Decisions

The complainant alleged that the extension of time the Department of Justice Canada (Justice) took under subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act to respond to an access request was unreasonable. The request was for all records pertaining to the booking and subsequent cancellation of Professor Alice Sullivan's International Women's Day 2024 presentation to Department of Justice staff.

The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(c) of the Act.

Justice claimed an extension under paragraph 9(1)(a) for 292 days which the investigation determined to be unreasonable. Justice also claimed 90 days under paragraph 9(1)(b) but failed to respond within this time frame. As a result, Justice was deemed to have refused access to the requested records under subsection 10(3). The investigation also found that Justice based the time extension on a page count that did not truly reflect the number of records responsive to the request because it failed to properly identify duplicates and non relevant records.

The Information Commissioner ordered that Justice provide a complete response to the access request no later than 36 business days following the date of the final report.

Justice gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the order and would respond to the access request within the ordered time frame.

The complaint is well founded.

The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) had not conducted a reasonable search for records in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act. The request was for specific records related to a contract for decommissioning and demolition services at the Health Protection Building that was awarded to a subcontractor. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

PSPC did not acknowledge control over some of the requested records, however, the Information Commissioner found that the records, if they exist, were under PSPC’s control. Additionally, PSPC did not demonstrate that it had conducted a reasonable search for responsive records.

The Commissioner ordered that PSPC seek assistance and copies of records from a third party, provide a new response to the complainant and give the complainant access to any additional records it located. PSPC gave notice to the Commissioner that it would comply with the order. The complaint is well founded.