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Prisoner Resources:National:
National Abolition Coalition: www.noprisons.ca National Abolition - Groups: www.noprisons.ca/groups Defund the Police: www.defund.ca Women's Prison Network: www.womensprisonnetwork.org Criminalization & Punishment Education Project: www.cp-ep.org Evolve our Prison Farms: www.evolveourprisonfarms.ca Justice Exchange: www.justiceexchange.ca John Howard Society: www.johnhoward.ca Ontario: Barton Prisoner Solidarity Project: www.facebook.com/bartonsolidarityproject Toronto Prisoner Rights Project: www.torontoprisonersrightsproject.org PASAN: www.pasan.org Community Specific: Black Lives Matter: www.blacklivesmatter.ca Not Another Black Life: https://www.facebook.com/notanotherblacklife Migrant Rights Network: www.migrantrights.ca/june2020 Solidarity Across Borders: www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/ 2sLGBTQ Prisoner Correspondence Project: www.prisonercorrespondenceproject.com TESA - Trans Prisoner Resources: www.tesaonline.org/incarceration-resources.html SWOP - Community for Incarcerated Sex Workers: www.swopbehindbars.org/ Data Graphics: Everything you were never taught about Canada's Prison System |
Access to Information Guide for Canadian Prisoners
This guide was modified from Mike Larsen’s Access to Information Requests: A Guide for Canadian Prisoners and was modified by Peter Collins and Joan Ruzsa in consultation with Mike Larsen and in keeping with: Creative Common Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.
Part 1: Introduction
As a prisoner you are under constant surveillance. The police, the courts, Social Services and the prison system are always writing reports, assessments and evaluations. All of the documents, records, files, cases and numbers are how the system sees you. This data double, this official digital clone will be hidden from you even though it is the driving force behind all of their decisions about you. Often this information is wrong or unfairly biased or used improperly.
This simplified guide for prisoners is a backstage pass to the system’s secretive world. You will see what they are saying and why they are saying it. It can also be used to force them to stop using improper or incorrect information.
This guide can help form the basis for court actions or to challenge decisions or policies and practices, hold politicians and government bureaucrats to account for their actions.
Note:
The same laws that allow you access to this information also contain sections which all government officials to refuse to share certain information (entirely or partially). This is a process called “redacting” and there are also many ways they can delay your request for information sharing.
This can be very complicated and frustrating, but then everything about prison is. However, with this simplified version of Mike Larsen’s original guide we hope to make the process easier to manage effectively.
Part 2: The Canadian Access Regime
Canada’s Privacy and Information Access Legislation is called the Access to Information Act and it became law in 1982. Since then the provinces and territories have created their own access legislation. The federal government has an Office of the Information Commissioner and an Office of the Privacy Commissioner. The provinces have provincial Ombudsman’s Offices and they are responsible for both personal and general requests.
Who Can File?: Anyone in Canada can file an access request; being in prison should have no bearing on your access request. You can have a third party make an access request on your behalf (such as a lawyer, family member, friend, etc.). If you choose to go this route you need to sign a release of information form which states that “Person X” can access your information.
Jurisdiction: Make sure your application is directed to the correct provincial or federal ministry or government body or institution (eg. the Correctional Service of Canada or Parole Board of Canada).
Key Players you will come into contact with when you file access requests are:
Part 3: Exemptions and Extensions
All of Canada’s Privacy and Information Act laws (federal and provincial) have sections which allow governments to refuse to disclose certain file records or parts of file records. This section will deal with the most likely exemptions you will face when requesting disclosure of information. Note: In most cases the government does not withhold information that is over 20 years old.
Commonly Used Reasons for Exemptions:
Extensions:
The government department has between 30 to 60 days to provide disclosure. However, Section 9 of the Access to Information Act allows extension for the following reasons:
When the department claims an extension it has to inform you and the Office of the Information Commissioner indicating what extension they require. A typical extension can be from 60 to 100 days in length, but can also be much longer.
