The complainant alleged that the Privy Council Office (PCO) had improperly withheld information under subsection 13(1) (confidential information from government bodies), subsection 15(1) (international affairs or national security or defence), paragraphs 16(1)(a) (investigative bodies), 16(1)(b) (investigative techniques, plans), 16(1)(c) (law enforcement, conduct of investigations) and subsection 19(1) personal information) of the Access to Information Act in response to an access request. The request was for minutes, records of decision, agendas or any other record of the meetings of the Joint Intelligence Committee and the Intelligence Advisory Committee for the period January 1, 1972, to December 31, 1972. The allegation falls within paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

PCO could not show that it met all the requirements of the exemptions claimed and issued a supplementary release to the complainant during the investigation. The Information Commissioner concluded that the information which remains withheld did not meet the requirements of the exemptions, except for limited information which satisfies the requirements of subsection 13(1) but for which discretion was not reasonably exercised under subsection 13(2).

The Information Commissioner ordered PCO to entirely release pages 56, 61, 66, 72, 77, 80, 121, 123, 168, 170, 206, 208, 209, 212, 214, 233, 250, 289, 291, 309, 310, 313, 344, 345, 347, and 349 of the records, to re-exercise discretion as per subsection 13(2) for information exempted on pages 41, 45 and 351 of the records, and to provide a new response no later than 36 business days after the date of the final report. PCO gave notice to the Commissioner that it would implement her orders.

The complaint is well founded.