Privy Council Office (Re), 2025 OIC 52

Date: 2025-10-16
OIC file number: 5820-03810
Access request number: A-2017-00251

Summary

The complainant alleged that the Privy Council Office (PCO) did not conduct a reasonable search in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act for All IAC reports (IAs, SIRs, and other reports; all versions of such reports, including codeword, non-codeword, CEO and allied versions) dealing with the USSR and/or members of the former Warsaw Pact and Yugoslavia produced during the period 1 January to 31 December 1990.

The allegation falls within paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The investigation determined that the Offices of Primary Interest did not retrieve all relevant records when they were tasked to do so. PCO was unable to show that it conducted a reasonable search for all of the records responsive to the access request. An additional search conducted during the investigation resulted in an additional 1,352 pages being provided to the complainant. However, the Complainant continued to maintain that more records should exist. In response, PCO identified a further 98 pages of records.

The Information Commissioner ordered that PCO provide the subsequent response to the access request by January 22, 2026.

PCO gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the order.

The complaint is well founded.

Complaint

[1] The complainant alleged that the Privy Council Office (PCO) did not conduct a reasonable search in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act for the following:

[2] All IAC reports (IAs, SIRs, and other reports; all versions of such reports, including codeword, non-codeword, CEO and allied versions) dealing with the USSR and/or members of the former Warsaw Pact and Yugoslavia produced during the period 1 January to 31 December 1990.

[3] The allegation falls within paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

Investigation

[4] PCO 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.

[5] 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.

[6] 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?

[7] PCO responded to the access request on November 30, 2020. In their complaint, the complainant alleged that PCO provided only copies of IAC minutes from 1990 that were not the reports requested. The complainant alleged that a number of 1990 IAC reports were missing from the response. Following the Office of the Information Commissioner’s (OIC) investigation, on August 14, 2023, PCO provided a subsequent response to the complainant comprising 1,352 pages with some information withheld from disclosure. The complainant informed the OIC that 252 pages of the subsequent release were additional IAC reports for 1990. However, the complainant maintains that the following documents are still missing from the PCO’s response:

• IAC Assessment 90-10-25 - USSR USA-Chemical Weapons Control ... (a copy released by LAC is in the CFIHP database)
• IAC CIN 142/90 USSR/USA: Chemical Weapons Control – only two can play successfully
• IAC CIN 152/90 Eastern Europe: Trimming the ties with Soviet intelligence
• East German leadership succession and domestic crisis
• USSR: Security and doctrinal implications of East European Liberalization
• Czechoslovakia: vaclov havel — philosopher president, sir 6/90, 13/02/90
• The czech and slovak federal republic: high hope for the future, cin 103/90, 28/06/90
• Poland: premier tadeusz mazowiecki an inspired and inspiring choice (ceo), 22/03/90
• Ussr: a novel and secret chemical weapon?, cin 72/90, 31/05/90
• Soviet intelligence-related organizations: structures and methods, cie vi/90, 01/06/90
• Soviet Scientific and Technical Trends and Prospects, CIE?/90, date?

[8] The OIC was not convinced that a reasonable search for the requested records had been conducted and that all relevant records were located and processed. As a result, the OIC sought representations from PCO concerning its secondary search for the requested records. In response, PCO maintained the following:

[9] Following a review of the list provided by the complainant, our subject matter experts determined that several reports were originally provided, but continue to be withheld in their entirety:

• IAC Assessment 90-10-25 - USSR USA-Chemical Weapons Control (paginated pages 001275-001276)
• IAC CIN 142/90 USSR/USA: Chemical Weapons Control - only two can play successfully (duplicate of the above withheld report)
• CZECHOSLOVAKIA: VACLOV HAVEL - PHILOSOPHER PRESIDENT, SIR 6/90, 13/02/90 (paginated pages 58-59, 60-61)
• POLAND: PREMIER TADEUSZ MAZOWIECKI AN INSPIRED AND INSPIRING CHOICE (CEO), 22/03/90 CIN 30/90 (paginated pages 001149- 001150)

[10] PCO officials also advised that:

[11] Three (3) of the document titles requested were not located in PCO holdings:

• East German leadership succession and domestic crisis
• USSR: Security and doctrinal implications of East European Liberalization
• IAC CIN 152/90 Eastern Europe: Trimming the ties with Soviet intelligence

[12] Lastly, following their review, our subject matter experts located 100 additional pages which cover four (4) of the remaining documents requested in the list outlined by the complainant:

• The czech and slovak federal republic: high hope for the future, cin 103/90, 28/06/90
• USSR: A NOVEL AND SECRET CHEMICAL WEAPON?, CIN 72/90 (CIN 72/90 - USSR: The Greening Reds), 31/05/90 CIN 74/90
• Soviet intelligence-related organizations: structures and methods, cie vi/90, 01/06/90
• Soviet Scientific and Technical Trends and Prospects, CIE?/90, date?

[13] PCO informed the OIC that the additional records require consultations with other government institutions as well as sign off and approval from its delegated authority. In light of the remaining work, including digitization and preparation of the classified consultation packages, PCO advised the OIC that it intends to issue a supplementary response by January 22, 2026.

[14] Based on the above, I am now satisfied that PCO has conducted a reasonable search for responsive records. I conclude that January 22, 2026, is an appropriate amount of time for PCO to provide the supplementary response to the request.

Outcome

[15] The complaint is well founded.

Order

I order the Clerk of the Privy Council to:

1. Complete the retrieval of all records responsive to the request.
2. Process all additional pages of records located as a result of the additional searches.
3. Provide a supplementary response to the access request no later than January 22, 2026.
4. Give the complainant access to responsive records, unless access to them, or to 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 September 2, 2025, I issued my initial report to the Clerk of the Privy Council setting out my orders.

On October 2, 2025, the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Ministerial Services and Corporate Affairs gave me notice that PCO would be implementing the orders. PCO advised that there are 98 pages of responsive records for this request, and consultations are required with National Defence, Global Affairs Canada, the Communications Security Establishment Canada and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. These consultations are expected to be completed by November 14, 2025. Once received, a review from PCO’s Intelligence Assessment Staff will be required. PCO is expediting the review of records in order to provide a response pursuant to the Order.

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.