Nova Scotia · FOIPOP & Bill 150

Access and privacy for Nova Scotia public bodies, in one platform

AccessPoint manages FOIPOP freedom-of-information requests today and the new Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Bill 150) taking effect in 2027 — pre-configured for Nova Scotia and running inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

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Nova Scotia at a glance

Response deadline
30 days today; 30 business days under Bill 150 (April 1, 2027)
Extensions
Permitted for large or complex requests and third-party consultation
Application fee
$5 for general records; none for your own personal information
Privacy impact assessments
Mandatory under Bill 150 (from April 1, 2027)
Oversight
Information and Privacy Commissioner / Review Officer (recommendations)
Languages
English

Built for Nova Scotia

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

FOIPOP request lifecycle

Intake to disclosure on Nova Scotia's clock — 30 days today, 30 business days once Bill 150 is in force — with extensions, the FOIPOP exemption catalogue for redaction, fee handling, and review-ready records, all built on Microsoft 365.

Privacy impact assessments

Run the privacy impact assessment Bill 150 will require before a new or substantially changed program collects personal information — a guided questionnaire, an embedded risk register, and a defensible, exportable record.

Breach notification

Assess a privacy breach for real risk of significant harm and run the notification checklist Bill 150 introduces for affected individuals and the Commissioner, captured on the audit trail.

Review Officer reviews

Track reviews to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner on the recommendation model — through investigation, the recommendations, the public body's response, and any Supreme Court appeal.

Provincial and municipal together

Bill 150 consolidates municipal access by repealing Part XX of the Municipal Government Act; run provincial and municipal public bodies on one platform, in either form.

In your own Nova Scotia tenant

Every request, assessment, and record stays inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud, no cross-border transfers, no per-user fees.

The Bill 150 transition

Bill 150 rewrites Nova Scotia's access-and-privacy law for 2027. AccessPoint is ready now.

Nova Scotia's new Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act — Bill 150 — received Royal Assent on October 3, 2025 and takes effect April 1, 2027. It consolidates municipal access by repealing Part XX of the Municipal Government Act, makes the Information and Privacy Commissioner an officer of the Legislature, moves the response clock to 30 business days, and for the first time requires a privacy impact assessment before a new program collects personal information and breach notification where there is a real risk of significant harm. AccessPoint ships both the current FOIPOP regime and the Bill 150 model, so you can move the day the Act does.

Municipal consolidation Part XX of the Municipal Government Act folds into the Act.
Mandatory PIAs Required before new programs collect personal information.
Breach notification To individuals and the Commissioner, on a real-risk test.

Configured out of the box

Installing the ca-ns-foipop configuration pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: Get Ready for Bill 150
  • The FOIPOP Act — and the Bill 150 successor — as the legal-authority spine
  • Nova Scotia statutory-holiday calendar and due-date rules (calendar days today, business days under Bill 150)
  • The FOIPOP exemption catalogue, colour-coded for redaction
  • Extension reasons with citations and limits
  • Requestor fee categories and the $5 application fee
  • Review Officer and Commissioner review grounds and recommendation tracking
  • Nova Scotia timeliness brackets and statistical-reporting templates
  • FOIPOP correspondence templates with statutory wording

Nova Scotia Questions

Is AccessPoint ready for Bill 150?
Yes. AccessPoint ships both the current FOIPOP regime and the Bill 150 model — the 30-business-day clock, the consolidated municipal rules, mandatory privacy impact assessments, and breach notification — so you can adopt the new Act when it takes effect on April 1, 2027.

Does Bill 150 give the Commissioner binding order power?
No. Bill 150 makes the Information and Privacy Commissioner an officer of the Legislature, strengthening independence, but keeps the recommendation model — the Commissioner reviews and recommends, and enforceable orders still come from the courts. AccessPoint tracks reviews and recommendations through to closure.

Does it cover municipalities?
Yes. Municipal access runs under Part XX of the Municipal Government Act today, and Bill 150 folds municipalities into the FOIPOP Act itself. AccessPoint runs the municipal regime in both forms.

Where does Nova Scotia data reside?
Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Requests, documents, assessments, and audit history never leave your control — no third-party cloud and no cross-border data transfers.

Run FOIPOP and Bill 150 in One Platform

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, pre-configured for Nova Scotia. No credit card required.

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