The complainant alleged that Canadian Heritage did not conduct a reasonable search for records in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act. The complainant also alleged that Canadian Heritage improperly responded that some or all of the requested records do not exist. Both allegations fall under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act. The access request was for records related to communications by any Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) staff with any staff within Sport Canada during a specific time period, relating to weightlifting.

The investigation revealed that certain records appeared to be missing from the response package that had been provided to the complainant.

The investigation also revealed that the scope of the search was likely not broad enough to capture all the responsive records, and Canadian Heritage failed to provide sufficient representations to explain why its search was reasonable.

The Information Commissioner ordered the Minister of Canadian Heritage to conduct a new search and provide a new response to the complainant no later than 36 business days after the date of the final report.

Canadian Heritage gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the order.

The complaint is well founded.