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Access to Information and Privacy Protection
Our mandate is straightforward. We provide a service to the public on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade, in the official language of choice.
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We promote the Canadian interest and fulfill the obligations of our Department in faithfully implementing Canada's laws on access to
information and privacy protection.
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We respond to requests for information under the Access to Information Act. We work with requesters to ensure that they
understand how best to obtain records which are held by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and to help explain how
we implement the Act.
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We are accountable on behalf of the Department for personal information under our control. We ensure the right of every individual who
is a citizen or resident of Canada to know what personal information is held within the Department and to have access to that information
subject to certain justifiable exemptions.
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We offer advice to those who have an access or privacy problem, want to learn more about these issues, or just want to find our more
about how our department works in this respect.
Your rights are one of our primary concerns. Under the Access to Information Act, every Canadian citizen or
person present in Canada, or corporation present in Canada, has the right to submit an access to information request. In accordance with the
provisions of the Privacy Act, all Canadian citizens or permanent residents may request access to their personal records. We endeavor to
be fully transparent.
We provide advice to anyone seeking information that is under our control and that can be provided, and how to file complaints should they
believe it necessary to approach the Information Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner.
We prepare an annual report to Parliament, at the end of each fiscal year, outlining how we operate, the volume of requests received, and
how we have responded to those requests.
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We regularly provide details on new access requests received to the government-wide monitoring system - the Coordination of Access to
Information Requests (CAIR) system managed by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). Our reports to CAIR are usually
provided on a daily basis. This information can be obtained through monthly reports from PWGSC by submitting an access to information
request addressed to:
The Coordinator
Access to Information and Privacy
Public Works and Government Services Canada
15A2, Place du Portage, Phase III
Hull, Québec
Canada K1A 0S5
We do not gather any specific personal information from you when you visit this home page. We do not use "cookies" to track our visitors
to this home page. The Department's software receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our
page, and the date and time of the visit. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of the individuals visiting our page
unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected. Our statistical application permits us simply to record in aggregate form the number
of visitors, when the home page is visited, the documents viewed, and the official language of choice. Other sites to which we are linked may
be governed by different policies.
We can easily be reached. While forms exist for the submission of both access to information and privacy requests, using
these forms is not essential. Access to information and privacy requests can be submitted in any form. Usually, a straightforward letter clearly
explaining what records you seek is sufficient. Privacy requests do not require any fees but we do ask for an original signature. Access to
information requests must be accompanied by a $5.00 prescribed application fee, through a cheque or money order made payable to the Receiver
General for Canada. Requests, or letters seeking advice, should be directed to:
The Director
Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0G2
We can also be reached by telephone and facsimile. Our general information telephone number is (613) 992-1425 and our facsimile number is (613)
995-0116.
For those wishing to use the appropriate access to information or privacy request forms, these can now be found on line at the Government of
Canada web site:
Reference materials to assist you are readily available. Before submitting a request, you may wish to acquaint yourself
with how both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act work. You should also ensure that our Department is the one
which holds the records or information you seek. You can find a wealth of detail on the web sites or home pages of other Canadian government
institutions.
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A good place to start is with the Canadian Department of Justice access to information and privacy web site. This site lists
Federal government information resources such as the latest annotated versions of the Access to Information Act and the
Privacy Act, major Federal court decisions, and government policies on access to information and privacy.
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A detailed list of both our records holdings and our Personal Information Banks is provided in the Treasury Board Publication
'InfoSource' - Sources of Federal Government Information. This publication can be found in most public libraries or can be
obtained by writing:
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
L'Esplanade Laurier, East Tower
140 O'Connor Street, 9th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0R5
The Treasury Board Secretariat can also be contacted at its own web site: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca
In the latest edition of 'Infosource', the 1999-2000 edition, the chapter for the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade can be found on pages 360-377. A companion publication, Sources of Federal Employee Information, is available
to assist current or former federal employees to locate their personal information. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
chapter in this second volume, for 1999-2000, can be found on pages 64-65.
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The Information Commissioner of Canada and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada are both independent officers of Parliament
who monitor compliance with the respective Acts, investigate complaints, and who offer advice. Those who wish to learn more about
the mandate and activities of either Commissioner can contact them directly
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Protecting your privacy is a major focus of the Canadian Government's Task Force on Electronic Commerce, led by Industry Canada
working in collaboration with the Department of Justice. The Task Force is available to inform consumers on what it is doing to ensure
protection of personal information in both the public and private sectors in an age of rapid advancements in information and
communications technologies (for example, in respect of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act)
Many of Canada's provinces also have their own freedom of information and privacy laws and regulations. For representative information
on what is happening at the provincial level, those with an interest may wish to consult the web sites of the following provinces (our list is
representative only and does not encompass all provinces):
Our Work. Each year, we process 400 to 500 requests under the Access to Information Act and as many as 100
requests from individuals under the Privacy Act. Much of our access to information-related work involves close consultation with other
government departments and institutions as well as consultations with foreign governments. In addition, we coordinate Canadian responses to
numerous requests received from foreign governments on the declassification or disclosure of Canadian documents and documents containing Canadian
information.
What's New! We add to this home page, every two weeks, the list of those access to information requests which we have processed and have
responded to through the release of documents. We also list important publications or documents which have appeared and which are relevant to our
work. Those interested in requesting copies of the documents released can ask for them. Usually, the only fees involved are the $5.00 prescribed
request fee and charges for photocopying (at 20 cents a page).
FOR ACCESS TO OUR 'WHAT'S NEW ' LIST, CLICK HERE
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