Access to Information and Privacy Secretariat (ATIP)

Our Role

The ATIP Secretariat ensures that the Department’s responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act are met. This includes the processing of requests for information as well as ensuring the protection and appropriate use of personal information.

The ATIP Secretariat serves as the centre of expertise – dealing directly with the public as well as assisting program staff in their roles and responsibilities as public servants.

Access to Information

The Access to Information Act provides all Canadian citizens and residents of Canada the right to request records under the control of government institutions. The underlying principles of the Act are that:

  • government information should be available to the public;
  • necessary exceptions to this right of access should be limited and specific; and
  • decisions on the disclosure of information can be reviewed by the Office of the Information Commissioner or the Federal Court, bodies independent of government.

Access to information rights and responsibilities are governed by the Access to Information Act and the associated Access to Information Regulations, as well as by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) Policy on the Access to Information, Access to Information Guidelines and related directives.

Privacy

The Privacy Act gives Canadian citizens and people present in Canada the right to have access to their personal information that is held by the federal government. The Act also protects against unauthorized disclosure of personal information, and controls how the government will collect, use, store, disclose and dispose of personal information.

Departmental privacy responsibilities are governed by the Privacy Act and related Privacy Regulations, as well as the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) Policy on Privacy Protection and related directives. Together, they govern the way the Department collects, uses, discloses and retains personal information.

Contact Us:
Access to Information and Privacy Secretariat
200 Kent St.
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0E6
613.993.3115

atip-laiprp@dfo-mpo.gc.ca