Redactions: When a government body exempts information for the reasons stated above, it may withhold entire documents, or black out sections of pages (which is called redacting). They may also “white out” sections, which just look like blank spaces on the page, so it may be difficult for you to know where information has been withheld.
Part 4: The Filing Checklist
There are 2 categories of information
Go through this checklist before filing your request:
Part 5: The Process
2. Informal Requests (highly recommended for your first try)
Contact the prison (or other agency/ministry) and ask if they can provide you with the information informally. If not, get in touch with someone in the ATIP unit of the prison/agency/ministry and ask for help to word a formal request. ATIP staff has a “duty to assist”, and their help in making sure the request is done correctly can save time in the long run. They can be asked to provide information about the types of records held by a particular agency/ministry/institution, as well as more specific help related to the information you are seeking.
3. Prepare and Submit a Formal Request:Get an official form and make sure you fill it out with:
4. Fees: You are usually not asked to pay for information about yourself. However, if you are asked to pay, be sure to include the $5 processing fee along with the request. If you are not in a financial position to pay, you can request a fee waiver.
5. Initial Response from ATIP Coordinator
You will receive a letter acknowledging your request and providing a file number. Make a note of when you received the letter and copy down the file number: this will help if you have to try and track them down due to delays or other problems.
6. Final Response to Request
When you receive the final response to your request the package will contain 1 of 3 things:
7. Reviews, Appeals, ComplaintsYou can file any of the above in the event that you feel information has been improperly delayed or withheld, or that information is missing. You can also appeal having to pay a fee due to financial hardship. Try to contact the Ombudsman’s Office to ask for advice before filing a complaint.
Section 6: Wording the Request
It is important to do this well. When you are writing your request be as specific as possible and include the date range you are looking for (days, weeks, months or years) including key details.
Most often people are looking for paper files/documents. However, you can also request access to photographic images, film images or footage, audio recordings (court or Board hearings, etc.), video recordings, electronic database records and any other type of record.
Tips:
Some Types of Records (not a complete listing)
Part 1: Introduction
As a prisoner you are under constant surveillance. The police, the courts, Social Services and the prison system are always writing reports, assessments and evaluations. All of the documents, records, files, cases and numbers are how the system sees you. This data double, this official digital clone will be hidden from you even though it is the driving force behind all of their decisions about you. Often this information is wrong or unfairly biased or used improperly.
This simplified guide for prisoners is a backstage pass to the system’s secretive world. You will see what they are saying and why they are saying it. It can also be used to force them to stop using improper or incorrect information.
This guide can help form the basis for court actions or to challenge decisions or policies and practices, hold politicians and government bureaucrats to account for their actions.
Note:
The same laws that allow you access to this information also contain sections which all government officials to refuse to share certain information (entirely or partially). This is a process called “redacting” and there are also many ways they can delay your request for information sharing.
This can be very complicated and frustrating, but then everything about prison is. However, with this simplified version of Mike Larsen’s original guide we hope to make the process easier to manage effectively.
Part 2: The Canadian Access Regime
Canada’s Privacy and Information Access Legislation is called the Access to Information Act and it became law in 1982. Since then the provinces and territories have created their own access legislation. The federal government has an Office of the Information Commissioner and an Office of the Privacy Commissioner. The provinces have provincial Ombudsman’s Offices and they are responsible for both personal and general requests.
Who Can File?: Anyone in Canada can file an access request; being in prison should have no bearing on your access request. You can have a third party make an access request on your behalf (such as a lawyer, family member, friend, etc.). If you choose to go this route you need to sign a release of information form which states that “Person X” can access your information.
Jurisdiction: Make sure your application is directed to the correct provincial or federal ministry or government body or institution (eg. the Correctional Service of Canada or Parole Board of Canada).
Key Players you will come into contact with when you file access requests are:
- ATIP Analysts/Coordinators are the people who receive and process access requests. You will receive a response letter from that person. Make a note of his/her name and keep it in your files.
