Investigator's Guide to Interpreting the Act (ARCHIVED)
Archived [2008-11] – Investigator's Guide to Interpreting the Act
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived.
The Investigator’s Guide was removed from the website in April 2021 and is currently available solely for the above-mentioned activities.
We invite you to consult the Information Commissioner’s Guidance section where you will find up-to-date information on how we approach investigations and interpret the Access to Information Act.
In addition, the Information Commissioner posts final reports on her investigations on the website to provide guidance to both institutions and complainants. Using the database, you can sort through the decisions with the relevant sections of the Act.
- Section 13: Information obtained in confidence where disclosure authorized
- Section 14: Federal-provincial affairs
- Section 15: International affairs and defence
- Section 16: Law enforcement and investigations, security
- Section 17: Safety of individuals
- Section 18: Economic interests of Canada
- Section 19: Personal information
- Section 20(1)(a): Trade secrets of a third party
- Section 20(1)(b): Confidential information supplied by a third party
- Section 20(1)(c) and (d): Information that could impact third party financial matters or negotiations
- Section 20(1)(c)&(d): Questions - Information that Could Impact Third Party Financial Matters or Negotiations
- Section 20(2), (5) and (6): Disclosure authorized in public interest
- Section 20(2), (5) and (6): Disclosure if a supplier consents
- Section 20(2), (5) and (6): Product or environmental testing
- Section 21: Advice and recommendations
- Section 22: Testing or audits
- Section 23: Solicitor-client privilege
- Section 25: Severance
- Section 26: Information to be published
- Section 26: Questions
- Section 69: Cabinet confidences