Let us say that you have approached a public body or private sector enterprise for access to certain information or to request correction of certain details in your personal file, but your request has been refused or you have obtained an unsatisfactory response. In such circumstances the law provides you with a right of recourse to the Commission d'accès à l'information (CAI).

The recourse to be exercised is called a "request for review" (public sector) or an "application for examination of a disagreement" (private sector). Both the request and the application must be sent to the CAI within 30 days of the refusal or the deadline for a response.

The Tribunal of the CAI

The CAI acts as a tribunal by deciding disputes brought before it. In most cases, this means the CAI will hear the representations and evidence of all the parties and then issue a written decision to settle the dispute.

The Mediation

Generally, speaking, when a request for review or an application for examination of a disagreement is received by the CAI, the parties are asked to take part in a mediation process before a hearing is held. In over half the cases, mediation leads to a solution without the need for intervention by the tribunal. In some specific cases, the mediation step can be skipped and a hearing before a commissioner can be organized immediately.

The Hearing

Notice to Appear
Any request or application requiring a hearing before the CAI is entered on the roll of the CAI. A date for the hearing is then set, and a notice to appear is sent to the parties. The parties receive it approximately one (1) month before the date of the hearing. If an applicant fails to appear on the date set, the request or application may be rejected.

Postponement
Sometimes one of the parties may have a major reason for not appearing at the hearing before the CAI. A request must be addressed to the CAI. and a copy of it must be transmitted to the adverse party in order to obtain an adjournment of a case. If it is accepted, the clerk issues a new notice to appear with a new hearing date.

Summoning of Witnesses
The parties to a case before the CAI must ensure that all the witnesses they wish to call are present. Some witnesses appear upon a simple request from the party concerned, while others must be summoned by subpoena. Subpoenas are issued by the CAI. It is therefore extremely important to notify the CAI in good time of the names and addresses of any individuals you wish to have summoned as witnesses. It is the commissioners themselves who issue subpoenas. They therefore have the privilege of refusing to summon a witness if they are not convinced of the relevance of the witness's testimony.

Documents
The parties must bring to the hearing all the documents they intend to offer as evidence before the CAI. Public bodies and private sector enterprises should bring the documents in dispute. According to longstanding practice, they submit the documents in question confidentially to the commissioner hearing the case, so that he or she can examine them and propose a solution. After the decision, the documents are either destroyed or returned to the body or enterprise that submitted them.

Representation
An individual need not be represented by an attorney. A business corporation or other legally constituted organization must have legal representation. A natural person-for example, a friend-cannot represent another person at a hearing before the CAI.

Hearing
Given that most of the cases heard by the CAI result from refusals to provide documents or to correct information, it is up to the body or enterprise to justify its refusal. To that end, it can call witnesses, submit documents and make representations. When one party presents a witness, the other party has the right to cross-examine that witness.

A party that is not represented by an attorney can rely on the commissioner to provide fair and impartial assistance, so that everyone involved fully understands the hearing procedure.

After the public body or private sector enterprise has presented its evidence, the applicant will be invited to do the same, and the parties will then have an opportunity to make comments on the case.

Agreement
The parties may agree to avoid a tribunal hearing at any time after the filing of the request for review or application for examination of a disagreement. The mediation process is open to them in such cases.

If an agreement is reached before the hearing, the parties must so notify the CAI in writing. The document can be a withdrawal by the applicant or a declaration of out-of-court settlement signed by both parties.

Decision
The commissioner hearing the case must issue a written decision. The decision is handed down within a few weeks of the hearing, and is sent to the parties by the secretary of the CAI.

Where the decision orders documents to be handed over, it is up to the public body or private sector enterprise covered by the order to execute it.

Once the CAI has rendered a decision, it has no further power to intervene in the case. The decision can be contested by an appeal to the Court of Québec.