Decision pursuant to 6.1, 2021 OIC 30

A federal institution applied to the Information Commissioner for approval to decline to act on an access to information request, arguing it was both vexatious and an abuse of the right of access. The request sought materials for a specific course offered during a particular period. The institution contended the request was repetitive, noting the requester had submitted over 900 requests, many of which were identical or substantially similar, and had already received the requested records and complained to the OIC regarding previous responses. The requester acknowledged some repetitiveness but denied any intent to be vexatious or abusive. The Commissioner found that while the volume of requests alone does not constitute abuse, the duplicative nature of the current request, which sought no new information and was entirely captured by previous requests, did. The Commissioner concluded that the repeated requests for substantively the same information, despite previous OIC investigations and available recourse to the Federal Court, constituted a misuse and abuse of the Access to Information Act. Consequently, the Commissioner granted the institution's application.