The complainant alleged that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) did not respond to an access request within the 30-day period set out in section 7 of the Access to Information Act.

The request was for all records, within a specified period, regarding the cull of the ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, British Columbia, including planning, execution, disposal, cleanup, security and any additional ostrich cull-related matter.

The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The CFIA was deemed to have refused access to the requested records under subsection 10(3). The delay was in large part caused by the failure of the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) office to promptly initiate the Offices of Primary Interest to search and retrieve responsive records. The CFIA also maintained that there were ongoing Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigations directly associated with the subject matter of this request, and that the collection of responsive records was delayed due to a variety of safety and security concerns, as well as the volume of records.

The Information Commissioner ordered the President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to provide a complete response to the access request no later than 36 business days following the date of the final report.

The President gave the Commissioner notice that the CFIA would be implementing her order, and had already taken steps to that end, having retrieved all records and started reviewing them. He further explained that the ATIP office has taken measures to mitigate information gathering and handling issues associated with this topic and other associated requests and has dedicated resources to the processing of these requests.

The complaint is well founded.