The Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information () is a Quebec law aimed at promoting access to documents held by the provincial government.
Context.
During the 1980s, several Western countries expressed a desire to adopt laws to promote access to documents held by the State. This international movement influenced the Government of Quebec to establish the Paré Commission to study the advisability of providing the province of Quebec with such a law. In 1981, the Commission submitted the report "Information and Freedoms". This report proposed that the government liberalize access to documents held by public bodies and regulate citizens' personal information in order to improve state transparency and the protection of privacy.
The government adopted the report's recommendations and adopted the Access Act in 1982. It was also in this context that the government endorsed the report's recommendation to give the Act paramount status. Since its adoption, the Access Act has undergone numerous amendments.
The scope and objectives pursued.
The Access to Information Act has two main objectives. First, it guarantees individuals rights such as access to documents held by public bodies, access to personal information about themselves, and the right to request its rectification. The Act also ensures the confidentiality of information held by public bodies. The Access Act also applies to any form of document held by a professional order, to the extent provided for by the Professional Code, or by a public body (healthcare institution, government, ministries, etc.) in the exercise of its functions, regardless of who is responsible for the conservation of the documents. However, there are exceptions to the law applicable to acts and registers of civil status and documents for publicity purposes, as well as to private archives.
Access to information.
General principles of access.
The Access Act allows any person to consult on-site documents of public bodies whose communication does not require calculation or comparison of information, free of charge, apart from transcription, reproduction or transmission costs. Access to documents relating to intellectual property rights held by a person or information concerning information that must not be disclosed under the law may be refused to any access requester.
Access restrictions.
The government, a department or a public body may refuse to provide information and, where appropriate, to confirm its existence when it affects intergovernmental relations, negotiations between public bodies, the economy, the administration of justice, public safety, administrative or political decisions or verification. However, in certain cases, the powers to restrict the right of access are inapplicable.
The access procedure.
A request for access to a document must be addressed to the person responsible for access to documents within the public body. To be admissible, it must be specific enough to enable the requested document to be located. The request may be written or verbal. However, only a decision based on a written request is subject to review.
The person responsible must respond to the request for access within twenty days of its receipt. When the requested document concerns a third party, the third party must consent to the transmission of the document. Refusal of access to a document must be justified by the provision of the law on which it is based.
Protection of personal information.
A public body must take certain measures to ensure the protection of personal information. Information that can identify a natural person is personal in nature and must be considered confidential by the public body that holds it. Therefore, as a general rule, any public body must obtain the authorization of the person concerned before disclosing information about them to a third party. Certain exceptions exist, particularly if the information disclosed is to prevent the occurrence of a crime. The information collected by an organization must be necessary for the powers and functions of that organization and must be destroyed when it is no longer required.
The rights of individuals concerned by personal information.
An individual has the right to access their personal information free of charge. However, the organization may charge a fee in advance for the reproduction of this information. An individual may also request the rectification of false or erroneous information.
The role of the Access to Information Commission.
The Access to Information Commission must ensure access to documents held by public bodies; to do this, it exercises two main functions: a monitoring function and an adjudicative function. On the one hand, with regard to its monitoring role, the Commission's function is to monitor the application of the Access Act and the Private Sector Privacy Act. In this regard, the Commission is, among other things, responsible for conducting investigations relating to the application of the Act. On the other hand, on the adjudicative level, the Commission is responsible, in particular, for reviewing any decision made by an access to information officer regarding the disclosure or refusal to disclose a document or information; it may, in the event of a dispute, act as a mediator between the parties.