5819-00296 — Employment and Social Development Canada

The complainant alleged that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) improperly withheld information related to Canadian universities' engagement in the Federal Contractors Program. The withheld information was claimed under sections related to personal information, confidential third-party commercial information, and disclosure restricted by another law. The Information Commissioner found the complaint to be well-founded, determining that ESDC had not adequately demonstrated that all withheld information met the exemption criteria or that it had properly exercised its discretion. As a result, the Commissioner ordered ESDC to disclose the information at issue, and ESDC indicated it would implement the order.

• Whether information withheld under subsection 19(1) (personal information) was about identifiable individuals and whether discretion was properly exercised.
• Whether a completed Employment Equity Achievement Awards Application Form met the requirements for exemption under paragraph 20(1)(b) (confidential third-party commercial information).
• Whether information withheld under subsection 24(1) (disclosure restricted by another law) was properly withheld (this was removed from scope).
• Whether the institution properly severed non-exempt information from exempt information.