5822-07913 — Health Canada

The complainant alleged that Health Canada's 1,000-day extension of time to respond to an access request was unreasonable. The request sought information regarding an application for religious exemption to serve ayahuasca. Health Canada claimed the extension under paragraphs 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act, citing a large volume of records (over 14,000 pages) and the need for extensive consultations, particularly with its Legal Services Unit, due to the sensitive and precedent-setting nature of the subject matter. The institution argued that processing the request within a shorter timeframe would unreasonably interfere with its operations and that consultations could not be completed within 30 days. The Information Commissioner found that Health Canada met all the requirements for both paragraphs 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b), concluding that the calculation of the extension was logical and supportable, and that the extension was reasonable. Consequently, the complaint was deemed not well founded, and the due date for the response remains December 19, 2025.