- When communicating with an ATIP analyst you may know more than the analyst does about your request.
- The analyst works for a government body that may have a vested interest in keeping certain information away from you (or the public). So you cannot always rely on them to help you get the most information.
- Offices of Primary Interest: this is the office within a government body (eg. CSC) that is most likely to have the information you need. Once the OPI gets a formal notice from ATIP they will compile records relevant to your request. Sometimes the OPI will ask questions to get a better understanding of your request. It’s a good idea to come up with questions to make your request more effective. You need to consider if it’s better to ask broad sweeping questions or more narrow specific questions. For example, you could ask: “How many federal prisoners have been released on parole in the past 5 years?” or “How many federal prisoners in Ontario, serving life sentences, have been released on parole from medium security prisons in the past 5 years?”
- Ombudsman: When the government takes too long to answer your access request, you can file a complaint with the federal or provincial Ombudsman’s Office. They can investigate the delay and possibly solve the problem. It is also worth notifying them if you feel that information is being withheld from you. Some Ombudsman’s offices have the power to order a government body to release information.
Part 3: Exemptions and Extensions
All of Canada’s Privacy and Information Act laws (federal and provincial) have sections which allow governments to refuse to disclose certain file records or parts of file records. This section will deal with the most likely exemptions you will face when requesting disclosure of information. Note: In most cases the government does not withhold information that is over 20 years old.
Commonly Used Reasons for Exemptions:
- The information could damage Federal (or Provincial) affairs.
- The information could damage a lawful investigation.
- The information may damage the security of a prison.
- The information could facilitate the commission of a crime.
- The information could threaten the safety of individuals.
- Personal information is about another person and they have not consented to its release to you.
- Solicitor/Client privilege – this can be used very broadly – even the presence of government lawyers in a meeting can be cause for an exemption
Extensions:
The government department has between 30 to 60 days to provide disclosure. However, Section 9 of the Access to Information Act allows extension for the following reasons:
- It is a large request that would unreasonably interfere with day to day operations. In such a case you can try to negotiate a narrowing of the scope of your request to reduce the length of the extension.
- The access request requires consultations with other government departments.
When the department claims an extension it has to inform you and the Office of the Information Commissioner indicating what extension they require. A typical extension can be from 60 to 100 days in length, but can also be much longer.
Redactions: When a government body exempts information for the reasons stated above, it may withhold entire documents, or black out sections of pages (which is called redacting). They may also “white out” sections, which just look like blank spaces on the page, so it may be difficult for you to know where information has been withheld.
Part 4: The Filing Checklist
There are 2 categories of information
- Personal Information – which is about you and falls under the Privacy Act
- General government information which falls under the Information Act.
Go through this checklist before filing your request:
- Figure out what file information you are looking for.
- Figure out which government department is most likely to hold that information.
- Figure out where to send the completed request (mailing address).
- Do up some rough drafts of your request until you feel it is as complete (and short) as possible.
- Send in your informal request and ask for an appointment to speak to the staff person in charge of access requests. Discuss what you are looking for and ask questions and ask for help improving your request. Remember, this is their job and they are obligated to help you – even if it is filling out the form for you if you have trouble writing for any reason.
- If you are doing it on your own get an official Access to Information/Personal Information Request form and write your request out.
- If you are handing your request to a prison staff member who handles access requests, make sure you get a receipt for the request.
Part 5: The Process
- Preliminary Research – Preparation:
- Correctional Service of Canada
- Parole Board of Canada
- A provincial prison system
- Police
- Other government ministry/department/agency
2. Informal Requests (highly recommended for your first try)
Contact the prison (or other agency/ministry) and ask if they can provide you with the information informally. If not, get in touch with someone in the ATIP unit of the prison/agency/ministry and ask for help to word a formal request. ATIP staff has a “duty to assist”, and their help in making sure the request is done correctly can save time in the long run. They can be asked to provide information about the types of records held by a particular agency/ministry/institution, as well as more specific help related to the information you are seeking.
