Question Period Note: Access to Information Act Review

The conduct of the Government’s Access to Information Act review

•Our access to information regime must reflect today’s digital world and Canadians’ expectations for accessible, timely, and trustworthy information.
•On June 18, 2020, we launched a full review of the Access to Information Act. It is taking a broad look at access to information, including:
oExamining the legislative framework;
oIdentifying opportunities to improve proactive publication to make information openly available; and
oAssessing processes and systems to improve service and reduce delays.
•This review is an opportunity for Canadians to participate in an open exchange about the right to access government information.
•While public engagement through the review portal wrapped up on August 15, there will be other opportunities for stakeholders, Indigenous groups and representatives, and interested Canadians to continue to share their views over the coming months.

Canada’s current access to information regime dates to 1983, when the Access to Information Act first came into effect. The Act represents a key cornerstone of the Canadian democratic system, but its administration across 265 federal institutions faces increasing pressures. In the last five years alone, the number of requests has more than doubled from approximately 68,000 requests in 2014-15 to more than 150,000 in 2019-20.

In 2015, the Government made the reform of the access to information regime a key mandate commitment for the President of the Treasury Board. In 2016, the Government announced that it would review the Access to Information Act in two phases, with Phase I comprising a targeted set of amendments to deliver on specific commitments, and Phase II representing a full review of the Act.

Phase I, or Bill C-58, was introduced in Parliament in June 2017 and received Royal Assent two years later, on June 21, 2019. One of the amendments made to the Act through Bill C-58 was a requirement for the President of the Treasury Board to undertake a review of the Act within one year of Royal Assent, and every five years thereafter. This requirement represents Phase II of the Government’s commitment to reform Canada’s access to information regime.

On June 18, 2020, the Government launched the Access to Information Act review in fulfilment of the legislative requirement. The review focuses on three broad areas: reviewing the legislative framework; opportunities to improve proactive publication to make information openly available; and assessing processes and systems to improve service and reduce delays. In addition, the review is also examining issues specific to Indigenous access to information.
In November 2020, President Duclos invited the Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner to provide recommendations to improve access to information, given their important roles and expertise. Both Commissioners have responded and submitted their input into the review. President Duclos also sent invitations to the Multi-stakeholder Forum on Open Government and National Indigenous Organizations. These invitations have been published on the review webpage in support of an open and transparent review.

To support public engagement, an online Access to Information platform was launched in March 2021, where the public was able to provide submissions, register for engagement events and participate in a user experience survey. To date, TBS received 34 submissions, over 300 survey responses and heard from 380 participants in five public events. Public engagement activities were closed on the platform on August 15, 2021. TBS has also been engaging with federal institutions subject to the Access to Information Act.
The input received throughout the public engagement process to date is being used to develop a ‘What We Heard’ report. Together with policy and legal analysis, these will inform the President’s final report and recommendations to be tabled in Parliament later in 2022.
The Government has committed to a robust engagement process with Indigenous peoples for Phase II of the review. Engagement with Indigenous stakeholders is ongoing and will be the subject of a separate ‘What We Heard’ report in the Spring 2022.

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