Access to Information Modernization Action Plan Tracker

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Action:
Provide guidance to institutions on fulfilling their duty to assist, by clarifying requests when received and managing voluminous requests appropriately.
Organization:
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Category:
(C01) Improving Services to Canadians
Subcategory:
(C01.3) Actions to provide modern digital tools and improve request processing
Status:
Completed
Action Number:
C01.3.2
Target Date:
Fiscal Year 2024-25
Benefits:

Access to information (ATI) professionals can fulfill their duty to assist by clarifying requests upon receipt, which reduces the risk of processing unnecessarily complex requests.

Canadians receive more timely responses to ATI requests containing the information they are looking for.

Results:

In February 2025, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) posted an updated version of Chapter 9 – Processing Requests of the Access to Information Manual to the ATIP Professionals GCcollab group. The chapter provides guidance to government institutions on responding to requests for information within the framework provided by the Access to Information Act. It outlines the steps of the request process, including those related to clarifying requests and to dealing with large volumes of responsive records. The chapter will be published to canada.ca as soon as practicable in fiscal year 2025-26.

Further, in March 2025, TBS posted an updated version of Chapter 5 – Right of Access of the Access to Information Manual to the ATIP Professionals GCcollab group. The chapter provides guidance to government institutions on procedures related to establishing the requester’s right of access and on the duty to assist. The chapter will be published to canada.ca as soon as practicable in fiscal year 2025-26.