5820-01920 — Public Services and Procurement Canada
The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) failed to provide records related to a designated substances report. PSPC provided some records but claimed others were not under its control. The Information Commissioner found that these records, although not in PSPC's physical possession, were under its control due to contractual obligations with a third-party contractor. The Commissioner ordered PSPC to retrieve and process these records.
- Whether records held by a third-party contractor were under the control of PSPC for the purposes of the Access to Information Act.
- Whether PSPC conducted a reasonable search for the requested records.
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
The Commissioner determined that PSPC had control over the records in question because they related to departmental matters and PSPC had a legally enforceable right to obtain them from the contractor, BGIS. Since PSPC did not retrieve and process these records, its search was deemed unreasonable, making the complaint well founded.
AI-generated summary for reference only. Always verify against the official decision ↗
The Commissioner ordered PSPC to retrieve all records determined to be under its control from the contractor and process them in accordance with the Act.
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
- s.36.1(1) ATIA
- s.37(4) ATIA
- s.41(2) ATIA
- s.43 ATIA
This is an informational summary only and does not constitute legal advice.