Key messages

ETHI’s report – Recommendations from the Committee

The Committee’s study has resulted in a number of recommendations that I strongly believe could have a positive impact on enhancing access to information.
Many of the 38 recommendations are in line with those found in my observations to the Government’s review, or address the findings of my investigations into systemic issues at institutions like Library and Archives Canadaand Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
For example:
- Declassification system
- Expanding the coverage of the Act (PM and Ministers’ Offices)
- Adding a duty to document
- Imposing a time limit on consultations
- Making the Cabinet Confidences subject to the Act and to the IC’s review
- Adding a public interest override
I was especially pleased to see that the Committee has recommended that ‘’the Government of Canada establish an independent funding mechanism for the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada and other Agents of Parliament who do not have access to such mechanism.’’

The Committee’s recommendations can only translate into actual results if the Government commits to their implementation.
If the Government cares about the state of our democracy, it will take action to fix the system, which is no longer meeting its intended purpose (transparency/timely access to information).

The Access to Information Act turned 40 this past July and must be overhauled.
The access system has deteriorated to the point where it no longer serves its intended purpose.
Canadians should be concerned that the system is not working properly.
How can Canadians participate in society and make informed decisions if they cannot get access to information held by government institutions?
This information belongs to them – and the right of access to this information is their quasi-constitutional right.

On October 4, 2023, along with my counterparts from the provinces and territories, I signed a joint resolution aimed at reinforcing the public's right to access government-held information.
This resolution was a call for federal, provincial and territorial governments to act swiftly and decisively in modernizing their respective laws, policies, and information management practices, to strengthen access to information regimes and support a culture of transparency across Canada.
It has never been more important for Canadians to have access to official government records if we are to maintain confidence in our democratic institutions.
Timely access to accurate facts and reliable information is more critical than ever.

Many chapters of Canada’s rich history remain unknown because of lack of systemic access to archival records.
This would no longer be the case if Canada had a proper system of declassification.
My Office conducts a significant number of investigations involving historical documents. Investigations have revealed that redactions made under section 15 of the Act are often applied too broadly, as well as based on the document’s classification rather than its contents.
Progress on declassification of records would lessen the pressure on the access system and complaints process.

Culture change – the best legislation will never work if government leaders do not commit to making access a priority with clear objectives, resources, training, and innovation.
Legislative change – a strong legislative framework is the foundation of a strong access to information system.
Investment – in the necessary resources, training, tools and technology to support modernizing the system (not just for my office, but for the institutions that are dealing with access requests).

When the Act was amended in 2019, I pointed out that the amendments were a step in the right direction, but that further changes would be necessary.
In my opinion, priority should be given to the following changes:
broaden the application of the Access to Information Act to include the offices of the Prime Minister and ministers;
subject Cabinet confidences to the Act;
limit the application of certain exemptions, such as section 21, which relates to advice and recommendations

Recently, I sent a questionnaire to the ATIP community.
ATIP professionals believe that better information management practices (88%); better training for public servants (82%) and changes to the legislation (60%) could be effective in fostering a more transparent and open culture within the federal government.

My Office is the oversight body responsible for investigating compliance with the Access to Information Act. As such, it is crucial for our credibility to ensure that requests are treated in a way that is 100% compliant with the Act.
We do not have requests with missed deadlines, and extensions are kept to the absolute minimum. The goal is always maximum disclosure while applying mandatory exemptions and respecting the confidentiality obligations of the Act.
In order to accomplish this, we take steps to ensure that our ATIP team has the tools and resources required.
We recently had an unprecedented growth in volume that saw us add a permanent resource to the team.
We also prioritized the updating of our case management system to ensure that the most up to date tools were available to efficiently process requests.
The results speak for themselves. We have not had a deemed refusal on a request in over 13 years and our average response times are below the 30-day threshold.
We work with stakeholders and requesters to ensure that the information being sought is complete and that we release as much as possible.
Our organization as a whole prioritizes ATIP requests and collaborates to ensure that requesters rights are respected.