The complainant alleged that the Privy Council Office (PCO) had improperly withheld information under subsection 16(2) (facilitating the commission of an offence) and subsection 19(1) (personal information) of the Access to Information Act. This was in response to an access request for “all records concerning Clerk John Hannaford's meeting with the official languages commissioner …”.

PCO did not demonstrate that the information exempt under subsection 19(1), that is, one signature and two initials, met the requirements of the exemption - in particular why the information would not be excluded from the definition of personal information by virtue of paragraph 3(j) of the Privacy Act. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) consulted with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC), who concurred that the exemption had not been properly applied. The OIC informed PCO of the results of the OPC consultation, asking PCO officials if they wished to release the information, rather than proceeding with an order. PCO did not respond. The Information Commissioner ordered PCO to disclose the information. PCO gave notice to the Commissioner that it maintained its disagreement with the Commissioner’s position but would release the information because it had received the consent of the two individuals.