Access to Information Regulations

8 (1) Where a person is given access to a record or part thereof under the control of a government institution, the head of the institution may require that the person be given an opportunity to examine the record or part thereof, rather than a copy of the record or part thereof if,

• (a) the record or part thereof is so lengthy that reproduction of the record or part thereof would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the institution; or

• (b) the record or part thereof is in a form that does not readily lend itself to reproduction.

(1.1) Where a person is given access to a record or part thereof under the control of a government institution, the head of the institution shall provide the person with an opportunity to examine the record or part thereof, rather than with a copy of the record or part thereof, where providing a copy to that person is prohibited by or under another Act of Parliament.

(2) Where a person is given access to a record under the control of a government institution, the head of the institution may require that the person be given a copy of the record, rather than an opportunity to examine it if,

• (a) the record forms a disclosable part of a record for which disclosure may otherwise be refused under Part 1 of the Act and from which it cannot reasonably be severed for examination; or

• (b) the record is in a form that does not readily lend itself to examination.

(3) Where access to a record under the control of a government institution is given in the form of an opportunity to examine the record, the head of the government institution shall

• (a) provide reasonable facilities for the examination; and

• (b) set a time for the examination that is convenient both for the institution and the person.

(4) [Repealed, SOR/2023-156, s. 4]