Library and Archives Canada (Re), 2024 OIC 12
The complainant alleged that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) took an unreasonable extension of time to respond to an access request for Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) records related to 'Project Anecdote'. LAC extended the time by 23,725 days (approximately 65 years), citing the need to digitize 780,000 pages of records and conduct consultations. The Commissioner found that LAC did not adequately demonstrate why the processing would be limited to a single employee, why tasks were calculated consecutively rather than concurrently, or why the extension period was reasonable. Furthermore, LAC could not specify the exact number of records requiring consultation, making the consultation extension unreasonable. Consequently, the Commissioner found the extension invalid, deeming LAC to have refused access to the records. The complaint was well founded, and LAC was ordered to respond forthwith and provide regular updates and interim releases.
- 1Whether the extension of time under s.9(1)(a) ATIA for volume of records was for a reasonable period
- 2Whether the extension of time under s.9(1)(b) ATIA for consultations was for a reasonable period
- 3Whether the institution's calculation of processing time based on a single employee was reasonable
- 4Whether the institution's calculation of processing time based on consecutive tasks was reasonable
- 5Whether the institution adequately justified the length of the extension claimed
- Extension of time: Extension found unreasonable and invalid
- Deemed refusal: Institution deemed to have refused access
- Complaint outcome: Complaint well founded
- Remedy: Institution ordered to respond forthwith and provide updates/releases
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
The Commissioner found that Library and Archives Canada failed to demonstrate that the 23,725-day extension was reasonable, as it did not justify its processing time calculations based on a single employee or consecutive tasks, nor did it provide sufficient detail regarding the necessity and scope of consultations.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage is ordered to provide a complete response to the access request forthwith, provide an update to the complainant every six months on the status of the access request, and endeavour to provide interim releases to the complainant on a regular basis.
- s.9(1) ATIA
- s.9(1)(a) ATIA
- s.9(1)(b) ATIA
- s.10(3) ATIA
- s.30(1)(c) 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