5822-07913 — Health Canada
The complainant alleged that the 1,000-day time extension taken by Health Canada to respond to an access request was unreasonable. The request concerned information about an application for religious exemption to serve ayahuasca. Health Canada claimed the extension was necessary due to the large volume and complexity of the records, which required extensive internal consultations. The Commissioner found that Health Canada met the requirements for claiming the extension under paragraphs 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act. Therefore, the complaint was determined not to be well founded.
- Reasonableness of a 1,000-day time extension claimed by Health Canada
- Whether the large volume of records unreasonably interfered with Health Canada's operations
- Whether necessary consultations could reasonably be completed within 30 days
- Whether the duration of the extension was reasonable under the circumstances
Complaint not well founded
The Commissioner found that Health Canada provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the large volume of complex records and the need for extensive consultations justified the 1,000-day extension under paragraphs 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b) of the Act, and that meeting the original deadline would have unreasonably interfered with its operations. Therefore, the extension was considered reasonable.
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The Commissioner invited the complainant and Health Canada to collaborate to reduce the scope of the request to expedite a response.
- s.9(1)(a) ATIA
- s.9(1)(b) ATIA
- s.30(1)(c) ATIA
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