Access to information

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A strong access to information system is vital to maintaining a healthy democracy. Yet Canada's system is in shambles, plagued by long delays and a huge list of exceptions and exclusions to the right of access.

The Liberal government promised big changes to Canada's access to information system, then broke a key promise to open up the Offices of the Prime Minister and Ministers to public requests. The current system is failing Canadians and the government's reform bill, Bill C-58, won't fix it. 

Our country deserves an open and accountable government.

How you can help
What we're asking
Why it matters
Resources

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Demand that Members of Parliament fight for your right to access government information. Tell the government to withdraw Bill C-58 and give Canadians a bill that addresses seriously the broken access to information system.

  • Sign the petition: call on Minister Scott Brison to scrap Bill C-58 and write a new bill that respects the public's right to know!
  • Share on social media: tweet using #ATIreform and #RightToKnow.
  • Donate: support the #ATIreform campaign and CJFE’s important work.

DEMAND ATI REFORM

Read the joint statement to the President of the Treasury Board, Scott Brison, from a global coalition of civil society organizations.

We call for the government's proposed reform Bill C-58 to be scrapped, and for the government to write a bill that takes seriously the crisis undermining our right to know. The resulting bill must, at bare minimum, include the following changes:

  • Deliver on the government's broken promise to expand the scope of the Act to cover the Offices of the Prime Minister and Ministers.

  • Introduce a formal duty to document for public officials, and require them to preserve records of their decision making.

  • Limiting the discretion of public authorities to extend the time limits for responding to requests.

  • Narrow exceptions and exclusions to the right of access and them subject to a test of harm and a public interest override.

  • Give the Information Commissioner binding, enforceable order powers over all complaints regarding requests for information. This was one of the few significant reforms included in Bill C-58, and it should be retained.

  • Reject dangerous new measures that would allow the government the right to ignore information requests that they deem to be "frivolous or vexatious."

WHY IT MATTERS

The public has the right to obtain the information they need to participate meaningfully in the democratic process, while also holding Canada’s public officials and Members of Parliament accountable. The current system fails to meet these basic standards, and Bill C-58 won’t fix it.

  • Canada's access to information law ranks 49th out of 111 countries that have laws. That's 13 places below Russia.
  • A study of 28,000 access to information requests revealed that 57% of all data released was censored, and 18% could not be found at all.
  • In some cases, responses to access to information requests have been delayed more than a thousand days. The legal time limit is 30 days. 

RESOURCES

Learn more about access to information in Canada

#ATIREFORM SERIES

Journalists, public interest researchers and other professionals share their stories about Canada's Access to Information system.

Joint Statement: Fix Canada's broken access to information system

Sep 14, 2015
The deficit of trust between Canada’s voters and its elected officials has never been higher, largely due to a breakdown in the system of accountability. Key to this is the fact that, after years of neglect, Canada’s access to information system is in crisis. Read more

Fix Canada’s Broken Access to Information System

Sep 12, 2015
TORONTO —The undersigned organizations have issued a joint letter to the major political parties in Canada calling on them to make concrete commitments to reform Canada’s access to information system. A strong access to information system is vital to maintaining a healthy democracy Read more

Lyon Declaration on ATI and Development included in UN’s 2030 Agenda

Sep 03, 2015
As a signatory to the Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development, CJFE celebrates its incorporation into the United Nation’s (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Read more

Risky Business: Protections for Freelance Journalists

Sep 01, 2015
Freelance journalists’ increasing lack of legal protections and resources is putting their ability to report freely at risk. Costly libel lawsuits and barriers to information, like publication bans, sealing orders and access to information request fees, make in-depth investigative work increasingly harder and rarer. Read more

Free Expression is Slipping Away

Jul 01, 2015
Free expression rights in Canada have been under attack, and Canadians can no longer afford to take our rights for granted. With muzzling of scientists, barriers to information, increased surveillance, decreased privacy and dangerous legislation like Bill C-51, CJFE President Alice Klein asks us to stand up for our rights. Read more

8 lessons on the state of our right to know in Canada

May 13, 2015
Wednesday, May 13, 2015 On Friday, May 8th, CJFE and the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University co-hosted “Flying Blind: The Right to Know, Government Obstruction, and Fixing Access in Canada.” The full-day conference gathered experts from journalism, law, government, and academia to share their knowledge and insights about... Read more

Why access to information is crucial

May 07, 2015
Canada’s access to information (ATI) system is in shambles: requests are delayed ad infinitum (despite the 30-day response timeframe required by law); when documents are provided, they are often heavily redacted; and the information commissioner who oversees the system is all but powerless to enact change. Basically, if the federal or a provincial government doesn’t want controversial documents to get out, it can stop them from reaching the public. Read more

Looking for Answers: Canada’s broken access to information system

May 06, 2015
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Poll says Canadians want transparency, oversight and privacy protection from government

May 05, 2015
Results released in CJFE’s annual Review of Free Expression in Canada TORONTO – 2014 marked a new low for freedom of expression in Canada, according to Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)’s 2015 Review of Free Expression in Canada, released today. The sixth annual report shines a spotlight on the extent to which the federal government has expanded its powers to withhold information. Read more

CJFE’s 2015 Free expression report card: Who's failing, and who's taking notice?

May 05, 2015
Each year as a part of CJFE’s Review of Free Expression in Canada, we publish our annual Report Card, assigning grades to institutions and groups for their work upholding free expression across Canada over the past year. Read more
 

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