3217-01373 — Public Safety Canada and Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The complainant alleged that Public Safety Canada (Public Safety) improperly refused to process an access request for records related to keywords such as 'counter-radicalization' and 'cyber radicalization', including associated metadata. Public Safety argued that portions of the request did not meet the requirements of section 6 of the Access to Information Act due to the expansive volume of records and the complexity of identifying relevant information. The Commissioner agreed that some parts of the request were too broad, but found that other parts (Paragraph 1 and Schedule A) were sufficiently detailed and should have been processed. The Commissioner also determined that Public Safety failed to meet its legislated obligations by not claiming an extension of time and by refusing to process any part of the request. The complaint was found to be well founded, and Public Safety committed to processing the valid portions of the request at a rate of 5,000 pages per year.
- 1Whether the request provided sufficient detail to enable an experienced employee to identify records with reasonable effort (s.6 ATIA)
- 2Whether Public Safety was justified in refusing to process the entire request if only parts of it met s.6 ATIA requirements
- 3Whether Public Safety complied with its obligation to claim an extension of time under s.9(1) ATIA
- 4Whether Public Safety made every reasonable effort to assist the requester (s.4(2.1) ATIA)
- 5Whether Public Safety was required to consult on the term 'metadata' and provide records in the requested format
- Scope of request: Portions of request too broad
- Scope of request: Portions of request sufficiently detailed
- Timeliness: Failure to claim extension
- Processing of request: Improper refusal to process
- Complaint outcome: Complaint well founded
- Remedy: Institution committed to processing valid portions
Complaint well founded — Public Safety ordered to process valid portions of the request
Public Safety improperly refused to process the entire request, despite parts of it meeting the requirements of section 6 of the ATIA. The institution also failed to claim an extension of time under section 9(1) and did not make every reasonable effort to assist the requester as required by section 4(2.1).
The Commissioner recommended that Public Safety proceed with processing Paragraph 1 and Schedule A of the request, provide a timeline, consult on the term 'metadata' and process relevant information, and consult on providing information in the requested format. Public Safety committed to processing 5,000 pages per year of the identified relevant records.
- s.4(2.1) ATIA
- s.6 ATIA
- s.9(1) ATIA
- s.10(3) ATIA
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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