Canada improvises Non-Canadians’ rights to Privacy Requests and Information



The Maple country implemented some crucial changes and modifications along with newfound revisions to its set of rules titled the access to information and privacy (ATIP) as denoted within the Canada Gazette.

The changes have been categorized to be quite simple while also instigating impacts in the broader sense. As per the newly revised regulations, anyone and everyone is permitted to make an ATIP request as the Privacy Act allows for the same. Following the newly implemented policy, the country shall begin its alignment following global standards on this act. This also encourages a larger impact on the population of non-Canadians.

Similar laws like the Privacy Act of Canada permit the locals and associated public groups to file for ATIP requests directly to the nation’s federal government. One such institution that accounts for being a federal organization is the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada) and hence it is also liable to this Act.

At present, there exists a range of exemptions towards those who are permitted to file an ATIP request. The rights to access lie with the following two groups:

  • any entity (inclusive of an institution or a person) residing within the Canadian territory, regardless of them being a citizen.
  • all those Canadian PRs as well as citizens, currently located within the country or outside of it.

Even though these limitations indicate how non-Canadians residing out of the nation aren’t permitted to file a request under the ATIP, one can easily bypass this statement. The prime fact is that someone who is deemed ineligible is permitted to get someone who isn’t ineligible to file a request and then take it on their behalf. The only drawback is that this entire rigamarole is considered to be costly as well as utilizing a lot of time.

Those that are deemed able to file such ATIP requests directly to the IRCC are known to have possessed a premium talent. One example of this is how such a person then becomes eligible to gain access to their GCMS (Global Case Management System) notes. These provide an in-depth analysis of any individual’s immigration profile and case, along with a core explanation of the decision-making and thought processes of any IRCC staff member. In this manner, anyone can easily witness and try to self-analyze why the IRCC accepts/rejects a profile and how things move ahead during the entire immigration process. Once one procures such detailed knowledge, he/she is eligible to place a sound argument along with due justification to challenge the IRCC’s final decision.

The most popular medium for sending in ATIP requests is via the IRCC and this is a combined statistical finding after analyzing requests from all other federal government-related organizations.

Considering the utmost importance of this newfound implementation, the IRCC assumes it shall take a long time until things work out smoothly and efficiently while incorporating the same. Some backdrop events that may slow down this novel change include processing an increased number of requests, making additional changes, edits and modifications into existing requests and forms. This is why the government is causing a delay in implementing this officially. Following its shift in the extension order from the 14th of July, 2021, it could be a possibility that this is implemented on the 14th of July, 2022, exactly one year from then.

This newfound addition in this Act marks a strong and effective impact moving towards the forward direction for non-Canadians. Only owing to the intensity, complexity, and length of this change, there would be a delay instigated in this entire process.

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