Proactive Publication Guidance - Access to Information Act

The Government of Canada is improving transparency by increasing the release of information so that Canadians are better able to hold Parliament, their Government, and public sector officials to account. To that end, the government of Canada added requirements under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) mandating the proactive publication of specific information.

Proactive Publications are information known to be of public interest that government departments subject to the (ATIA) must publish on a scheduled and proactive basis. Proactive Publication requirements are noted in Part II of the ATIA, a new section introduced with the coming into force of Bill C-58 in June 2019 an Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

In all, Proactive Publication requirements apply to:

• the Prime Minister’s Office
• ministers’ offices
• federal departments, agencies, administrative tribunals and boards
• Crown corporations
• other federal institutions, such as Port Authorities
• Senators
• members of Parliament
• the administrative institutions that support Parliament and the courts

This change has significantly expanded the openness and transparency of government information and provided Canadians with unprecedented insight into the government’s priorities, decision-making and operations. Since these requirements came into force in June 2019, the Open Government Portal has given the public access to over 35,000 briefing note titles and more than 1,600 Question Period notes.

For example, Canadians can now find the titles of briefing notes to ministers and deputy ministers, Question Period notes for ministers, briefing packages prepared for incoming deputies and ministers, and materials prepared for appearances at Parliamentary Committees online at the Open Government Portal. The Portal is easy to use, allowing users to search for the type of record they wish to access, the institution it comes from, or subject matters of interest.