ATIP News

OTTAWA - The Justice Department should not have told an MP it would take six years to respond to his request for documents about plans to ensure the safety of online platforms, the federal information watchdog has ruled. Read more at  https://www.thestar.com/politics/info-watchdog-raps-justice-department-over-six-year-access-to-information-extension/article_be7cc339-ad13-517e-9205-a1964599f640.html

See the importance of the consent form based on this legal case (Victoria Moshinsky-Helm v Minister of National Revenue) regarding an ATIP request. https://www.mondaq.com/canada/income-tax/1180006/victoria-moshinskyhelm-v-minister-of-national-revenue-guidance-from-a-canadian-tax-lawyer-on-judicial-review-of-a-cra-decision-regarding-former-spouse39s-income-records Victoria Moshinsky-Helm v Minister of National Revenue

Federal information commissioner says case exposed 'shortcomings’. Read more at  https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/access-to-information-daughter-death-rcmp-1.6385520

More people seeking judicial intervention with immigration applications. Read more at  https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/more-people-seeking-judicial-intervention-with-immigration-applications/article_475e442c-47c7-51ae-b63a-4fa8900dbebc.html

‘Racism plays a role in immigration decisions,’ House Immigration Committee hears Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said racism is a 'sickness in our society,' and said there is 'zero tolerance for racism, discrimination, or harassment of any kind,' but acknowledged those problems do exist within the department.  Read more at  https://www.newcanadianmedia.ca/racism-bias-plaguing-canadas-immigration-processing-system/

The IRCC backlog has impacted other areas of government as well. The Access to Information and Privacy Office has received a massive influx of requests made under the  Access to Information  Act  (“ the ATI Act “).  The ATI Act  grants Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or any other person/entity in Canada the right to access government records. These requests are used by immigration applicants to obtain notes taken by Immigration officer who have reviewed their current and past immigration applications. Many applicants affected by the current backlog have criticized the lack of transparency and communication from IRCC on their files. A report from the Information Commissioner of Canada highlighted that in the 2019 to 2020 fiscal year,  there were  116, 928  access to information requests directed at IRCC, a 42% increase from the previous year . With the mounting uncertainty, many applicants have been making requests, which have caused longer...

An Ottawa researcher is asking a judge to order Canada’s national archives to speed up work on his request for old RCMP records after he was told to wait at least 80 years for a response. Read more at  https://www.thestar.com/politics/2022/01/06/man-seeking-rcmp-files-goes-to-court-after-national-archives-takes-80-year-extension.html

In the event of an undue processing delay, applicants can follow-up with the IRCC in several ways before requesting an Order of Mandamus from Federal Court. Read more at  https://www.lawnow.org/what-to-do-if-your-visa-or-immigration-application-is-delayed/

Every year, the federal government receives tens of thousands of anonymous requests for records under the Access to Information Act. David Akin reports on the legal boundaries, and the growing calls to investigate political interference Read more at  https://globalnews.ca/news/8415871/canada-access-to-information-delays-covid-19/