More government information at your fingertips

March 6, 2020

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APA	Open Government, Government of Canada. (2020, March 6). More government information at your fingertips. Retrieved from https://open.canada.ca/en/blog/more-government-information-your-fingertips
MLA	“More government information at your fingertips.” Open Government, Government of Canada, 6 March 2020, https://open.canada.ca/en/blog/more-government-information-your-fingertips

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On January 12, 2020, for the very first time, Canadians could access Question Period notes through the Open Government Portal, providing them further insight into government issues of the day.

These notes are prepared by departments to assist Cabinet ministers when taking part in the daily Question Period in the House of Commons. Question Period is an important part of our parliamentary democracy where members of the House can pose questions to ministers on issues of the day.

Question Period notes are now being published online on open.canada.ca as a result of recent amendments to the Access to Information Act. I encourage you to visit the Open Government Portal and take a look at the 700+ Question Period notes that are already released.

Keep in mind that, in accordance with the Act, Question Period notes may be redacted, for example, to protect the confidentiality of information related to national security, personal information, or Cabinet confidences. You can learn more about exemptions and exclusions on the Justice Laws Website.

In addition to the collection of Question Period notes, there is an ever-growing list of titles of more than 11,000 memoranda received by ministers and deputy ministers that have also been proactively published since June 2019.

We are excited to see more information being released. Stay tuned for the proactive publication in March 2020 of briefing materials prepared by departments for incoming ministers and deputy ministers, significantly expanding the collection already online.

As always, your feedback on our progress is welcome as we continue our work to improve the openness and transparency of government.

Ruth Naylor

Ruth Naylor

Executive Director

Ruth Naylor is Executive Director, Information and Privacy Policy Division at Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, responsible for policies and guidance on access to information and privacy protection across the federal government.

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