The first step in filing a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (“OIC”) is to determine that the complaint is covered under section 30 of the Access to Information Act (“ATIA”), and that the initial ATIA request was valid. For more information about the validity of an initial request, please refer to our [FEDERAL ATIA HELP PAGE]. 

Complaints covered under Section 30 of the Access to Information Act include: 

• (A) Deemed Refusal (Delay) 
  • The 30 day extension and any other extension time periods have elapsed without receiving a final response from the institution yet 

• (B) Time extension 
  • Extension of time claimed under section 9 of the Act 
    • Section 9: large number of files, consultations are necessary, or requires notice to third parties 

• (C) Fees Assessed 
  • The institution is requiring an excessive payment fee to process the request 
    • Section 7.5: institutions should automatically waive all fees other than the $5 application fee 

• (D) Exemptions/exclusions 
  • The institution refused to confirm or denied the existence of any records or, of the records provided by the institution, some were entirely or partially withheld (blacked out) under one or more of sections 13 to 24, 26, 68 or 69 of the Act. 
    • Sections 13-24 and 26: Exemptions 
    • Section 68 and 69: Exclusions 

• (E) Incomplete search/no records response 
  • The institution found no records or provided fewer records than expected in response to your request (i.e. records/more records should exist).  

• (F) Any other matter 
  • Under 30(1)(f) of the Act, the complaint must be in respect of any other matter relating to requesting or obtaining access to records under the Access to Information Act 
    • Section 31(1)(f): “in respect of any other matter relating to requesting or obtaining access to records under this Part.” 

You should generally attempt to resolve your complaint directly with the Federal public body rather than through the OIC in order to save time.  

If you are still unsatisfied with the response or lack of response from the Federal public body, then you are entitled to file a free formal complaint to the OIC.  

For more information, please visit the OIC’s “Frequently asked questions” and “Submitting a Complaint” pages. 

If you still wish to file a free formal complaint to the OIC and your complaint falls under Section 30 of the ATIA, then please visit the OIC’s Complaint Submission page.  

We encourage you to submit your complaint online through the purple text box “Submit a complaint”, in which you can then follow the appropriate prompts. Alternatively, download and fill the complaint form under “Submit a complaint”, then email, mail, or fax it to: 

• Email: Greffe-Registry@oic-ci.gc.ca  
• Mail: Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Québec K1A 1H3  
• Fax: 819.994.1768 

Registration for the formal complaint requires the following information: 

• Whether you have submitted a complaint to the office about this or another matter previously  
• Preferred method of contact  
  • Email – Email address 
  • Mail – Mailing address  
• First and Last Name  
• Contact Phone Number 

You will then select on whose behalf the complaint is for and select the name of the institution that is the subject of the complaint. The relevant issues that can be selected include the following: 

• Deemed Refusal (Delay)  
• Time extension  
• Fees assessed  
• Exemptions/exclusions  
• Incomplete search/no records response  
• Any other matter 

Each issue will require consistent information across the issues, while some issues will require additional information. 

The OIC notes that complaints will be investigated in a timely manner. Depending on the case, some complaints may take more resources than others. However, the OIC notes that investigators typically aim to complete their administrative investigations within 90 days and refusal complaint investigations within nine months.  

The OIC lists the following factors that may impact the investigation timeline: 

• the number of records to be reviewed;  
• the complexity of a case, or the number of issues to be investigated;  
• the level of cooperation or ease of communication with institutions, complainants and other concerned parties;  
• the availability of witnesses and documentary evidence;  
• the completeness and quality of the information institutions, complainants and other parties have provided;  
• and/or legal issues. 

The OIC will notify you once the investigation is completed and will assign your investigation one of the following statuses: 

• Well founded 
• Not well founded 
• Discontinued 
• Refused or ceased to investigate 

For more information, please visit the OIC’s “What are the possible outcomes for my complaint?”.