The IJF’s database of records released through Access to Information (ATI) requests is growing. Since its launch in March, Open By Default has provided quick and easy access to a wealth of information about the inner workings of the Canadian government — and we’ve just added more than 5,000 new documents on a staggering range of topics.
Public records often have to be wrested from the government. Despite a federal law that requires government institutions to respond to ATI requests within 30 days, they routinely grant themselves long extensions when it comes to turning over the sought-after documents.