2012-2013 Legislative activity affecting access to information
Amendments to the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and its schedules, and to the Heads of Government Institutions Designation Order
Statute or Order in Council |
Bill |
Citation |
Received Royal Assent |
Amendments |
Coming into force of amendments |
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C-10 |
Statutes of Canada, 2012, c. 1 |
March 13, 2012 |
Section 160 replaces “National Parole Board” with “Parole Board of Canada” in Schedule I of the ATIA. |
February 28, 2013 |
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C-18 |
Statutes of Canada, 2011, c. 25 |
December 15, 2011 |
Section 58 strikes out the Canadian Wheat Board from Schedule I of the ATIA. |
Not in force |
|
C-38 |
Statutes of Canada, 2012, c. 19 |
June 29, 2012 |
The Act strikes out the following institutions from Schedule I of the ATIA:
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June 29, 2012 |
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The Act strikes out the reference to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and adds subsections 45(4) and (5) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
July 6, 2012 |
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The Act strikes out the Assisted Human Reproduction Agency of Canada from Schedule I of the ATIA. The Act strikes out the reference to the Assisted Human Reproduction Act in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
September 30, 2012 |
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The Act strikes out the following institutions from Schedule I of the Access to Information Act:
The Act strikes out references to the following statutes in Schedule II of the ATIA:
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Not in force |
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C-44 |
Statutes of Canada, 2012, c. 27 |
December 14, 2012 |
This Act amends section 241 of the Income Tax Act, which is listed in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
December 14, 2012 |
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C-45 |
Statutes of Canada, 2012, c. 31 |
December 14, 2012 |
This Act amends section 241 of the Income Tax Act, which is listed in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
December 14, 2012 |
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The Act strikes out the following institutions from Schedule I of the Access to Information Act:
The Act also abolishes the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board (Crown corporation subject to the Act). |
Not in force |
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S-11 |
Statutes of Canada, 2012, c. 24 |
November 22, 2012 |
This Act amends section 107 of the Customs Act, which is listed in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
Not in force |
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Order in Council TR/2012-52 |
Amends the Designation Order; strikes out the following sections:
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July 18, 2012 |
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Order in Council TR/2012-62 |
Amends the Designation Order; strikes out section 49.1: International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. |
August 1, 2012 |
Proposed amendments to the Access to Information Act
Proposed legislation |
Bill |
Last stage completed as of March 31, 2013 |
Proposed amendments |
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C-15 |
Standing Committee on National Defence Report presented in the House of Commons, March 7, 2013 |
Section 115 proposes to strike out the Canadian Forces Grievance Board from Schedule I of the ATIAand add the Military Grievances External Review Committee. |
|
C-30 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, February 14, 2012 |
The Bill proposes an amendment to section 487.3 of the Criminal Code, which is listed in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
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C-42 |
First Reading in the Senate, March 7, 2013 |
Section 15 proposes to strike out the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Public Complaints Commission from Schedule I of the ATIAand to add the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Bill also proposes to add a reference to subsection 45.47(1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act to Schedule II of the ATIA. |
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C-47 |
First Reading in the Senate, March 5, 2013 |
The Bill proposes to add two institutions to Schedule I of the ATIA: Nunavut Impact Review Board and Nunavut Planning Commission. |
|
C-48 |
Standing Committee on Finance Report presented in the House of Commons, March 27, 2013 |
The Bill proposes an amendment to section 241 of the Income Tax Act, which is listed in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
|
C-49 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, November 27, 2012 |
The Bill proposes to replace “Canadian Museum of Civilization” with “Canadian Museum of History” in section 68 of the ATIA. |
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C-51 |
Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security Committee Report presented in the House of Commons, March 26, 2013 |
The Bill proposes to add a reference to section 11 of the Witness Protection Program Act to Schedule II of the ATIA. |
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An Act to amend the Access to Information Act (response time) |
C-253 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, June 23, 2011 |
The Bill proposes to add to section 9 of the ATIA a procedure to be followed when a request for access to a record is still outstanding 100 days after it is received. |
An Act to establish and maintain a national Breast Implant Registry |
C-255 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, June 23, 2011 |
