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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

Proactive Publication Requirements Table

All government institutions subject to the ATIA

Legislative Requirement	Deadline (in calendar days)
Travel expenses of senior officers or employees	30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Hospitality expenses of senior officers or employees	30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Reports tabled in Parliament	30 days after tabling

Departments, agencies and other bodies subject to the ATIA and listed in Schedules I, I.1, or II of the Financial Administration Act

Legislative Requirement	Deadline (in calendar days)
Briefing packages for new or incoming deputy heads	120 days after appointment
Titles and tracking numbers of memoranda	30 days after the end of the month received
Briefing packages for Parliamentary Committee appearances	120 days after appearance
Grants & Contributions	30 days after the quarter
Contracts over $10,000	Q1-3: 30 days after the quarter Q4: 60 days after the quarter

Government institutions for which the Treasury Board is the employer

Legislative Requirement	Deadline (in calendar days)
Reclassification of positions	30 days after the quarter

Ministers

Legislative Requirement	Deadline (in calendar days)
Mandate Letters (published by the Office of the Prime Minister)	30 days after being issued
Briefing packages prepared for new or incoming ministers	120 days after appointment
Titles and tracking numbers of memoranda	30 days after the end of the month received
Question Period Notes	30 days after last sitting day in June & December, or no later than July 31 or January 31 if the House of Commons is not sitting in June or December
Briefing packages for Parliamentary Committee appearances	120 days after appearance
Travel expenses of ministers, ministerial advisers, ministerial staff	30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Hospitality expenses of ministers, ministerial advisers, ministerial staff	30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Contracts over $10,000	Q1-3: 30 days after the end of the quarter Q4: 60 days after the end of the quarter
Ministers' Office Expenses	120 days after fiscal year end

Proactive Publication Requirements

View General Provisions for Proactive Publication

Form of publications 79 (1) The designated Minister shall specify the form of the publications referred to in sections 74 to 78.

Publication not required 80 (1) A minister is not required to cause to be published any of the information, any part of the information, any of the materials or any part of the materials referred to in any of sections 74 to 78 if that information, that part of the information, those materials or that part of those materials were set out in a record and, in dealing with a request for access to that record, a head of a government institution could under Part 1 refuse to disclose that record, in whole or in part, for a reason that is set out in that Part.

Publication not permitted (2) A minister shall not cause to be published any of the information, any part of the information, any of the materials or any part of the materials referred to in any of sections 74 to 78 if that information, that part of the information, those materials or that part of those materials were set out in a record and, in dealing with a request for access to that record, a head of a government institution would be required under Part 1 to refuse to disclose that record, in whole or in part, for a reason that is set out in that Part or because that Part does not apply to the information or materials in question.

Information deemed not to be personal information (3) For the purposes of this section, information that must be published under section 75 or 76 is not personal information.

Form of publications 89 (1) The designated Minister shall specify the form of the publications referred to in sections 82 to 88.

Publication not required 90 (1) A head of a government institution is not required to cause to be published any of the information, any part of the information, any of the materials or any part of the materials referred to in any of sections 82 to 88 if that information, that part of the information, those materials or that part of those materials were set out in a record and, in dealing with a request for access to that record, he or she could under Part 1 refuse to disclose that record, in whole or in part, for a reason that is set out in that Part.

Publication not permitted (2) A head of a government institution shall not cause to be published any of the information, any part of the information, any of the materials or any part of the materials referred to in any of sections 82 to 88 if that information, that part of the information, those materials or that part of those materials were set out in a record and, in dealing with a request for access to that record, he or she would be required under Part 1 to refuse to disclose that record, in whole or in part, for a reason that is set out in that Part or because that Part does not apply to the information or materials in question.