The complainant alleged that Transport Canada had improperly withheld information under paragraph 16(1)(c) (law enforcement, conduct of investigations), subsection 19(1) (personal information) and paragraph 20(1)(b) (confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information) of the Access to Information Act in response to an access request. The request was for a copy of the Final Report of the Investigation and analysis of the accidental death of a named individual who died at a Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) railway yard. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The parties did not demonstrate that the requirements of the applied exemptions were met for certain information. Although CP asserted that additional exemptions under paragraph 20(1)(c) (financial impact on a third party), section 23 (solicitor-client and litigation privilege) and subsection 24(1) (disclosure restricted by another law) apply to the information related to CP, the third party did not met its burden of showing that the requirements of these exemptions were met.

The Information Commissioner ordered that Transport Canada disclose certain information where the parties had not demonstrated that the requirements of the exemptions were met. Transport Canada gave notice to the Commissioner that it would comply with the order. The complaint is well founded.