A "How-to Guide to Canada's Access to Information Act"

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I’m submitting some Access to Information (ATIP) requests to the Canadian government today and I thought I would chronicle how exactly someone goes about doing it for anyone who may be interested in submitting their own ATIP request.

Accessing the information that every Canadian has a right to is quite easy, if you know where to look on the government’s website – which, of course, is the trick, finding the information you need on the government’sย website.

They don’t exactly make it easy, so I have provided below a simple A to Z process with the links you’ll need to do your own ATIP request. I’ve also included a real example of an ATIP request I am submitting today to Environment Canada.

Finding the Government’s ATIP site

The first step, and not a minor chore, is finding all the information and the forms you need from the government’s website โ€“ they don’t exactly make it easy for anyone inexperienced with theย internet.

So here’s the main Canadian government’s homepage for ATIP requests which is managed under the Canadian department ofย Justice.

On this page there are a few sections to familiarize yourself with. The first being exemptions – information that the government will refuse to give you. There’s actually very little that is exempt, but the two big ones are documents marked โ€œadvice to Ministerโ€ or Cabinet and anything that is judged to have the potential to cause financial, commercial or personal injury. Here’s a list of documents that the government will most likely not release toย you.

The next area to take a quick read of is severability, where the government will provide you the documents you have requested, but they will black out information, like people’s namesย etc.

Finding the ATIP form

The next thing you will need to find is the actual ATIP form and the coordinates of where to send your ATIP request. Again, they make this frustrating to find for the first time user, so click here to go to the โ€œUsing the Access to Information Act and Privacy Actโ€ section. Take a quick read of this page, there’s all sorts of information here that will help familiarize yourself with the ATIP requestย process.

After taking a read of that page, click on the โ€œAccess to Information Request Formโ€ button, or just click on the hyperlink I’veย provided.

Filling out the ATIP form

Now you’re ready to fill out the request. You’ll notice here that there’s a $5 fee for submitting a request, a small price to pay for the possible goldmine of information you can come across with an ATIP request.

First, go to the bottom of the page and download the ATIP form, or click here to download it in PDF format (Adobe) or here to download it in Rich Text Format (MS Word). I prefer the Rich Text version because you can type directly into the fields on theย form.

Now start filling in theย form.

The first thing is determining which federal institution or department you want to request information from. To do that go to this page here and start looking around for the department you think has the information you’re lookingย for.

For my submission, I’m looking up Environment Canada. Once you’ve found the department, fill it in on the โ€œAccess to Information Request Formโ€ under the heading โ€œFederal Government Institution.โ€ Make sure to also take note of the contact information, because you will need that in order to mail in your completedย form.

In my case, I’ll be mailing my ATIP requestย to:

Environment Canada
Pierre Bernier
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Les Terrasses de la Chaudiere
10 Wellington Street, 27th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3
Tel.: (819) 953-2743
Fax: (819)ย 953-0749

email: pierre [dot] bernier[at]ec.gc.ca (It’s important to also note the email address of the department’s ATIP coordinator so you can follow up on yourย request).

Next, you have to fill out the details of the information you are requesting. Here’s the trickiest part, because you want to be as specific as possible without asking for too much information and casting your net too wide. If you cast too wide a net, you’ll end up with a large processing fee for all the photocopying and organizing government staff will have to do. If you’re too specific you might miss that one important tidbit of information you’re looking for. Here’s a link to the ATIP fee schedule.

So here’s the request I’m puttingย in:

โ€œAny and all communications materials produced between Sept. 1, 2007 and Oct. 1, 2007 by the Communications department at the National Office for the Office of the Minister of the Environment relating to the โ€œMajor Economies Meeting on Climate Change and Energy Securityโ€ held on Sept. 27th and 28th, 2007 in Washington, DC.

The form allows for only so many words, so try to be as succinct asย possible.

I’ve highlighted the important points to include in your ATIP request. First pick a specific time period. I picked Sept. 1, 2007 to Oct. 1, 2007, because the Major Economies meeting was held on Sept. 27 and 28th and I will most likely catch drafts of any talking points, communications advice etc. produced (unless, of course, they mark everything ‘advice toย minister’).

Second, try to be as specific as you can on what division within the department you’re looking for. Here’s a breakdown of the main divisions within Environmentย Canada.

The more specific you are, the quicker you’ll get the information you need. If you leave out too many details they’ll slowly pepper you with minor clarifications and before you know it, it’s Christmas already and you haven’t received one vowel of usefulย information.

Once you have a nice, succinct and highly detailed request, check the โ€œmethod of access preferredโ€ box. Fill in your personal information, print off the form, sign it (don’t forget the date) and stick it in an envelope with the appropriate name, address etc. of the ATIP coordinator.

The Waiting Game

Under the ATIP regulations, within 30 days of receipt of your request the government must do one of twoย things:

1. Give written notice to the requester whether or not access to the record or part of it will be given;ย or

2. If access is to be given, give the requester the record or the appropriate part ofย it.

But don’t hold your breath that the information you’ve requested will magically appear on your doorstep in a months time, because there’s also an extension clause that allows the government to draw out your request for as long as they see fit to tortureย you.

Usually, within the first 30 days you will receive an acknowledgment of receipt and maybe a few questions of clarification. If you don’t hear from the government in the allowable 30 days, send a friendly reminder (honey is always better than vinegar) to the Access to Information coordinator byย email.

And finally, if all else fails, you can put in an appeal to the Office of the Information Commissioner, if you feel that you are being treated unfairly or that you have a right to the information the government isย witholding.

So there you go. I hope this helps. If you have any question please feel free to email me atย desmogblog[at]gmail[dot]com.

If you want to learn all the ins and outs of ATIP requests pick up the book, Digging Deeper, by Robert Crib andย company.

If you found this guide valuable, please vote for it here onย Digg.com.

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Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a โ€œGreen Heroโ€ by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the โ€œTop 50 Tweetersโ€ on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevinโ€™s research into the โ€œclimate denial industryโ€ and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Kochโ€™s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea partyย networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a โ€œCertified Expertโ€ on theย political and community organizing platformย NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the worldโ€™s best e-Content and innovative ICTย applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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