Bill C-264

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-264
	An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and to make amendments to other Acts
R.S., c. A-1; R.S., cc. 22, 27, 28, 33, 44, 46 (1st Supp.), cc. 1, 8, 19, 36 (2nd Supp.), cc. 1, 3, 12, 17, 18, 20, 24, 28, 33 (3rd Supp.), cc. 1, 7, 10, 11, 16, 21, 28, 31, 32, 41, 47 (4th Supp.); 1989, cc. 3, 27; 1990, cc. 1, 2, 3, 13; 1991, cc. 3, 6, 16, 38; 1992, cc. 1, 21, 33, 34, 36, 37; 1993, cc. 1, 2, 3, 27, 28, 31, 34, 38; 1994, cc. 10, 26, 31, 38, 40, 41, 43; 1995, cc. 1, 5, 11, 12, 18, 28, 29, 41, 45; 1996, cc. 8, 9, 10, 11, 16; 1997, cc. 6, 9, 20, 23	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT
	*1. Section 1 of the Access to Information Act* is replaced by the following:**
	1. This Act may be cited as the Open Government Act.
	*2. Subsection 2(1) of the Access to Information Act* is replaced by the following:**
Purpose	2. (1) The purpose of this Act is to extend the present laws of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution because it is the Government of Canada's duty to release information that will assist the public in assessing the Government's management of the country and in monitoring the Government's compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Principles to be applied	(1.1) The right of access referred to in subsection (1) is to be provided in accordance with the following principles:
	(a) the information should be available to the public without unreasonable barriers with respect to cost, time or rules of secrecy;
	(b) the information should be available in the format most useful to the requester whenever the format exists or can be created with a reasonable amount of effort and at reasonable cost;
	(c) necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific; and
	(d) decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.
	3. (1) The definition ``government institution'' in section 3 of the Act is replaced by the following:
``government institution'' « institution fédérale »	``government institution'' means
	(a) any department or ministry of state of the Government of Canada, including a department or ministry of state listed in Shedule I,
	(b) any body or office listed in Schedule I, or
	(c) a Crown corporation or a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Crown corporation as defined in the Financial Administration Act;
	(2) The definition ``record'' in section 3 of the Act is replaced by the following:
``record'' « document »	``record'' includes any correspondence, memorandum, book, plan, map, drawing, diagram, pictorial or graphic work, photograph, film, microform, sound recording, videotape, machine readable record, and any other recorded information , regardless of physical form or characteristics or the medium in which it is held, including material on which data is recorded or marked and that is capable of being read or understood by a person or a computer system or other means, electronic mail, electronic data interchange and computer conferencing , and a copy of any of these things ;
	4. Section 4 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Right to 30-year-old records	(2.1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, every person referred to in subsection (1) has a right to and shall, on request, be given access to any record generated by and under the control of a government institution if the record was created more than 30 years before the request was made, unless the record contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or mental or physical health of individuals or be injurious to the constitutional integrity of Canada or the current conduct of international affairs, the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada or the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities.
	5. Paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(b) a description of all classes of records under the control of each government institution in sufficient detail to facilitate the exercise of the right of access under this Act or, if the records are available through information systems accessible to the general public, in sufficient detail to inform the public how to gain access to the records.
	6. Subsection 9(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a):
	(a.1) the request is included among a large number of requests from the same person and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution,
	7. (1) Paragraphs 11(1)(a) and (b) of the Act are replaced by the following:
	(a) before any copies are made, such fee as may be prescribed by regulation and calculated in the manner prescribed by regulation reflecting
	(i) in the case of a request from a person who makes regular requests to the same government institution for similar records, the actual cost of preparation and reproduction plus 10 per cent of that cost, and
	(ii) in any other case, the cost of reproduction; and
	(2) Subsection 11(6) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Waiver	(6) The head of a government institution to which a request for access to a record is made under this Act may waive the requirement to pay a fee or other amount or a part thereof under this section or may refund a fee or other amount or a part thereof paid under this section, taking into account the following criteria in making the decision:
	(a) whether there would be a benefit, distinct from the benefit to the person who made the request, to a substantial population group,
	(b) whether there is an academic value to research that is the basis of the request,
	(c) whether the release of the information would meaningfully contribute to current public debate of a national issue,
	(d) whether the information has already been made public, either in a reading room or by means of publication, and
	(e) whether the person who made the request has demonstrated that the research is likely to be published or widely distributed in another manner to the public.
Deemed waiver of fee	(7) Where the head of a government institution fails to give access to a record requested under this Act or a part thereof within the time limits set out in this Act, the head of the government institution shall be deemed to have waived the requirement to pay a fee or other amount or a part thereof under this section.
	8. (1) Paragraph 13(1)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(a) the government of a foreign state or of a subdivision of a foreign state, or any institution of that government;
	(2) Paragraph 13(2)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(b) makes the information or the substance of the information public.
	(3) Section 13 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Consent to disclosure of correspon- dence	(3) Where a record is requested under this Act that contains information described in subsection (1) that is an exchange of correspondence between the government institution and the government, organization or institution, referred to in that subsection and the government, organization or institution has made public the portion of the correspondence that originated from the government institution, the head of the government institution shall seek the consent of the government, organization or institution to disclose the record.
