5822-07345 — National Defence
The complainant alleged that National Defence (DND) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to a selection process for a Steward/Command Master Sailor to the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy. Initially, DND tasked two program areas, which reported no relevant records. The OIC, based on complainant representations, requested DND re-task these areas with specific keywords and task five named individuals. DND's subsequent search was incomplete, failing to task all individuals and use the correct date range, though it did yield seven pages of emails. Despite DND's claims of having provided all records, the OIC found that more records existed and DND had not provided a supplementary disclosure. The Commissioner concluded that DND had not conducted a reasonable search and ordered it to complete the retrieval of all responsive records, including tasking specified individuals, and to provide a new response within 36 business days.
- 1Whether National Defence conducted a reasonable search for records
- 2Whether all relevant Offices of Primary Interest were tasked
- 3Whether taskings included all pertinent keywords
- 4Whether all specified individuals were tasked
- 5Whether the correct date range was used in searches
- Adequacy of search: Search found unreasonable
- Disclosure of records: Further disclosure ordered
- Search instructions: Specific search actions ordered
- Response timeline: New response deadline set
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
National Defence failed to demonstrate that it made reasonable efforts to identify and locate all records related to the request. Its initial search was insufficient, and subsequent re-taskings were incomplete, missing key individuals and keywords, leading to the delayed discovery of additional responsive records.
The Minister of National Defence is ordered to complete the retrieval of all records responsive to the request, including tasking specified individuals, process all additional located records, and provide a new response to the access request no later than the 36th business day following the date of the final report.
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Related by meaning
Decisions with similar reasoning and facts — found by AI across statutes and jurisdictions, not just keywords.
Coverage — 13 of 14 jurisdictions searchable
Fully searchable: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba.
Partial (recent decisions only): Federal (Canada) (651 of 1,631), Nova Scotia (49 of 472), Quebec (6 of 7,090), Prince Edward Island (2 of 279), Yukon (1 of 75).
Coming soon: Nunavut — being re-processed for AI search.
Find decisions like this one — by meaning, not keywords.
Related by meaning is a Pro feature. Upgrade to surface conceptually similar decisions across the corpus, powered by AI.
Upgrade to Pro