Department of Finance, Access to Information and Privacy
Request: the choice of the counter-tariffs on imports from the United States, and the remission of the surtax.
The letter ·
Access to Information request with fee waiver — counter-tariffs on United States goods: selection, effect, remission
Hello,
I make this request under section 6 of the Access to Information Act. I am a Canadian resident and I request access to the following records held by the Department of Finance.
1. All records that set out the analysis, criteria and options used to select the 629 tariff items on the list of products from the United States subject to counter-tariffs effective 8 September 2026, including memoranda to the Minister, options analyses and economic impact assessments, dated between 1 July 2026 and 8 September 2026.
2. All records that assess the expected or the actual effect of the counter-tariffs imposed by Canada on goods of the United States on the economy of the United States, including any target, metric or indicator used to measure that effect, dated between 1 March 2025 and the date this request is processed.
3. All records that set out the policy, the criteria and the decision process for the remission of surtaxes on goods of the United States, including instructions and guidance to officials who assess remission requests, in the same period.
4. A record, produced under subsection 4(3) of the Act from the electronic data the Department holds, that lists for each surtax remission granted on goods of the United States: the beneficiary, the tariff items covered, the value of surtax remitted and the date of the decision, in the same period.
5. All records of any decision to remove or to reduce counter-tariffs on goods of the United States, and the analysis that supported each decision, in the same period.
6. All records in which the Department considered, recommended or rejected countermeasures against the United States other than surtaxes on goods, including measures concerning services, government procurement, and audiovisual and digital services, in the same period.
Produce the records in electronic format.
Fees. I am without income and I am unable to pay the application fee. Waive the fee under subsection 11(6) of the Access to Information Act. The records concern public revenue of 9.7 billion dollars assessed on imports from the United States, of which 5.5 billion dollars was remitted, and the public benefit of their release is direct. If the waiver is refused, I require written notice of the refusal, the reason for it, and the method of payment.
I require registration of this request on the date of its receipt. Where the Department holds no record answering any numbered item above, I require a written statement to that effect for that item.
The name and title of an officer or employee of a government institution on a document prepared by that person in the course of employment is not personal information under paragraph 3(j) of the Privacy Act. I require that such names and titles be released and not severed.
A refusal to register this request until a fee is paid, an absence of a file number, or an absence of a decision on the waiver request will be placed before the Information Commissioner of Canada.
This exchange goes into the public record at https://dzyuban.com/legal/record/requests/
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
The answer ·
PROTECTED A - PROTÉGÉ A
Good afternoon Mr. Dzyuban:
Thank you for your Access to Information Act request and your request for a waiver of the $5 application fee.
The Department has considered your request for a fee waiver pursuant to subsection 11(2) of the Access to Information Act, including your representations that you are without income and that disclosure of the requested records would be of public benefit.
After reviewing the information provided, the Department has determined that there are insufficient grounds to exercise its discretion to waive the prescribed application fee. While you have indicated that you are currently without income, no additional information has been provided to support your claim that you are unable to pay the $5 application fee. The Department has also considered your public-interest rationale but has determined that it does not, in the circumstances, justify waiving the fee.
Accordingly, your request for a waiver of the application fee is denied.
The Department will be unable to register and process your access request until the required $5 application fee has been received. Payment may be submitted through the Government of Canada's Online Request Service.<https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/access-information-privacy.html>;
Should you wish to provide additional information in support of your request for a fee waiver, the Department would be prepared to reconsider its decision.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Chantal Lavoie
Manager / Gestionnaire
Access to Information and Privacy | Accès à l’information et protection des renseignments personnels
Department of Finance Canada | Ministère des Finances Canada
Communications and Public Affairs Branch | Direction des communications et des affaires publiques
Ottawa ON Canada [postal code]