5822-02572 — National Defence
The complainant alleged that National Defence (DND) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) held by two named individuals. The investigation revealed that DND's Office of Primary Interest misread the request, limiting the search to only 'reports of UAP' instead of the broader 'general subject of UAP', and also unnecessarily restricted its search to keywords. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) requested DND to perform an additional search, which resulted in the retrieval of 11 additional pages of records. The Commissioner concluded that DND did not conduct a reasonable search. The complaint was found to be well founded, and DND was ordered to provide access to the additional records.
- 1Whether National Defence conducted a reasonable search for records
- 2Whether the Office of Primary Interest misread the access request
- 3Whether limiting the search to keywords constituted a reasonable search
- Adequacy of search: Search found unreasonable
- Additional records: 11 pages retrieved
- Complaint outcome: Well founded
- Disclosure of records: Access to additional records ordered
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
National Defence's Office of Primary Interest misread the scope of the access request and unnecessarily limited its search methodology to keywords, leading to an incomplete initial response. An additional search, prompted by the OIC, yielded responsive records, demonstrating the initial search was not reasonable.
The Minister of National Defence is ordered to give access to all 11 pages of additional responsive records, unless access to them may be refused under a specific provision of the Act, and to provide a new response no later than 36 business days after the date of the final report.
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
- s.2 ATIA
- s.6 ATIA
- s.36.1(1) ATIA
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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