More information on access to information

The Access to Information Act

Since 1983, the Access to Information Act has maintained openness and transparency by serving the important public interest of enabling public debate on the conduct of government institutions, in turn strengthening the accountability of the Government of Canada to Canadians.

The core principle of the Act is that government information should be available to the public, subject only to limited and specific exceptions to protect privacy, confidentiality and security.

Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and corporations resident in Canada have the right to request access to any record under the control of a government institution.

Roughly 240 government institutions are subject to the Act, comprising 82 departments and agencies, and approximately 160 Crown Corporations and wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act

On May 5, 2016, the Government issued the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act. It guides institutions on how to administer the Access to Information Act in ways that are consistent with the Government’s commitment to more open and transparent government.

The Interim Directive enshrines the principle of “open by default”. It also directs that:

• all fees, apart from the $5 application fee, will be waived; and
• when feasible, requesters will receive information in the format of their choice, including open and reusable formats (e.g. in a form that can be read and used by a computer).

The Interim Directive will be in place until the Access to Information Act goes through a full legislative review.  This full review is scheduled for no later than 2018, once the first round of improvements to the Act have been made.

The access to information program

The federal access to information (ATI) program applies to approximately 240 government institutions subject to the Access to Information Act.

The Government of Canada publishes an annual statistical report on the access to information program. Key information from these annual reports is summarized below.

Number of requests

• Since 1983, the number of requests has increased by an average of 13 per cent annually, with 68,193 requests received in 2014-15.

Figure 01 - Text version

This table shows the number of access to information requests received by the Government of Canada annually from 1983-84 to 2014-15.

Year	Number of access to information requests received
1983-1984	1,513
1984-1985	2,229
1985-1986	3,606
1986-1987	5,450
1987-1988	7,301
1988-1989	8,853
1989-1990	10,234
1990-1991	11,093
1991-1992	10,387
1992-1993	9,729
1993-1994	10,422
1994-1995	12,861
1995-1996	13,124
1996-1997	12,476
1997-1998	12,206
1998-1999	14,340
1999-2000	19,294
2000-2001	20,789
2001-2002	21,265
2002-2003	22,977
2003-2004	25,234
2004-2005	25,207
2005-2006	27,269
2006-2007	29,182
2007-2008	31,487
2008-2009	34,041
2009-2010	35,154
2010-2011	41,641
2011-2012	43,194
2012-2013	55,145
2013-2014	60,105
2014-2015	68,193

Requestors, 2014-15

• Most requests were from the public and businesses in 2014-15.

Figure 02 - Text version

This table shows who the top category of access to information requestors were for 2014-15.

Category of requestor	Number of requests	Percentage
Public	28,082	41
Business	25,170	37
Media	7,873	11
Organization	3,297	5
Academia	2,008	3
Unknown	1,763	3
Total	68,193	100

Top ten institutions by number of requests, 2014-15

Figure 03 - Text version

This table shows the top 10 Government of Canada institutions that received access to information requests in 2014-15 and their respective share of the 68,193 total requests received by all of government in 2014-15.

Rank	Institution	Number of access to information requests received, 2014-15	Share of total access to information requests by all of government, 2014-15
1	Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada	34,066	49.96%
2	Canada Border  Services Agency	6,705	9.83%
3	Royal Canadian Mounted Police	3,343	4.90%
4	Canada Revenue Agency	3,006	4.41%
5	National Defense	2,073	3.04%
6	Health Canada	1,569	2.30%
7	Environment and Climate Change Canada	1,488	2.18%
8	Employment and Social Development Canada	1,160	1.70%
9	Transport Canada	937	1.37%
10	Infrastructure Canada	919	1.35%

Costs

• In 2014-15, federal institutions spent over $67 million in direct costs to administer the Access to Information Act. This does not include costs associated with government business areas searching for and reviewing documents.
• Direct costs have increased by an average eight per cent annually.

Figure 04 - Text version

This table shows the number of access to information requests received by the Government of Canada annually between 1983-84 and 2014-15 and the direct costs, adjusted in real 2015 dollars, to administer these requests annually between 1983-84 and 2014-15.

Year	Total number of access to information requests received annually	Real dollar 2015
1983-1984	1,513	$5,561,290
1984-1985	2,229	$7,565,295
1985-1986	3,606	$8,441,215
1986-1987	5,450	$7,736,798
1987-1988	7,301	$7,364,309
1988-1989	8,853	$9,695,033
1989-1990	10,234	$11,891,701
1990-1991	11,093	$11,020,116
1991-1992	10,387	$9,919,312
1992-1993	9,729	$14,438,682
1993-1994	10,422	$12,777,278
1994-1995	12,861	$14,653,585
1995-1996	13,124	$16,918,870
1996-1997	12,476	$17,549,077
1997-1998	12,206	$16,966,869
1998-1999	14,340	$19,913,100
1999-2000	19,294	$23,441,085
2000-2001	20,789	$28,655,645
2001-2002	21,265	$30,093,442
2002-2003	22,977	$32,169,478
2003-2004	25,234	$29,986,032
2004-2005	25,207	$31,964,978
2005-2006	27,269	$38,398,377
2006-2007	29,182	$39,430,263
2007-2008	31,487	$49,909,269
2008-2009	34,041	$53,746,764
2009-2010	35,154	$52,380,599
2010-2011	41,641	$57,365,471
2011-2012	43,194	$62,514,108
2012-2013	55,145	$61,458,177
2013-2014	60,105	$64,159,144
2014-2015	68,193	$61,451,087

Related Links

• Access to Information Act 
• Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act
• Annual bulletin on statistics on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act
• Privacy Act