30-year-old information	(4) The head of a government institution may disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information described in subsection (3) if the correspondence was exchanged more than 30 years before the request was made, unless the record contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or mental or physical health of individuals or be injurious to the constitutional integrity of Canada or the current conduct of international affairs, the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada or the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities.
	9. Section 14 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Federal- provincial relations	14. The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to federal-provincial relations , including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, any such information
	(a) on federal-provincial consultations or deliberations; or
	(b) on strategy or tactics adopted or to be adopted by the Government of Canada relating to federal-provincial relations .
National unity	14.1 The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information on plans, strategies or tactics relating to the possible secession of a part of Canada, including information held or collected for the purpose of developing those plans, strategies or tactics.
	10. The portion of subsection 15(1) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
International affairs and defence	15. (1) The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the current conduct of international affairs, the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada or the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities, including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, any such information
	11. Subsection 16(3) the Act is replaced by the following:
Policing services for provinces or municipa- lities	(3) The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information that was obtained or prepared by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police while performing policing services for a province or a municipality pursuant to an arrangement made under section 20 of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, where
	(a) the Government of Canada has, on the request of the province or municipality agreed not to disclose such information; and
	(b) the same information would not be accessible under provincial legislation if it were under the control of the province or municipality.
	12. Section 17 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Safety or health of individuals	17. The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or mental or physical health of individuals.
	13. Section 18 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 18(1) and is amended
	(a) by replacing paragraph (a) by the following:
	(a) trade secrets or financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that belongs to the Government of Canada or a government institution that has substantial monetary value or is reasonably likely to have substantial monetary value and the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be materially injurious to the financial interests of the Government of Canada;
	(b) by adding the following after subsection (1):
Disclosure authorized in certain circumstances	(2) The head of a government institution may disclose any record requested under this Act, or any part thereof, that contains information described in subsection (1) if that disclosure would be in the public interest as it relates to public health, public safety, protection of the environment or the governance of corporations and, if the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs in importance any financial loss, prejudice to the competitive position of or any other injury referred to in this section to the Government of Canada or to a government institution or its officers or employees.
	14. The portion of subsection 19(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Where disclosure authorized	(2) Subject to any other exemption under this Act , the head of a government institution shall disclose any record requested under this Act that contains personal information if
	15. Subsection 20(6) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Disclosure authorized if in public interest	(6) The head of a government institution may disclose any record requested under this Act, or any part thereof, that contains information described in paragraph (1)(a) , (b), (c) or (d) if that disclosure would be in the public interest as it relates to public health, public safety or protection of the environment and, if the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs in importance any financial loss or gain to, prejudice to the competitive position of or interference with contractual or other negotiations of a third party.
Exception	(7) The head of a government institution may disclose any record requested under this Act that is a contract to which a government institution is a party or that is a bid for such a contract.
	16. (1) Paragraph 21(1)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(a) advice or recommendations developed by or for a government institution or a minister of the Crown other than public opinion surveys ,
	(2) Paragraph 21(1)(d) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(d) plans relating to the management of personnel or the administration of a government institution that have not yet been put into operation the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the operation of that government institution,
	17. Section 23 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 23(1) and is further amended by adding the following subsection:
Privilege not waived	(2) The disclosure of part of a record that contains information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege does not waive that privilege in respect of the rest of the document.
	18. Section 24 of the Act is repealed.
	19. Section 26 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Refusal of access where information to be published	26. The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act or any part thereof if the head of the institution believes on reasonable grounds that the material in the record or part thereof will be published by a government institution, agent of the Government of Canada or minister of the Crown within sixty days after the request is made or within such further period of time as may be necessary for printing or translating the material for the purpose of printing it.
	20. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 26:
Frivolous or abusive requests	26.1 The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act if the request is considered to be frivolous or abusive in view of the number of records requested or the nature of the request itself.
	21. (1) Paragraph 30(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
	(b) from persons who have been required to pay an amount under section 11 that they consider unreasonable or that they consider should have been waived;
	(2) Subsection 30(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (d.1):

Bill C-264

BILL C-264

ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT