Access to Information

The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to extend the present laws of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution 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.

Principles for Assisting Applicants

In processing your access request under the Access to Information Act, we will:

1. Process your request without regard to your identity.
2. Offer reasonable assistance throughout the request process.
3. Provide information on the Access to Information Act, including information on the processing of your request and your right to complain to the Information Commissioner of Canada.
4. Inform you as appropriate and without undue delay when your request needs to be clarified.
5. Make every reasonable effort to locate and retrieve the requested records under the control of the government institution.
6. Apply limited and specific exemptions to the requested records.
7. Provide accurate and complete responses.
8. Provide timely access to the requested information.
9. Provide records in the format and official language requested, as appropriate.
10. Provide an appropriate location within the government institution to examine the requested information.

The Access to Information and Privacy Online Request Service

This service offers a convenient way to

• enable individuals to make an online request for information that is held by a Government of Canada institution
• eliminate the need to print, scan, and email or mail a form to an institution.

Annual Reports on the Access to Information Act