The Access to Information Act gives Canadians the right to request information from federal institutions. If you submitted a request for information to a federal institution under the Act and you are not satisfied with how it was processed, you may complain to the OIC.
You can ask for records from the OIC by making an access request under the Access to Information Act. Anyone who believes that their access request was improperly handled by the OIC may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner ad hoc.
Complaints regarding matters covered by the Privacy Act are only investigated by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
The OIC investigates complaints under the Access to Information Act. Not all institutions are subject to the Act – it applies to about 250 institutions listed in Schedule I of the Act.
To make an access to information request to a federal government institution, see the ATIP Online Request Service.
The time frame for filing a complaint to the OIC is within 60 days after you have received response to your access request from a federal institution, or within 60 days after you became aware that grounds for the complaint exist.
To inquire as to the status of your complaint, please contact us.
Continue to online complaint form
, or Download Form (PDF)
Download complaint form pdf
