Access to Information and Privacy
Axcess1 Québec
Access to Information and Privacy management, built around Access Act (A-2.1)
Built around your law — not around generic case management.
Built around your law — not around generic case management
Many case-management products ask a public body to adapt its process to the software. Axcess1 is configured around the legislation, the procedures, the vocabulary and the reporting obligations of each jurisdiction. An organization chooses its Act once; every screen, deadline, letter and report then follows it.
Generic case management
The organization adapts to the software.
Axcess1
The software follows the legislation and the way government works.
Legislation supported
Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information (CQLR, c. A-2.1)
| What the Act requires | As configured in Axcess1 |
|---|---|
| Who it applies to | Public bodies under arts. 3–7: the Government, Conseil exécutif, Conseil du trésor, ministries and government agencies; municipal bodies (municipalities incl. MRCs, metropolitan communities, intermunicipal boards, public transit corporations, Kativik Regional Government and bodies they control); school bodies (school service centres, school boards, CEGEPs, universities); health and social services institutions. Also the Lieutenant-Governor and National Assembly (art. 3 al. 2). Courts are excluded. |
| Time limit to respond | 20 days (art. 47 (personal information: art. 98)). The due date is calculated when the request is entered, with the holidays of the jurisdiction. |
| Extensions | Up to 10 days. One extension of up to 10 days if the 20-day deadline cannot be met without hampering normal operations; written notice to the applicant before the first deadline expires. Beyond that, only the Commission may extend (art. 137.1). (art. 47 al. 2 (personal information: art. 98 al. 2)) |
| No answer in time | Treated as a refusal (arts. 52, 102); overdue requests are flagged. |
| Third-party notice | Notice under arts. 25, 49 al. 1; 20 days for the third party to respond; 15 days to seek review of the decision |
| Transfer to another body | art. 48, within 20 days |
| Decision and reasons | The decision letter gives the reasons, the provision relied on and the right of review (arts. 50–51 (personal information: arts. 100–101)). |
| Fees | No application fee; access is free. Transcription, reproduction and transmission fees under the regulation (indexed each April 1; first $9.75 exempt as of 2026-04-01) — give the applicant an estimate before incurring them. |
| Review and complaints | Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec; 30 days to ask for a review (art. 135) |
| Annual reporting | Access-to-information report in the annual management report (Regulation respecting the distribution of information and the protection of personal information, CQLR c. A-2.1, r. 2, s. 2) |
| Privacy breaches | Notification is mandatory; the incident register applies this jurisdiction's threshold, notices and time limits. |
Loaded for this Act
- 37 provisions (exemptions, exceptions and exclusions) ready to cite on a redaction, each with its section number.
- Request types: Access to documents (A-2.1, art. 9); Access to personal information (A-2.1, art. 83); Rectification of personal information (A-2.1, art. 89).
- Statutory steps on the timeline: Extension of up to 10 days (art. 47 al. 2; personal information: art. 98 al. 2) — written notice to the applicant before the 20 days expire; Third-party notice (arts. 25 and 49) — written notice within 20 days of receipt; third party has 20 days to submit observations; Request referred to the competent public body (art. 48) — applicant told the body and its access officer within 20 days; Request for review — Commission d'accès à l'information (art. 135; within 30 days of the decision or of the expiry of the response deadline); Third-party request for review to the Commission (art. 136; within 15 days of the notice of the decision to give access — suspends the decision); Application to the Commission for authorization to disregard an abusive request (art. 137.1; within the art. 47 or 98 deadline).
Checked against the published text on 2026-10-01. LégisQuébec — Loi sur l'accès, RLRQ c. A-2.1 (à jour au 10 juin 2026) · LégisQuébec — Access Act, CQLR c. A-2.1 (updated to June 10, 2026) · LégisQuébec — Règlement sur la diffusion de l'information…, RLRQ c. A-2.1, r. 2 (à jour au 1er mai 2026)
Legislation-to-feature matrix
| Legislative requirement | Axcess1 support |
|---|---|
| Statutory deadline | 20 days (art. 47 (personal information: art. 98)): calculated automatically for each request; overdue and upcoming requests on the dashboard. |
| Extensions and holds | Recorded as events that move the due date, each tied to its section of the Act. |
| Exemptions and exclusions | The provisions of Access Act (A-2.1) in the redaction editor, each with its section number. |
| Third parties and consultations | Notices, consultation packages and their due dates tracked on the request. |
| Fees | Fee notices and payments recorded on the request. |
| Reviews, appeals and complaints | Recorded on the request timeline with their dates and outcome. |
| Redaction | Done by the analyst in the built-in editor; optional AI suggestions that the analyst accepts or rejects. |
| Decision letters | Generated from templates for this Act, with the provisions cited. |
| Release | A release package built from the reviewed records; redactions are permanent in the released file. |
| Annual statistics | Annual access statistics for the period, with each figure traceable to its requests. |
| Audit trail | Every action on a request is recorded with the user and the time. |
From request to release
1Receive and validate
The request is entered with its type, requester and date received; a number is issued from your own numbering pattern.
2Calculate the deadline
The due date follows the Act: 20 days (art. 47 (personal information: art. 98)). Holds and extensions move it and are recorded.
3Assign and search
The request is assigned to an officer; the units holding records are tasked and their answers tracked.
4Collect and review
Records are uploaded (PDF, Office files, scans with text recognition) and reviewed page by page.
5Apply the provisions and redact
The analyst marks a passage and picks the provision of this Act; the released copy shows the section relied on.
6Consult
Consultation packages are produced per party, with their due dates.
7Approve
The response goes to the approver's inbox for review and signature.
8Release
The release package and the decision letter are generated from the request.
9Report
Requests, processing times, decisions and provisions invoked are counted for the period you choose.
Agentic AI across the lifecycle
AI is switched off until your administrator turns it on, one capability at a time. AI assists. Authorized officials decide.
Intake agent
Proposes a new request from a message, the portal or a drop folder; an officer confirms it.
Document intelligence
Summarizes and classifies the records and finds the people and organizations named in them.
Responsiveness agent
Suggests which records answer the request.
Exemption assist
Proposes provisions of Access Act (A-2.1) with reasons; redaction candidates appear in the editor.
Consultation agent
Suggests who should be consulted and on which pages.
Quality assurance agent
Checks a package a second time before release.
Deadline watch
Lists the requests at risk of running late.
Copilot
Answers questions about a request, citing the records it used.
Migration
Case history, requesters and documents are brought over from the system you use today, so you do not start from an empty database.
Deployment
Hosted by SoftSim in Canada, on your own private cloud or servers, or standalone on a PC or Mac.
Security
Each organization's records are separate, access is controlled by role and every action is recorded. Run on your own servers, your records never leave your premises.
Try it free for 30 days
One licence, the full product, no obligation. Or see it first in a 30-minute demonstration.
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Axcess1 supports configurable workflows designed around the applicable legislation. Government organizations remain responsible for legal interpretation and statutory decisions. Summaries of the legislation are paraphrases prepared from the published text; they are not legal advice.