5822-03285 — Public Health Agency of Canada

The complainant alleged that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to the fee schedule or dispersal of payments to provinces and territories under the Budget Implementation Act, 2021. During the investigation, the OIC requested information from PHAC regarding its search parameters and program areas involved. In response, PHAC re-tasked its program areas, which led to the retrieval of approximately 104 additional responsive pages. Although PHAC initially failed to conduct a reasonable search, the subsequent efforts satisfied the Commissioner that a reasonable search had ultimately been performed. The Commissioner ordered PHAC to complete the retrieval and processing of these newly identified records and issue a new response to the complainant within 60 days. PHAC agreed to implement the order.