Access to information and privacy requests
As a federal agency, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) is responsible for complying with and administering the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. All information collected by and held in the control of SSHRC is subject to these two acts:
- The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and any person or corporation present in Canada the right to access information in federal government records that is not of a personal nature.
- The Privacy Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals present in Canada the right to access their personal information held by the Government of Canada. It also protects against unauthorized disclosure of that personal information. In addition, it strictly controls how the federal government will collect, use, store, disclose and dispose of any personal information.
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Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office
The ATIP Office is responsible for implementing and administering the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act within SSHRC. It also ensures compliance with the legislation and related Treasury Board Secretariat policies.
The ATIP coordinator responds to both formal and informal requests for information held by and in the control of SSHRC, by either sending a copy of the records to requestors or arranging for requestors to review the records onsite.
How to make a formal ATIP request
Use the ATIP Online Request Portal for a fast, easy and convenient way to submit access to information or privacy requests to SSHRC.
If you are unable to submit a request online, you can complete either an Access to Information Request Form (Access to Information Act) or a Personal Information Request Form (Privacy Act) and submit your request by regular mail or email:
ATIP Coordinator
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
125 Zaida Eddy Private, 2nd Floor
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1R 0E3
- Email: ATIP-AIPRP@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Before submitting a request, ensure that SSHRC is the agency that holds the information you are requesting. When submitting a request, be sure to include all relevant details to help the ATIP Office find the related records.
Fees
Each request made to SSHRC under the Access to Information Act must be accompanied by a $5 application fee. There is no fee to make a formal request under the Privacy Act.
For mailed requests, the fee must be paid by a cheque or money order made out to the Receiver General of Canada. For online requests, the fee must be paid by credit card through the ATIP Online Request Portal.
Service standard
Both acts allow for a legal response time of 30 calendar days from the date an official request is received. However, the acts also allow for legal extensions for the reasons indicated in the acts.
For example, extensions may be required if:
- processing your request would unreasonably interfere with the institution’s operations;
- consultations with other government institutions or private businesses are required that cannot be completed within the original time limit; or
- additional time is necessary for translation purposes or for converting the information into an alternative format.
The Privacy Act provides for one legal extension of no more than 30 days, which means the institution may take up to 60 days to provide you with a response. The Access to Information Act provides for a reasonable extension to the response time, with consideration for the circumstances.
You will be notified should an extension of the response time be required under either act.
Refer to the description of the Government of Canada’s ATIP program for additional information on formal access procedures.