The Bill proposes to add the Registrar of the Breast Implant Registry to Schedule I of the ATIA. The Bill proposes to add a reference to section 11 of the Breast Implant Registry Act to Schedule II of the ATIA. |
An Act to Amend the Statistics Act (mandatory long-form census questionnaire) |
C-260 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, June 23, 2011 |
The Bill proposes to amend the Statistics Act to provide that the census of population taken under section 19 of that Act must include the use of a long-form census questionnaire. |
C-283 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, September 23, 2011 |
The Bill proposes that the Ombudsman must comply with the relevant provisions in the ATIAwith respect to the inclusion of any personal information in a report. |
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An Act to amend the Access to Information Act (open government) |
C-301 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, September 29, 2011 |
The Bill proposes a number of amendments to the ATIA for the purpose of implementing the amendments proposed in 2005 by John Reid, former Information Commissioner of Canada. |
An Act to amend the Investment Canada Act (enhanced ministerial oversight) |
C-334 |
First Reading in the House of Commons, October 21, 2011 |
The Bill proposes repealing section 36 of the Investment Canada Act, which is listed in Schedule II of the ATIA. |
An Act to establish the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada |
C-420 |
Defeated at Second Reading in the House of Commons, December 5, 2012 |
The Bill proposes to amend subsection 16.1(1) of the ATIA to add the Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada. Schedule I would also be amended to add the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada. |
C-461 |
Passed at Second Reading in the House of Commons and referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, March 27, 2013 |
The Bill proposes to repeal the exclusion in section 68.1 of the ATIA and to add the following exemption: 18.2 The head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act if the disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the Corporation’s journalistic, creative or programming independence. The Bill also proposes some amendments to the definition of “personal information” in subparagraph 3(j)(iii) of the Privacy Act. |
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S-202 |
Second Reading in the Senate, November 2, 2011 |
The Bill proposes to add a reference to section 11 of the Medical Devices Registry Act to Schedule II of the Access to Information Act. |
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S-212 |
Second Reading in the Senate, March 31, 2010 |
The Bill proposes to amend subsection 13(3) of the ATIA by adding the following: h) the governing body of a recognized First Nation, within the meaning of the First Nations Self-Government Recognition Act. |
Other parliamentary activity of interest
House of Commons Motion |
By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, having considered the nature of a request made of the Auditor General under the Access to Information Act, the House of Commons waives its privileges relating to all emails pertaining to the Auditor General appearing before a parliamentary committee from January 17 to April 17, 2012; and that the Speaker be authorized to communicate to the Auditor General this resolution. On the same day, the Speaker made a statement on the situation at the centre of the motion: The House has now made its decision on this matter. We are all aware that this decision applies only to this case at hand and it is not precedent setting. The House’s rights and privileges have not been jeopardized by the House’s resolution, nor has the House ceded any of its traditional rights or privileges, particularly as they relate to parliamentary committees. However, it is likely that today's issue will not be the last of its kind. The Chair would therefore welcome a prompt and thorough review of the question by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, as House committees and their officials will most likely continue to be confronted with more requests of a similar nature. The 2012–2013 annual report contains information about the Commissioner’s contribution to this review. |
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Senate Motion |
That the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament be authorized to examine and report on the powers and responsibilities of the officers of parliament, and their reporting relationships to the two houses; and That the committee present its final report no later than March 31, 2014. |
House of Commons Order Paper Questions |
Q-1099 — December 5, 2012 — Mr. Trudeau (Papineau) — With regard to access to information requests, broken down by each department or agency of government subject to the Access to Information Act: (a) what is the practice to release records in digital form pursuant to a request made under the Act and in what electronic format are such records released to a requester; (b) following an access to information request, are records released in the original format in which they were created and if another format is used, what is it; (c) if records are released in digital format, why, and if not, why not; (d) in what policy, circular, notice, memorandum, directive, or other document is the department or agency's policy concerning release or non-release of electronic records contained? The government tabled its response on January 28, 2013. Q-1153 — January 28, 2013 —(Ms. Duncan, Edmonton-Strathcona) — With respect to the government’s answering of access to information requests: (a) how many times last year did the government fail to answer an access to information request within (i) 45 days, (ii) 90 days, (iii) 135 days, (iv) 180 days, (v) 225 days, (vi) 270-plus days; and (b) for each question which took over 180 days to answer as identified in (a)(iv), (a)(v) and (a)(vi), (i) what was the question, (ii) how much time did it take to provide an answer? The government tabled its response on March 18, 2013. |