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Closed by default
- The result is that everything that isn’t voluntarily released by government is closed by default – forever – until someone applies for it through an access request.
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-access-to-information-laws-historians/Redacted and out of reach: Canada’s access laws keep the ...
People also ask
What happens if a Government document is not voluntarily released?
What information can be released to a government agency?
Can a government institution decline access to information requests?
Does the federal government have a duty to keep employment records?
What if the OPC refuses to disclose information?
Why does the government need to collect personal information?
- On this page
- Introduction: The updated Access to Information Act
- Overview: Bill C-58
- A stronger role for the Information Commissioner
- Improving the way access requests are processed
- Declining to act on bad faith requests
- No fees apart from the $5 application fee
- Proactive Publication: Making key information available without the need for a request
•Introduction: The updated Access to Information Act
•Overview: Bill C-58
•A stronger role for the Information Commissioner
•Improving the way access requests are processed
•Declining to act on bad faith requests
•No fees apart from the $5 application fee
The Access to Information Act (ATIA) provides Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and individuals and corporations present in Canada a right to access records under the control of government institutions, in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific, and that decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government. There are roughly 260 government institutions currently subject to the ATIA.
Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act received royal assent on June 21, 2019, making important improvements to the openness and transparency of government. These are the most significant amendments to the act since it came into force in 1983.
The new legislation improves the way government information is provided to Canadians by:
•giving the Information Commissioner the power to make binding orders in relation to access to information requests, including the release of government records
•eliminating all fees apart from the $5 application fee
•requiring institutions to proactively publish specific information known to be of interest to the public, without the need for a request
In this section
•The Information Commissioner has a much stronger role
•The Prime Minister’s Office, ministers’ offices, senators, members of Parliament and administrative institutions that support Parliament and the courts, government departments and agencies, and Crown corporations are legally required to publish a broad range of information, without the need for a request
•The Access to Information Act would be regularly reviewed
•No fees apart from the $5 application fee
•Institutions will be allowed to seek the Information Commissioner’s approval to decline to act on “bad faith” requests, so that services may be delivered more efficiently
•What is in the new legislation?
The Information Commissioner now has the power to make binding orders to government institutions. This transforms the Commissioner’s role from an ombudsperson to a powerful authority with the legislated ability to order government to release records as well as make orders concerning time extensions, access in the official language requested and format of release for accessibility purposes.
•How does the new order-making power work?
The Information Commissioner now has the power, following an investigation of a complaint, to make binding orders in relation to access to information requests, including ordering the release of government records.
Orders issued by the Information Commissioner will normally take effect after 30 business days. To preserve the careful balance in the Access to Information Act between the public interest in transparency and accountability, and other important considerations, such as privacy and national security, a government institution that has serious concerns with an order could seek review by the Federal Court within 30 business days of receiving the order. In cases where a third party or the Privacy Commissioner has a right of review, there are an additional 10 business days before the order takes effect to allow these rights to be exercised.
•How is this different from the previous system?
•What is in the new legislation?
The Access to Information Act has not been significantly updated since its implementation in 1983, when government records were predominantly paper-based. The updated Act will improve the way government information is provided to Canadians by:
•giving the Information Commissioner the power, following an investigation of a complaint, to make binding orders in relation to access to information requests, including ordering the release of government records
•eliminating all fees for access to information requests, apart from the $5 application fee
•requiring institutions to proactively publish specific information known to be of interest to the public, and which provides greater transparency and accountability for the use of public funds, without the need for a request
•allowing government institutions within the same Ministerial portfolio to work together to process requests more efficiently, allowing small institutions to take advantage of larger departments’ expertise
•What is in the new legislation?
The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions in order to promote an open and democratic society and to enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions.
To help focus resources on requests that are consistent with the purpose of the Act, institutions may now seek the approval of the Information Commissioner to decline to act on requests that are vexatious, made in bad faith, or are otherwise an abuse of the right of access.
Similarly, the Information Commissioner may now refuse or cease to investigate a complaint if it is trivial, frivolous or vexatious, or made in bad faith; or if further investigation is unnecessary given the circumstances.
•How will this improve the delivery of the Access to Information program?
There are examples of individuals making hundreds of requests in a year to the same operational area of a government institution, or requesting all emails of a certain government employee for a period of several years.
•What is in the new legislation?
Consistent with the Government’s policy since 2016, the updated Access to Information Act eliminates all fees other than the application fee. The government no longer has the authority to set or charge additional fees, such as fees for processing a request or reproduction of documents.
The amount of the application fee is set through regulation and is currently fixed at $5.
In 2016, the Government issued the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, which directed institutions to charge only the $5 application fee and to waive all other fees for access to information requests.
•What are the new requirements?
The government is committed to raising the bar for openness and transparency and is taking steps to become “open by default,” by sharing an ever increasing amount of government data and information with Canadians.
To support that commitment, a new part of the Access to Information Act requires institutions to proactively publish specific information known to be of interest to the public, to provide greater transparency and accountability for the use of public funds. These changes put into law proactive disclosure practices previously only covered by federal policy, and introduce important new publication requirements that apply the Access to Information Act to a wider range of organizations.
•To whom, specifically, do the new proactive publication requirements apply?
The new proactive publication requirements apply to all the institutions currently covered by the Access to Information Act, including departments, agencies, administrative tribunals and boards, Crown corporations, and other institutions, such as Port Authorities. The Prime Minister’s Office, ministers’ offices, senators and members of Parliament, and administrative institutions that support Parliament and the courts are also subject to these requirements.
Proactive publication requirements for Senators, members of Parliament and administrative institutions that support Parliament and the courts come into force one year after the date of Royal Assent to ensure adequate time for these institutions to implement the changes effectively.
We generally recommend that individuals take the following steps when an issue arises: Contact the ATIP officer with the department or agency concerned, and try to resolve the issue directly with them. If that fails, contact our Office for further information or advice.
Section 22.3 requires that the OPC refuse access to personal information that was created in order to make a disclosure under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act or in the course of an investigation into a disclosure under that Act.
Under the Privacy Act, Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and foreign nationals, regardless of where they are located, can request access to their personal information held by federal government institutions.
Feb 24, 2016 · Let’s start with examples of information that, as a general rule, should not be released, regardless of who the person is (e.g., an employee, a member of the public) and where the information is located: Social security numbers: RCW 42.56.230(5); see also RCW 42.56.250(3) (specifically applies to agency employees and volunteers).
The federal government, as an employer, has a duty to keep employment records, as well as pension records, pursuant to the Employment Equity Act, the Employment Insurance Act and a number of other statutes and regulations.
