5823-00735 — Transport Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway Company and Canadian National Railway Company
An anonymous applicant complained that Transport Canada improperly withheld information from rail workplace fatality investigation reports under sections 19(1), 20(1)(b), and 20(1)(c) of the Access to Information Act. The Commissioner found that while some information was properly withheld as personal information under section 19(1), Transport Canada failed to reasonably exercise its discretion regarding publicly available personal information. For section 20(1)(b), most of the withheld information did not meet the requirements for confidentiality or being "supplied by" a third party, with only specific financial and technical details qualifying. The Commissioner rejected the application of section 20(1)(c), finding that the institution and third parties did not demonstrate a clear and direct connection between disclosure and a reasonable expectation of harm. Furthermore, a third party's claim under section 23 for solicitor-client and litigation privilege was also rejected due to insufficient evidence. Consequently, the complaint was well-founded, and Transport Canada was ordered to disclose most of the withheld information.
- 1Whether the withheld information constituted "personal information" under subsection 19(1) ATIA
- 2Whether Transport Canada reasonably exercised its discretion under subsection 19(2)(b) ATIA regarding publicly available personal information
- 3Whether the withheld information was "financial, commercial, scientific or technical" under paragraph 20(1)(b) ATIA
- 4Whether the withheld information was "confidential" under paragraph 20(1)(b) ATIA
- 5Whether the withheld information was "supplied by a third party" under paragraph 20(1)(b) ATIA
- 6Whether the third party "consistently treated the information as confidential" under paragraph 20(1)(b) ATIA
- 7Whether disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in "material financial loss or gain" or "prejudice to the competitive position" of a third party under paragraph 20(1)(c) ATIA
- 8Whether the withheld information was subject to "solicitor-client privilege" under section 23 ATIA
- 9Whether the withheld information was subject to "litigation privilege" under section 23 ATIA
- s.19(1) personal information: Exemption partially upheld, discretion improperly exercised for public info
- s.20(1)(b) third-party info: Exemption mostly rejected, some financial/technical details upheld
- s.20(1)(c) financial harm: Exemption rejected, no clear harm demonstrated
- s.23 solicitor-client privilege: Exemption rejected, insufficient evidence
- Overall complaint: Well-founded, disclosure ordered
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
The institution failed to justify most withholdings under s.19(1), s.20(1)(b), and s.20(1)(c), and did not reasonably exercise discretion for publicly available personal information. A third party also failed to justify its claim under s.23.
The Information Commissioner ordered Transport Canada to disclose factual information not about an individual, re-exercise discretion for publicly available personal information, and disclose most information withheld under paragraphs 20(1)(b) and 20(1)(c).
- s.19(1) ATIA
- s.19(2) ATIA
- s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- s.20(1)(c) ATIA
- s.20(6) ATIA
- s.23 ATIA
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
- s.35(2)(d) ATIA
- s.37(2) ATIA
- s.43 ATIA
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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