Indigenous Services Canada (Re), 2025 OIC 27

Date: 2025-04-15
OIC file number: 5823-01873
Access request number: A-2023-00106

Summary

The complainant alleged that Indigenous Services Canada did not conduct a reasonable search in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act for entries found in the Service Administration Log. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

Indigenous Services Canada advised that at the time the response to the access request was provided, no records had been located. Indigenous Services Canada informed the Office of the Information Commissioner that 3,286 pages of records were received by Indigenous Services Canada’s access to information and privacy unit after the response had been sent to the requester.

The Information Commissioner ordered that the Minister of Indigenous Services Canada provide a new response to the complainant by May 31, 2025.

The Minister of Indigenous Services Canada gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the order.

The complaint is well founded.

Complaint

[1]        The complainant alleged that Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) had not conducted a reasonable search for records in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act. The request was for all entries found in the Service Administration Log, and any accompanying information such as incident notes, for suicide occurrence forms and medevac data entries related to suicide, substance use, or mental health, from Jan. 1, 2019, to Jul. 7, 2020. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

Investigation

Reasonable search

[2]        ISC was required to conduct a reasonable search for records that fall within the scope of the access request—that is, one or more experienced employees, knowledgeable in the subject matter of the request, must have made reasonable efforts to identify and locate all records reasonably related to the request.

[3]        A reasonable search involves a level of effort that would be expected of any fair, sensible person tasked with searching for responsive records where they are likely to be stored.

[4]        This search does not have to be perfect. An institution is therefore not required to prove with absolute certainty that further records do not exist. Institutions must however be able to show that they took reasonable steps to identify and locate responsive records.

Did the institution conduct a reasonable search for records?

[5]        The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) requested representations from ISC on the reasonableness of the search conducted to locate all responsive records. ISC advised that at the time the response to the access request was provided, no records had been located. ISC informed the OIC that 3,286 pages of records were received by ISC’s access to information and privacy unit after the response had been sent to the requester. ISC agreed to progress these records but stated that it would need to conduct consultations on the records. ISC estimated that it could provide a new response by the end of May 2025.

[6]        Based on the above, I conclude that ISC did not initially conduct a reasonable search for records when it responded to the request.

Outcome

[7]        The complaint is well founded.

Orders and recommendations

I order the Minister of Indigenous Services to do the following:

1. Provide a new response to the complainant by May 31, 2025.
2. Give the complainant access to responsive records, unless access to them, or part of them, may be refused under a specific provision(s) of Part 1 of the Act. When this is the case, name the provision(s).

Initial report and notice from institution

On March 14, 2025, I issued my initial report to the Minister of Indigenous Services setting out my orders.

On April 10, 2025, the Minister of Indigenous Services gave me notice that she would be implementing the orders.

Review by Federal Court

When an allegation in a complaint falls under paragraph 30(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (d.1) or (e) of the Act, the complainant has the right to apply to the Federal Court for a review. When the Information Commissioner makes an order(s), the institution also has the right to apply for a review.

Whoever applies for a review must do so within 35 business days after the date of this report and serve a copy of the application for review to the relevant parties, as per section 43. If no one applies for a review by this deadline, the order(s) takes effect on the 36th business day after the date of this report.