Defence Team marks Right to Know Week

September 29, 2026 - Defence Stories

Estimated read time: 2:05

Right to Know Week, September 28 to October 4, is an annual opportunity to reflect on the importance of access to information and our commitment to transparency.

Whether we are safeguarding national security, supporting our people, or working with partners at home and abroad, transparency and accountability are essential to maintaining the trust that Canadians place in the Defence Team. Every Canadian has the right to know what is happening in their government institutions.

I hope some of you were able to participate in yesterday's virtual event with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).

As your Chief Privacy Officer, I'd like to share with you some important updates and key improvements.

Legislative reviews

The Government of Canada is undergoing legislative reviews of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Defence Team feedback informed our organizational submission to TBS.

Feedback from departments and agencies on proposed policy approaches and improvements will shape TBS' final report to Parliament and the Government's next steps.

Key improvements

We continue to see improvements on information files and our commitment to privacy.

We're processing more requests in less time! In 2025-26, we completed 2,617 requests, which is an 18 per cent increase over fiscal year 2024-25.

On-time Defence Team Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) compliance increased to 47.38 per cent, an improvement of 3.5 per cent from the previous fiscal year.

A 15 per cent increase in requests in 2025-26 also meant a 20 per cent increase in the number of pages processed, 498,935 pages in total.

In addition, Defence Team-related complaints to the OIC decreased 34.4 per cent in 2025-26 (from 372 to 244) compared to the previous fiscal year. This improvement has been recognized by the Information Commissioner.

More highlights will follow later this fall when the Defence Team's Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act is tabled in the House, along with all departments and agencies' reports.

Resources at your fingertips

To keep our momentum going, please make full use of the following resources:

• The L1 ATIP Response Playbook outlines (Accessible only on the National Defence network) a set of approaches, instructions, and best practices for responding to ATIP requests. It is a reference tool specifically designed to help L1 organizations tasked with requests.
• The Defence Team ATIP toolkit (Accessible only on the National Defence network) includes ATIP related tips and guidance that support all of us to fulfill our responsibility to Canadians.
• ATIP training is available through the Canada School of Public Service and the Defence Learning Network. Learning above and beyond the mandatory course is highly recommended for all Defence Team members.

During Right to Know Week, I encourage you to follow and use #RTK2026 on all social media channels to learn more about and engage with the activities taking place across the country.

Thank you for your continued commitment to access to information and privacy, to transparency, and to Canadians.

Geneviève Binet
ADM (Public Affairs) & Chief Privacy Officer