Access Denied: The Access to Information Act and its Effect on Public Records Creators

This article examines how Canadian federal bureaucratic organizations have reacted to the introduction and implementation of the Access to Information Act of 1983. It uses organizational theory models, specifically those developed by Richard Laughlin, to demonstrate that government departments and agencies have responded to the promulgation of the act in a recognizable pattern that fits contemporary organizational theory’s understanding of how change affects institutions. The article suggests that federal departments have successfully attempted to mitigate the disturbance posed by increased pressures for openness by delaying the processing of requests, transferring agencies out from under the control of the legislation, undertaking changes to documentary form and content, and, in some instances, through the malicious disregard for the tenets of the legislation itself. The article concludes by discussing the significant impact of external forces on the creation and content of public documents and how such disturbances to the record-keeping environment translate into actions which have the potential to dramatically affect Canada’s documentary heritage.