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Access to Information

Please note that some sections are still under review. For more information, please email OCIO-APCDO-BDPI-BPCAP@tbs-sct.gc.ca.

ATIOGPD is part of the Office of the Chief Information Officer of Canada at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). TBS is a Central Agency of the Government of Canada, alongside the Privy Council Office and the Department of Finance. ATIOGPD’s mandate is to support the President of the Treasury Board as the minister responsible for the government-wide administration of the Access to Information Act (ATIA). Over 260 federal institutions are subject to the ATIA, including departments, agencies, Crown corporations, and statutory bodies.

Overview of the ATIA

Policies

Policy instruments and tools help to support the administration of the Government of Canada’s access to information program. Learn more about the roles, responsibilities and best practices for government institutions subject to the ATIA. There are three instruments that apply to your daily work: the Policy on Access to Information, the Directive on Access to Information Requests, and the Directive on Proactive Publication. They, along with related instruments under the Privacy Act, can be found here: Policies, directives, standards, and guidelines

Guidance

• The Access to Information Manual is intended as a reference tool to help government institutions interpret and administer the ATIA and the ATI Regulation, and to meet the requirements of related policy.
• The Guidance on the Disclosure of Historical Records under the Access to Information Act promotes access to Canada’s history by outlining recommended time thresholds (sunset clauses) to encourage heads of institutions and their delegates to consider the passage of time as a relevant factor when determining whether to release historical records under the ATIA.
• Access to Information and Privacy Notices provide guidance on the interpretation and application of the ATIA and Privacy Act and their related instruments.

ATIA – What’s new?

Reviewing the Access to Information Act

Information about the current review, feedback and engagement, areas of focus, progress can be found at the following link: 2025 review of the Access to Information Act

Access to Information Modernization Action Plan

Following the first legislated access to information review, this plan outlines actions that will be undertaken by TBS to make operational and administrative improvements to the access to information regime. The action plan is one of the key pillars of the Government of Canada Trust and Transparency Strategy. The Access to Information Modernization Action Plan results tracking tool provides progress updates on the efforts to modernize the access to information regime.

Proactive Publication

What is Proactive Publication?

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.

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Proactive Publication Requirements

View requirements at a glance

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