Access to information and privacy


The Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act came into effect on July 1, 1983.

These acts provide the legal right to obtain information, in any form, that is under the control of a government institution. The general purpose of these acts is to make government more open and transparent.

Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or any person (or entity) present in Canada the right to access records under the control of a federal government institution in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public; that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific; and that decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.

You may make a request under the Access to Information Act for information under the control of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Privacy Act

The Privacy Act protects the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a government institution and provides individuals with a right to access and request correction to this information. The right to access under the Privacy Act has been extended to include all individuals currently living in and outside of Canada to whom that right has not been extended previously. To request a correction to your personal information, please use the form TBS/SCT 350-11.

In accordance with section 7 of the Privacy Act, personal information can only be used in accordance with the purpose for which the information was collected or for a use consistent with that purpose. Information protected by the Privacy Act can only be disclosed with the consent of the person to whom it relates or in accordance with the exception terms of subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act.

You may make a request under the Privacy Act for your personal information held by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Submitting a request online to the Canadian Human Rights Commission

The ATIP Online Request service is an efficient and convenient way to submit access to information or personal information requests online.

You may submit requests:

You may also submit a letter, as long as it indicates under which Act the request is being made and the request must include sufficient detail to enable an employee, with a reasonable effort, to identify the records that are being requested. For example, you should include:

  • your contact information (phone number and email address)
  • the timeframe required (e.g. January 1st, 2008, to March 31st, 2009)
  • the titles of the documents required (if available)
  • the complaint file number (if applicable)

Send the completed form or letter and $5.00 application fee (for access to information requests only) to:

Access to Information and Privacy Unit
Canadian Human Rights Commission
344 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1E1
 

Note: If you send your completed form by e-mail, the application fee for access to information requests must be sent by regular mail or by courier.

Timeframe for responding to requests

Access to information

For requests made pursuant to the Access to Information Act, the Commission has 30 days to respond. However, this period may be extended for a reasonable period of time if the request is for a large number of records or requires a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution.

A time extension may also be granted if consultations are necessary to comply with the request that cannot be completed within the original time limit. If the required time extension is greater than 30 days, the head of the institution is required under subsection 9(2) of the Act to inform the Information Commissioner of the extension. The requestor will also be given notice of the extension, within 30 days after the request is received, including the length of the extension. The notice shall contain a statement that the individual has the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner about the extension.

Privacy

In the case of formal requests made pursuant to the Privacy Act, the Commission has 30 days to respond. This period may be extended for a maximum of 30 days if meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution, or if consultations are necessary to comply with the request that cannot be completed within the original time limit.

The period may also be extended for a reasonable period of time if additional time is necessary for translation purposes or for the purposes of converting the personal information into an alternative format. The requestor will be given notice of the extension, within 30 days after the request is received, including the length of the extension. The notice shall contain a statement that the individual has the right to make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner about the extension.

Completed access to information requests

Summaries of completed access to information requests are posted on the Open Government Portal.

Completed access to information requests will be updated within 20 working days of the next month.

To obtain a copy of the release package

If you wish to obtain a copy of the release package of these access to information requests, you may:

Notes:

  • you must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or currently living in Canada in order to obtain a copy of these records
  • the records will be disclosed in the form that they were released under the Access to Information Act including format, language and any exemptions or exclusions that were applied at the time of release

Available remedies

It is the right for anyone who is requesting information from an ATIP office to file a complaint in relation to their request.

For Access to Information Act complaints please send correspondence to:

Information Commissioner of Canada

30 Victoria Street

Gatineau, Quebec

K1A 1H3

For Privacy Act complaints please send correspondence to:

Privacy Commissioner of Canada

30 Victoria Street

Gatineau, Quebec

K1A 1H3

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