The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) improperly withheld information under paragraph 18(b) (competitive position of government institutions or negotiations by government institutions) 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 information on leases signed by PSPC that amount to over $500,000 per year for the years 2018-2022 in specific cities: Gatineau/Ottawa, Quebec, Montreal and Lacolle. This allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

Neither PSPC nor the third parties established that the requirements of the exemptions were met. The requirements of paragraph 20(1)(b) were not met because the rent amounts were not established to have been “supplied by” the third parties, and the representations on the harm-based exemptions were too speculative to support a link between disclosure and a reasonable expectation of harm.

The Information Commissioner ordered that PSPC disclose the records in full. PSPC gave notice to the Commissioner that it would comply with the order. The complaint is well founded.