request (including the $5.00 application fee) to respond. The Act allows for additional time depending on the size and scope of the request. The Municipality will provide access to the requested records in whole or in part or tell you why the records cannot be provided. 

The Municipality recognizes the need to balance an individual’s right to privacy and the need to ensure safety and security in the community. It has designed its video surveillance program to ensure the benefits of video surveillance outweigh the loss of personal privacy. It does this by employing a number of strategies:

• Where feasible, less invasive means such as lighting and increased security patrols are employed in place of video surveillance;
• Cameras are positioned and screened to minimizes privacy intrusions;
• The retention period for recorded video is strictly limited and destruction of the video records at the end of the retention period is automated;
• The program is subject to random compliance audits.

Video recordings are only disclosed in response to a formal access to information request under the Municipal Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). The Municipality processes all access to information requests, including requests for video, in accordance with the requirements of the Act. Before filing a request, you should know the following:

• When making your request, you must be as specific as possible in describing the video records you are seeking. At a minimum, please provide the time, date and location where the video was recorded. The more details you are able to provide, the more likely that the video you are seeking can be located.
• The Municipality must balance your right to access Municipal records, with the privacy rights of affected individuals. In practical terms, this means that license plate numbers and the faces of identifiable individuals will be obscured (blurred or pixelated) prior to disclosure of the video records.
• The Act specifies processing fees which apply to access to information requests. You can limit fees by limiting the timeframe of the video you request. For bus video, you can also limit fees by limiting the number of camera angles you request.

The Municipality discloses video records to law enforcement agencies in Canada upon request, providing the records are used for the purposes of an active law enforcement investigation.

Personal information collected through the recording of surveillance video is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act and the Occupier's Liability Act.

For more information. Contact the Clerk's Office:
clerk@westperth.com
519-348-8429