News

Right to Know Week

September 28 marks Right to Know Day around the world as well as Right to Know Week in Canada. Right to Know Week is a time to recognize that access to information is a key component of transparency, fairness and trust.

The Public’s Right to Know

Citizens deserve to feel informed about their government and public services. Knowing more helps you better understand issues and participate in the democratic process.

You may want to know more about decisions, programs, or practices that affect you and your community. This can include information about services you rely on, how resources are managed or the ways our province responds to emergency situations such as the pandemic, wildfires or other challenging events. It also enables an openness about Manitoba’s history and can also help advance reconciliation.

Want to know?

1. Check if the information is readily available through the public body. If you can’t find or get the information, contact the public body and talk to an access and privacy coordinator who can help you. For health information, the request needs to be made to the trustee (who holds your health information) using their process.
2. Submit a written FIPPA request.

• Learn about your rights under FIPPA
• Learn more about making a FIPPA request

A Public Body’s Responsibility to Share Information

Public bodies can be proactive by making information readily available to citizens. Being transparent helps citizens see and understand how and why decisions are made. It helps engage and inform citizens about public services and promotes good governance through accountability.

Public bodies also have legislated obligations to support access to information. Under The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act public bodies are to:

• Receive and act on requests for information
• Make every reasonable effort to assist such as helping individuals navigate the process, find readily available information or refine their request
• Adhere to legislated timelines when responding to requests
• Communicate decisions about the request and the information provided or withheld
• Adequately search for and review the records
• Respond to the full request

Manitoba Ombudsman has practice notes, tips and guides to help public bodies understand their role and processes in responding to citizen requests for information.

• View our recently updated practice note on The Duty to Assist Under FIPPA – Elements of the Duty to Assist
• View our practice note on Disregarding Access Requests Under FIPPA

The Ombudsman receives complaints when citizens feel their access request has not been handled properly or resolved by the public body. Complaints can include:

• Not having a response to your request in the required timeframe
• You think the fees for records are too high
• You did not get access to what you requested

Learn about which issues and public bodies you can complain about.

Learn more about the principles and history of access to information in Canada.