Public Services and Procurement Canada (Re), 2024 OIC 49
The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) took an unreasonable extension of time to respond to an access request for materials related to the sixth interprovincial crossing between Gatineau and Ottawa, and improperly regrouped this request with others to justify the extension. PSPC had extended the response time by 768 days under paragraph 9(1)(a) and an additional 300 days under paragraph 9(1)(b), citing a large volume of complex and sensitive records (2,404 pages) and the need to avoid interference with operations. The Commissioner found that PSPC failed to demonstrate that the 768-day extension was reasonable or justified, concluding that the requirements of paragraph 9(1)(a) were not met. Consequently, the Commissioner did not need to assess the 9(1)(b) extension. Regarding the regrouping allegation, the Commissioner found no evidence that PSPC would not have claimed the extension without regrouping, especially since the requester had agreed to it. The complaint was found to be well founded concerning the unreasonable extension of time, and PSPC was ordered to provide a complete response within 36 business days.
- 1Whether the extension of time taken under subsection 9(1) was unreasonable (30(1)(c))
- 2Whether the request was for a large number of records or required searching through a large number of records (9(1)(a))
- 3Whether meeting the 30-day time limit would unreasonably interfere with the institution’s operations (9(1)(a))
- 4Whether the extension of time was for a reasonable period, having regard to the circumstances (9(1)(a))
- 5Whether PSPC improperly regrouped the access request with other requests to take the extension of time (30(1)(f))
- 6Whether PSPC was in deemed refusal under subsection 10(3)
- Extension of time (9(1)(a)): Extension found unreasonable
- Extension of time (9(1)(b)): Not assessed
- Regrouping of requests: No evidence of improper regrouping
- Timeliness of response: Institution ordered to respond within 36 days
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
The Commissioner found that Public Services and Procurement Canada failed to demonstrate that the 768-day extension of time was reasonable or justified under paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Act. The institution did not provide sufficient evidence to support the necessity of such a lengthy extension, leading to a finding that the extension was unreasonable.
The Minister of Public Works and Government Services is ordered to provide a complete response to the access request no later than the 36th business day following the date of the final report.
- s.9(1) ATIA
- s.9(1)(a) ATIA
- s.9(1)(b) ATIA
- s.10(3) ATIA
- s.30(1)(c) ATIA
- s.30(1)(f) ATIA
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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