Information Commissioner of Canada


The Information Commissioner of Canada is an independent ombudsman and an officer of parliament of Canada who reports directly to the House of Commons of Canada and the Senate of Canada.
The Commissioner's work is supported by the , which was established in 1983 under the – Canada's freedom of information legislation. The Office assists individuals and organizations who believe that federal institutions have not respected their rights under the ATIA. More specifically, the Office of the Information Commissioner:
The Information Commissioner provides arms-length oversight of the federal government's access to information practices. He or she encourages and assists federal institutions to adopt approaches to information-sharing that meet the objectives of the ATIA, and advocates for greater access to information in Canada.
Whenever possible, the Commissioner relies on persuasion to solve disputes, asking for a Federal Court review only if an individual has been improperly denied access and a negotiated solution has proved impossible.
Caroline Maynard is the current Information Commissioner, appointed, for a seven-year term, on March 1, 2018.

Information Commissioners of Canada

There have been six Information Commissioners since the Office was established in 1983. He or she holds office for a seven-year term.