The Director, Documentation, Information & Access Service has administrative responsibility for the monitoring of requests for information, received by the department, under the Access to Information Act (the Act).

The Act gives individuals the legal right to see official documents held by Government Bodies. Requests can also be made for personal information to be changed if it is incomplete, misleading, out of date, or incorrect.

Applicants can make a request to view official documents in the possession, custody or control of a government body and which are connected to its functions. However, there are certain documents exempt from disclosure due to the nature of their contents. These include documents pertaining to:

• Security, defense, international relations;(S.14(a))
• The Cabinet; (S.15)
• Law Enforcement;(S. 16)
• Legal Privilege; (s. 17)
• The national economy; (S. 18)
• Government’s deliberating processes; (S. 19)
• Business affairs of others (trade secrets, etc.); (S. 20)
• Personal privacy; (S. 22)
• Heritage sites (S. 21)

Making a Request

When making a request, individuals should try to identify the documents they wish to have access to and the government body most likely to be the custodian.

Applicants can make a request by:

• Writing
• Telephone
• Email
• Fax
• Online submission (fillable form)

Applicants are encouraged to give as much information as possible about the documents they wish to access. This will enable the Officer assigned to better assist with your request.

Include contact information which will allow the responsible Officer for Access to Information applications to keep in contact with you. This will assist the Officer in obtaining clarification from you and enable the observance of the timeline (30 days from receipt of application) prescribed for finding and granting access.