Preparing Ontario Municipalities for Bill 97
Bill 97 introduces new FOI and privacy duties under MFIPPA. Get the visibility you need to meet them with less manual work.
Key Bill 97 dates
- ✓July 1, 2026New FOI rules for FIPPA and MFIPPA institutions
- ✓September 15, 2026FIPPA data integration changes
- ✓January 1, 2027MFIPPA privacy duties take effect
Bill 97 explained
Bill 97 for Ontario Municipalities
Bill 97 amends Ontario’s two freedom of information and privacy laws: FIPPA for provincial bodies and MFIPPA for municipalities. FOI requests now cover data in any form, under new deadlines. From January 1, 2027, you must assess privacy risk and report serious breaches to residents and the privacy commissioner. The commissioner can review your privacy practices without a breach or complaint, and order changes. Anyone can report suspected violations confidentially.
Bill 97 requirements assume your team knows what records your municipality holds and the personal information they contain. See content across file shares, SharePoint, Teams, and email from one place, and protect public trust as Bill 97 raises scrutiny.
How Shinydocs helps
How Your Municipality Can Prepare for Bill 97
Five Bill 97 changes land hardest on municipal records teams, from July 2026 to March 2028. Each one asks what personal information you hold, where it sits, and how long you’ve kept it. You can answer that across every connected system. Your team still makes every decision, with evidence to back it.
| What changed | How Shinydocs helps |
|---|---|
01Jul 1, 2026
Information Requests (FOI) Now Include Teams Chats, Spreadsheets, and Other Data |
Search Teams, email, and file shares at once to find everything a request covers. |
02Jan 1, 2027
Privacy Impact Assessments Must Show Where Records Live and How Long You Keep Them |
See where personal information lives and how long it’s been kept, so your assessment reflects reality. |
03Jan 1, 2027
The Privacy Commissioner Can Now Order Changes, Not Just Recommend Them |
Find personal information kept too long or in the wrong place, and fix it before a review. |
04Jan 1, 2027
Serious Breaches Must Be Reported Fast, with Everyone Affected Notified |
See what personal information a breached system held, so you know what to report. |
05Mar 31, 2028
Every Breach Must Be Recorded and Reported Yearly |
Show what each breach exposed, so every record you keep is complete. |
Legislation reviewed: November 2026
Streamlining Municipal Information Management
-
Find records across systems
-
Classify Your Records
-
Take Action & Apply Retention Schedules
Municipal Government Results
- Saved in year oneCounty of Newell
- $408K
- Documents governedCounty of Newell
- 98%
- Hours saved annuallyCounty of Newell
- 10K+
- Storage reducedDunedin City Council
- 35%
- ROIOn governed content
- 4.5×
Easy to Purchase
Ontario municipalities can purchase directly through Shinydocs or through Supply Ontario.
Built for your privacy review
Your Data Stays Under Your Control
Your municipality may need to conduct a privacy impact assessment before using Shinydocs. The assessment examines where personal information is stored and processed, who can access it, and who controls the rules. The checklist below answers these questions and explains how your team retains control over permissions and configuration.
You Asked, We Answered.
- Shinydocs runs on your servers or your private cloud.
- AI classification happens inside your environment. No content is sent out.
- No third parties handle your data.
Ontario case study
Town of Milton: Ontario Records Management in Practice
Milton’s records storage more than doubled in four years, forcing staff to search multiple systems manually to answer freedom of information requests.
Milton was able to classify and manage over 4 million files, remove duplicates, and apply records management rules at scale. The town now meets provincial records management legislation, with less manual work for staff.
Town of Milton results
-
4M+ records managed and protected
-
No files were migrated
-
Faster Access to Records
- of Milton’s records were duplicates, about 1 million files that could be deleted
- 25%
Source: Town of Milton case study
FAQ
