Access to Information Act (ATIA)

The Access to Information Act (ATIA) is Canada's federal freedom-of-information statute. It gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and individuals and corporations present in Canada a right to access records under the control of federal government institutions. The right is subject to necessary, limited, and specific exceptions, and decisions on disclosure are open to independent review. The Treasury Board Secretariat describes the Act on its Access to Information Act page.

The Act came into force in 1983. Its purpose is to strengthen government accountability and transparency and to support public debate in an open and democratic society, as set out in the Treasury Board's 2025 review of the Act. For suppliers, the Act matters because the federal government holds a large volume of procurement records, including records that contain supplier-provided information.

Who can request records under the ATIA

The right of access extends to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. It also covers individuals and corporations present in Canada. A supplier can therefore make a request, and so can a competitor, a journalist, or any other eligible person or business.

The records covered are those under the control of a federal government institution. That means a request is not limited to documents the institution wrote itself. Records an institution holds and controls, which can include material received from outside parties, fall within the scope of the Act, subject to its exceptions.

The exceptions are described as necessary, limited, and specific. They are the reason an institution may withhold part or all of a record. When an institution decides on disclosure, the Act provides for independent review of that decision, so a refusal or a release can be examined by someone outside the institution.

ATIA clauses in PSPC contract templates

Federal institutions are expected to reflect public-access measures in their contracts. Section 4.2.8 of the Treasury Board's Directive on Access to Information Requests requires measures supporting public access to information to appear in contracts, information-sharing agreements, and related arrangements. The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada confirms this in its 2023-2024 Access to Information Act report.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) supplies standard clauses for this purpose through its Standard Acquisition Clauses and Conditions (SACC) Manual. The Agency reports two clauses:

• 2010B 34 – Access to Information for contracts under $121,000.
• 2035 44 – Access to Information for contracts over $121,000.

These clauses capture the requirement to disclose information under the Act. The same report also describes the Agency using a clause on disclosure of incumbent information for higher-value contracts, according to the Agency's published report.

How departments apply the clauses in practice

The clauses are not limited to one department. Correctional Service Canada states in its 2025-2026 report to Parliament that all contracts it issues include PSPC SACC general conditions, and that those conditions contain a clause concerning access to information. A supplier should expect to see access-to-information language in the general conditions of federal contracts, whichever department issues the solicitation.

What the ATIA means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

A supplier responding to a federal solicitation should read the applicable SACC general conditions and any project-specific access-to-information clause before submitting a bid. Check which clause applies, since the clause number depends on the contract value threshold and the institution's template.

Identify the information in your bid that you consider commercially confidential. Information under the control of a government institution can be the subject of an access request and a disclosure review under the Act. Instructions on marking or supporting confidentiality are set by the particular solicitation and contract, so confirm them in the bid documents for each opportunity.

Bid teams can build this review into their routine. Note the access-to-information clause in the contract terms, flag sensitive pricing and technical content during drafting, and keep a record of what was submitted. The Treasury Board also publishes an plain language guide to the Act for readers who want more detail on how requests work.