The complainant alleged that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) had improperly withheld information under paragraphs 20(1)(b) (confidential third party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information) and 20(1)(c) (financial impact on a third party) of the Access to Information Act in response to an access request. The complainant also alleged that DFO applied an unofficial internal policy to refuse access to the information. These allegations fall under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act. The access request was for specified At-Sea Observer (ASO) data for the non-retained bycatch species black dogfish for all fisheries operating in Canadian Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization subareas 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 from 2000-2021 from the DFO Newfoundland region.

DFO could not show that it met all the requirements of these exemptions and it was unable to identify the third parties. However, the investigation showed that DFO did not apply an unofficial internal policy to refuse access to the information.

The Information Commissioner ordered that DFO disclose all of the information. DFO gave notice to the Commissioner that it would implement the order. The complaint is well founded.