Access to information requests often censored.

• Position: FOIA - Statistical data

Critics who have long complained that Canada's Access to Information program is ineffective and sluggish have new reason to criticize after an analysis revealed that requests for government records are often censored by federal agencies.

According to information from the government's open information portal, of 28,000 requests sent between June 2013 and July 2104, only 21% came back without redacted information. Fifty-seven percent were censored in some way, while the government said it could not find records in 18% of cases.

The data show that CSIS was by far the most secretive agency. During the one-year period, the intelligence service did not fully release a single government file. The Privy Council Office was a close second, with staff completely fulfilling only 3% of requests.

Canadian critics say U.S federal agencies grant full access to government records at a much higher rate.

For example, while only 26% of requests sent to Environment Canada were not censored, the full disclosure rate last year for its U.S counterpart, the Environmental Protection Agency, was 88%, according to the Center for Effective Government.

Of the 15 U.S departments profiled by the Washington-based think tank, 10 fully disclosed more than half of all documents requested. No major federal agency in Canada topped the 50% mark, according to The Toronto Star.

"The United States Freedom of Information system is far, far superior to our Access to Information system," Tom Henheffer, the executive director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, told the Star. "A lot of reporters...