3. Prepare and Submit a Formal Request:Get an official form and make sure you fill it out with:
- Your full name
- Mailing address and contact information
- A description of the information you are seeking
- A description of the date range for the search (eg. records from 2009-2010)
- If it is a federal request, indicate whether you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Sign and date the request
4. Fees: You are usually not asked to pay for information about yourself. However, if you are asked to pay, be sure to include the $5 processing fee along with the request. If you are not in a financial position to pay, you can request a fee waiver.
5. Initial Response from ATIP Coordinator
You will receive a letter acknowledging your request and providing a file number. Make a note of when you received the letter and copy down the file number: this will help if you have to try and track them down due to delays or other problems.
6. Final Response to Request
When you receive the final response to your request the package will contain 1 of 3 things:
- A letter saying they have been unsuccessful in finding the requested information
- A letter saying they are refusing to provide the information you requested
- An envelope containing the records you requested
7. Reviews, Appeals, ComplaintsYou can file any of the above in the event that you feel information has been improperly delayed or withheld, or that information is missing. You can also appeal having to pay a fee due to financial hardship. Try to contact the Ombudsman’s Office to ask for advice before filing a complaint.
Section 6: Wording the Request
It is important to do this well. When you are writing your request be as specific as possible and include the date range you are looking for (days, weeks, months or years) including key details.
Most often people are looking for paper files/documents. However, you can also request access to photographic images, film images or footage, audio recordings (court or Board hearings, etc.), video recordings, electronic database records and any other type of record.
Tips:
- If you want the search to be wide reaching you can ask for “All documents and records related to...”
- You could add “including but not limited to...” and then add a few record types.
- You can ask for “final drafts or last versions only” if you want to cut back on duplication (and search and processing times).
- Try to avoid mega-requests that ask for a wide range of records on a variety of different topics.
- It is better to file separate smaller access requests, since each request provides for only 5 hours of research by the ATIP analyst.
- The wider the scope of your request the more likely other departments will be contacted for consultations which will result in more delays.
- In most jurisdictions courts and court records are not covered by Access to Information laws. However most court information is a matter of public record and you can contact the court clerk at the courthouse to inquire about how you can get access to the records you are seeking.
Some Types of Records (not a complete listing)
- Personal Information (Case Management; Internal Security Office (ISO); employment; Visiting and Correspondence (V & C); Admissions and Discharge (A & D); Medical; Psychiatric; Psychological; Social Programs; Parole Board of Canada
- E-mails, faxes, memos and other communications
- Reports and Studies
- Incident Reports
- Records of Previous Requests
Important Addresses (not a complete listing)
Federal:
Correctional Service Canada
Marie-Andrée Drouin
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Building
340 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0P9
Telephone: 1-844-757-8031
Parole Board of Canada
Mark Prieur
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
410 Laurier Avenue West, 7th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R1
Telephone: 613-954-6618
Canada Border Services Agency
Dan Proulx
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
333 North River Road
14th Floor Tower A
Vanier, Ontario K1A 0L8
Telephone: 343-291-7021
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Audrey White
A/Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Narono Building
360 Laurier Avenue West, 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1
Telephone: 1-800-667-6703
Health Canada
Cynthia Richardson
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Holland Cross, Tower B
7th Floor, Suite 700, Room 773
1600 Scott Street, Address locator: 3107A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
Telephone: 613-960-7108
Office of the Correctional Investigator
Manuel Marques
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
P.O. Box 3421, Station
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L4
Telephone: 613-990-2692
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
David Vautour, Supt.
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
RCMP MAILSTOP #61
73 Leikin Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R2
Telephone: 1-855-629-5877
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (to make a complaint about a privacy request)
30 Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 1H3
Provincial:
Addresses, contact people and forms will vary from province to province, but generally you will need to make requests to whatever provincial agencies, institutions, ministries or departments correspond to the federal ones listed above (eg. the provincial police).
Cover Art - "Free Inside: The Life and Art of Peter Collins", Left Wing Books