The complainant alleged that Transport Canada had improperly withheld information under paragraph 20(1)(b) (confidential third‐party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information), paragraph 20(1)(c) (financial impact on a third party) and paragraph 20(1)(d) (negotiations by a third party) of the Access to Information Act in response to an access request. The request was for contracts related to the aggregate extraction operation occurring as part of the Albion Road Project (the Project) on land leased to the Ottawa International Airport Authority (OIAA), from January 2019 to May 17, 2023. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The contract that is the subject of the complaint was between two third parties, the OIAA and Thomas Cavanagh Construction Limited. Even though contracts between third parties generally have heightened expectation of confidentiality, neither Transport Canada nor any of the third parties established that all the requirements of the exemptions were met for specific information.

The Information Commissioner ordered that Transport Canada disclose certain content of the contract. Transport Canada gave notice to the Commissioner that it would comply with the order. The complaint is well founded.