Decisions

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.

The complainant alleged that Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) did not respond within the extended period under subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act to an access request. The request was for records related to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility project known as “Cedar LNG”, from as early as January 2020. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The investigation determined that ECCC did not respond by the required date and is deemed to have refused access to the requested records under subsection 10(3). The delay was caused by the failure of the Offices of the Primary Interest (OPIs) and the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) office to provide records and process the request in a timely manner.

The Information Commissioner ordered that ECCC issue interim responses for documents not requiring consultation and provide a complete response to the access request no later than March 16, 2026.

The Commissioner also recommended that ECCC develop processes and procedures to ensure that OPIs provide responsive records in a timely manner, and develop performance indicators to hold its officials accountable for delays in providing responsive records to ECCC’s ATIP office.

ECCC gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the orders and recommendations and described how the recommendations are being implemented.

The complaint is well founded.

The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) had improperly withheld information under paragraph 18(d) (government financial interests, undue benefit to an individual), subsection 19(1) (personal information), paragraph 20(1)(b) (confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information), paragraph 20(1)(c) (financial impact on a third party), paragraph 20(1)(d) (negotiations by a third party) and paragraph 21(1)(b) (accounts of consultations or deliberation) of the Access to Information Act in response to an access request. The request was for financial statements for the leaseback of seven specific buildings. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

PSPC could not show that it met all the requirements of these exemptions, particularly in light of the information relating to the spending of significant public funds. The Information Commissioner ordered that PSPC disclose the information at issue. PSPC gave notice to the Commissioner that it would comply with the order. The complaint is well founded.