5820-04513 — Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador

The complainant alleged that the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) improperly withheld information under paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act. The request sought records related to a virtual town hall meeting and other contacts between SSHRC and Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (MUN) officials. SSHRC withheld technical information for WebEx meetings and data on MUN's application and success rates for SSHRC funding programs, citing confidentiality. The Commissioner found that while the WebEx access information was technical, neither SSHRC nor MUN demonstrated that it met the confidentiality criteria, particularly given the large number of potential attendees and lack of measures to prevent sharing. Furthermore, the Commissioner determined that MUN's application and success rates were not financial, commercial, scientific, or technical information, and SSHRC later confirmed some of this information was publicly available. Consequently, the Commissioner concluded that the information did not meet the requirements for exemption under paragraph 20(1)(b).