Question Period Note: 2025-26 Annual Report of the Information Commissioner

What is TBS’ response to the 2025-2026 Annual Report from the Office of the Information Commissioner?

• We welcome the Information Commissioner’s views on improving the Access to Information Act and its administration across the federal government.
• The Information Commissioner fulfills an important role in Canada and is a key part of our democracy.
• Access to government information underpins public trust and strengthens the transparency and accountability of federal institutions.
• The Commissioner’s feedback, as well as other input received during our current public engagement process, will be carefully considered as we identify possible actions to improve the access to information regime.

The Access to Information Act (the Act) mandates the Information Commissioner of Canada to independently oversee access to government records. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) supports the Commissioner by leveraging the full range of tools and powers of the position. Within three months after the end of each fiscal year, the Act requires the Commissioner to submit an annual report to Parliament on the OIC’s activities during that fiscal year.
The 2025-26 Annual Report is the Commissioner’s ninth overall and the second in her current term, which began in March 2025. Consistent with previous reports and public statements over the past several years, it delivers a critical assessment of Canada’s access to information regime, highlighting persistent systemic issues despite ongoing collaboration with government institutions.
In the report, the Commissioner emphasizes that leadership, governance, and modern information management practices are as critical to transparency as that of adequate operational resourcing or processing efficiency, and she singles out specific institutions to illustrate both strengths and weaknesses.
The report speaks positively of efforts at Library and Archives Canada and at the Department of National Defence, where senior leadership engagement and targeted measures have helped improve timeliness and reduce complaints. It also highlights ongoing processing challenges at the Privy Council Office and underscores recordkeeping issues identified during the Commissioner’s systemic investigation into the Canada Border Services Agency’s handling of requests for access to records on ArriveCAN between March 2020 and February 23, 2024.
Under the Act, the President of the Treasury Board is responsible for the overall administration of the Act and for assessing federal institutions’ compliance with the provisions under the Commissioner’s oversight. Heads of government institutions are accountable for the administration of the Act within the institutions under their purview, including monitoring compliance and performance.
The report also references the Commissioner’s views on the 2025 legislative review of the Act, launched on June 20, 2025. The review provides the Government of Canada with an opportunity to explore ways to further strengthen the access to information regime and to address broad systemic challenges that are significantly impacting the access to information system.
The Commissioner’s feedback was submitted to TBS on June 15, 2026. In her submission, she expresses concern that the review is modest and appears oriented to reducing administrative burden rather than strengthening Canadians’ right to know, and she urged TBS to take her recommendations seriously.
The government welcomes the Commissioner’s views on improving the Act. Her feedback will be examined in developing the mandatory report to Parliament on the review and will inform the government’s broader approach to modernizing the access to information regime.

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