Making an Access to Information or Privacy request

We are subject to the Privacy Act and Access to Information Act

The Privacy Act guides the collection, retention, and release of personal information by the Government of Canada. It also gives Canadians the right of access to information about them which is under the control of a federal government institution. This right is subject to specific exemptions.

The Access to Information Act gives Canadians the right of access to information under the control of a government institution, subject to specific exemptions.  

Get a copy of my file

If you make a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman, most of the information on your file will be your personal information.

Where possible, we try to release information informally. This means you may not need to make a formal request for information. You can ask your contact person at our office for the documents you want. We will verify if the information can be released informally.

Sometimes, the documents you want cannot be released informally. This may be because we must consult with another department or information is covered by specific exemptions preventing its release. If that is the case, we will process your request formally under the Privacy Act.

Make a formal request for information

To make a formal request for information, you must complete the following two forms:

Once you have completed your request form, send it by mail to:

Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator,
Office of the Ombudsman for DND/CF
100 Metcalfe Street, 12th floor
Ottawa ON K1P 5M1

You can also submit your request by e-mail to Ombudsman-ATIP-AIPRP-DNDCF@forces.gc.ca.  

For more information, call our office toll-free at 1-888-828-3626.

There is no online request option.

Our access to information and privacy (ATIP) coordinator will contact you within three business days. We will contact you by email if you provided an e-mail address. Otherwise, we will acknowledge receipt of your request by regular business mail. Business mail will take several days to reach you. If you do not hear from us within a reasonable time, contact us.  

The acknowledgement will include the date your request was received, the file number assigned to your request, and our deadline for responding to your request. We will contact you if we have any questions. 

Our responsibility

The Ombudsman’s ATIP coordinator is responsible only for information under control of the Office of the Ombudsman. 

If you are requesting information held by the Department of National Defence, contact ATIP - Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.  

If you wish to obtain military personnel or medical records, refer to the information about how to request those documents, provided by Library and Archives Canada.

About your request

First, we must make sure we understand what you want. In some cases, we verify that you are entitled to make the request. Then we determine if our office is the right federal government organization to deal with your request. 

Next, we gather all of the records under our control that relate to your request. At this stage, we review these records to determine if they can be released. If needed, we consult other federal government departments about whether they have an interest in these records. If information must be withheld, we remove it, and explain why we cannot release this information to you. 

Finally, we prepare the documents for delivery to you. We will do our best to provide information in a format that is convenient for you, but our technical solutions and delivery methods are limited. Inform us about your preferences in terms of information, format, or delivery (i.e. mail or e-mail).

You may not get all of the information you requested. This may be because of exemptions and exceptions to your right of access contained in the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It is also possible that we do not have the information you requested. 

Whatever the case, we will inform you about your request results by letter. We will do this within 30 days of receiving your request, or by the end of any extension period. We try to respond to information requests within a 30-day statutory deadline. If we cannot meet this deadline, we will let you know within 30 days of receiving your request.

If you need the information urgently, let us know when you make the request. We may be able to assist you in meeting your deadlines.

Recourse

If you have any concerns about the processing of your request, contact us to discuss them. You can also make a formal complaint about the handling of your request to:

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