The complainant alleged that Transport Canada improperly withheld information under paragraph 16(1)(c) (conduct of investigations), subsection 19(1) (personal information), paragraph 20(1)(b) (confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information), paragraph 20(1)(d) (negotiations by a third party); and paragraph 21(1)(b) (accounts of consultations or deliberations) of the Access to Information Act in response to an access request. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act. The access request was for records related to a collision between a vessel and a seaplane in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 8, 2024.

Transport Canada could not show that it met all the requirements of these exemptions, apart from a limited amount of information meeting all four requirements of paragraph 20(1)(b). Transport Canada did not provide any information indicating that it had considered its obligation to exercise its discretion under subsection 20(6) to decide whether to disclose the information.

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 likely be in a position to comply with the order. The complaint is well founded.