Access to Information Act
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Short title
This Act may be cited as the Access to Information Act .
Section 2 — Purpose of Act
The purpose of this 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…
Section 3 — Definitions
In this Act, alternative format , with respect to a record, means a format that allows a person with a sensory disability to read or listen to that record; ( support de substitution ) business day…
Section 3.01 — For greater certainty
For greater certainty, any provision of this Act that applies to a government institution that is a parent Crown corporation applies to any of its wholly-owned subsidiaries within the meaning of…
Section 3.1 — For greater certainty
For greater certainty, for the purposes of this Act, information that relates to the general administration of a government institution includes information that relates to expenses paid by the…
Section 3.2 — Power to designate Minister
The Governor in Council may designate a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada to be the Minister for the purposes of any provision of this Act. The Governor in Council may, by order,…
Section 4 — Right to access to records
Subject to this Part, but notwithstanding any other Act of Parliament, every person who is a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and…
Section 5 — Publication on government institutions
The designated Minister shall cause to be published, on a periodic basis not less frequently than once each year, a publication containing a description of the organization and responsibilities of…
Section 6 — Request for access to record
A request for access to a record under this Part shall be made in writing to the government institution that has control of the record and shall provide sufficient detail to enable an experienced…
Section 6.1 — Reasons for declining to act on request
With the Information Commissioner’s written approval, the head of a government institution may, before giving a person access to a record or refusing to do so, decline to act on the person’s request…
Section 7 — Notice where access requested
Where access to a record is requested under this Part, the head of the government institution to which the request is made shall, subject to sections 8 and 9, within 30 days after the request is…
Section 8 — Transfer of request
Where a government institution receives a request for access to a record under this Part and the head of the institution considers that another government institution has a greater interest in the…
Section 9 — Extension of time limits
The head of a government institution may extend the time limit set out in section 7 or subsection 8(1) in respect of a request under this Part for a reasonable period of time, having regard to the…
Section 10 — Where access is refused
Where the head of a government institution refuses to give access to a record requested under this Part or a part thereof, the head of the institution shall state in the notice given under paragraph…
Section 11 — Application fee
Subject to this section, a person who makes a request for access to a record under this Part shall pay, at the time the request is made, any application fee of not more than $25, that may be…
Section 12 — Access to record
A person who is given access to a record or a part thereof under this Part shall, subject to the regulations, be given an opportunity to examine the record or part thereof or be given a copy thereof.…
Section 13 — Information obtained in confidence
Subject to subsection (2), the head of a government institution shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information that was obtained in confidence from the…
Section 14 — Federal-provincial affairs
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the…
Section 15 — International affairs and defence
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the…
Section 16 — Law enforcement and investigations
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information obtained or prepared by any government institution, or part of any…
Section 16.1 — Records relating to investigations, examinations and audits
The following heads of government institutions shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information that was obtained or created by them or on their behalf in the…
Section 16.2 — Records relating to investigations
The Commissioner of Lobbying shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information that was obtained or created by the Commissioner or on the Commissioner’s behalf…
Section 16.3 — Investigations, examinations and reviews under the Canada Elections Act
Subject to section 541 of the Canada Elections Act , the Chief Electoral Officer may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information that was obtained or created by…
Section 16.31
[Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 391]
Section 16.4 — Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
The Public Sector Integrity Commissioner shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information obtained or created by him or her or on his or her behalf in the…
Section 16.5 — Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act
The head of a government institution shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information created for the purpose of making a disclosure under the Public Servants…
Section 16.6 — Secretariat of National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians
The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information obtained or created by…
Section 17 — Safety of individuals
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety…
Section 18 — Economic interests of Canada
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that belongs…
Section 18.1 — Economic interests of certain government institutions
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose a record requested under this Part that contains trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that belongs…
Section 19 — Personal information
Subject to subsection (2), the head of a government institution shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains personal information. The head of a government institution…
Section 20 — Third party information
Subject to this section, the head of a government institution shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains trade secrets of a third party; financial, commercial,…
Section 20.1 — Public Sector Pension Investment Board
The head of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board shall refuse to disclose a record requested under this Part that contains advice or information relating to investment that the Board has…
Section 20.2 — Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
The head of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board shall refuse to disclose a record requested under this Part that contains advice or information relating to investment that the Board has obtained…
Section 20.4 — National Arts Centre Corporation
The head of the National Arts Centre Corporation shall refuse to disclose a record requested under this Part if the disclosure would reveal the terms of a contract for the services of a performing…
Section 21 — Advice, etc.
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains advice or recommendations developed by or for a government institution or a minister of…
Section 22 — Testing procedures, tests and audits
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information relating to testing or auditing procedures or techniques or details of…
Section 22.1 — Internal audits
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains a draft report of an internal audit of a government institution or any related audit…
Section 23 — Protected information — solicitors, advocates and notaries
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege or the professional secrecy of…
Section 23.1 — Protected information — patents and trademarks
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information that is subject to the privilege set out in section 16.1 of the Patent Act…
Section 24 — Statutory prohibitions against disclosure
The head of a government institution shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part that contains information the disclosure of which is restricted by or pursuant to any provision set…
Section 25 — Severability
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Part, where a request is made to a government institution for access to a record that the head of the institution is authorized to refuse to disclose under…
Section 26 — Refusal of access if information to be published
The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Part or any part of a record if the head of the institution believes on reasonable grounds that the…
Section 27 — Notice to third parties
If the head of a government institution intends to disclose a record requested under this Part that contains or that the head has reason to believe might contain trade secrets of a third party,…
Section 28 — Representations of third party and decision
Where a notice is given by the head of a government institution under subsection 27(1) to a third party in respect of a record or a part thereof, the third party shall, within twenty days after the…
Section 29
[Repealed, 2019, c. 18, s. 12]
Section 30 — Receipt and investigation of complaints
Subject to this Part, the Information Commissioner shall receive and investigate complaints from persons who have been refused access to a record requested under this Part or a part thereof; from…
Section 31 — Written complaint
A complaint under this Part shall be made to the Information Commissioner in writing unless the Commissioner authorizes otherwise. If the complaint relates to a request by a person for access to a…
Section 32 — Notice of intention to investigate
Before commencing an investigation of a complaint under this Part, the Information Commissioner shall notify the head of the government institution concerned of the intention to carry out the…
Section 33 — Notice to third parties
Where the head of a government institution refuses to disclose a record requested under this Part or a part thereof and receives a notice under section 32 of a complaint in respect of the refusal,…