3217-02395 — Department of Justice Canada
The complainant alleged that the Department of Justice Canada (Justice) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference and the Hughes Inquiry. Initially, Justice stated it could not locate any responsive records. However, during the OIC's investigation, it was discovered that Justice had not tasked the National Litigation Sector (NLS), which was identified as the most appropriate Office of Primary Interest. After being tasked, the NLS located over 40,000 pages of responsive records. The Commissioner concluded that Justice did not conduct a reasonable search and found the complaint to be well founded. The Commissioner also found Justice's estimated processing time of 55 months to be unreasonable and recommended a final response by September 4, 2023.
- 1Whether the Department of Justice Canada conducted a reasonable search for records
- 2Whether the National Litigation Sector (NLS) was appropriately tasked for the search
- 3Whether the institution's estimated processing time for the records was reasonable
- Adequacy of search: Search found unreasonable
- Complaint validity: Complaint well founded
- Processing time: Estimated time found unreasonable
- Response deadline: New deadline recommended
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered by a specific date
Justice failed to task the appropriate Office of Primary Interest (the National Litigation Sector) during its initial search, leading to a failure to locate a significant volume of responsive records. The Commissioner also found Justice's subsequent processing time estimate to be unreasonable.
The Commissioner recommended that the Deputy Minister of Justice provide a final response to the access request no later than September 4, 2023, and email a copy of the response letter to the OIC's Registrar.
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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