5822-07348 — Environment and Climate Change Canada
The complainant alleged that Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) improperly withheld information in response to a request for the recovery strategy for the whitebark pine. The OIC investigated ECCC's application of several exemptions, including those related to personal information, third-party commercial information, federal-provincial affairs, and advice/recommendations. The Commissioner found that ECCC failed to make reasonable efforts to seek consent for personal information and did not demonstrate that third-party information met the exemption requirements. Additionally, ECCC improperly withheld factual information under advice/recommendations exemptions and did not reasonably exercise discretion for some information withheld under federal-provincial affairs. The Commissioner ordered ECCC to seek consent for personal information, disclose certain third-party and factual information, and re-exercise discretion for specific records. ECCC agreed to comply with the order, leading to a well-founded complaint.
- 1Whether s.19(1) personal information exemption was properly applied to the name and contact information of an individual
- 2Whether ECCC made reasonable efforts to seek consent under s.19(2)(a) for personal information
- 3Whether the personal information was publicly available under s.19(2)(b)
- 4Whether disclosure of personal information would be consistent with s.8 of the Privacy Act under s.19(2)(c)
- 5Whether the information met the requirements of s.20(1)(b) for confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information
- 6Whether the information was supplied by a third party under s.20(1)(b)
- 7Whether the third party consistently treated the information as confidential under s.20(1)(b)
- 8Whether the information met the requirements of s.21(1)(b) for accounts of consultations or deliberations
- 9Whether factual information was improperly withheld under s.21(1)(b)
- 10Whether ECCC reasonably exercised discretion under s.21(1)(b) for information Parks Canada indicated could be disclosed
- 11Whether ECCC reasonably exercised discretion under s.21(1)(b) for other information
- 12Whether the information met the requirements of s.21(1)(a) for advice or recommendations
- 13Whether factual information was improperly withheld under s.21(1)(a)
- 14Whether ECCC reasonably exercised discretion under s.21(1)(a)
- 15Whether the information met the requirements of s.14 for federal-provincial affairs
- 16Whether ECCC reasonably expected harm to federal-provincial affairs from disclosure of information on page 2947
- 17Whether ECCC reasonably exercised discretion under s.14
- s.19 personal information: Institution failed to seek consent; ordered to seek consent
- s.20 third-party information: Exemption not justified; ordered disclosed
- s.21 federal-provincial affairs: Discretion not reasonably exercised for some information; ordered to re-exercise discretion
- s.21 advice/recommendations: Factual information improperly withheld; ordered disclosed
- Overall complaint: Well-founded
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered and discretion re-exercised
ECCC failed to meet the requirements for several exemptions, including not making reasonable efforts to seek consent for personal information, not demonstrating that third-party information met all exemption criteria, and improperly withholding factual information under advice/recommendations exemptions. ECCC also failed to consider all relevant factors when exercising discretion for some records.
The Minister of Environment is ordered to seek consent for personal information, disclose certain third-party and factual information, disclose information withheld under s.14 on page 2947, and re-exercise discretion for information Parks Canada indicated could be disclosed.
- s.14 ATIA
- s.19(1) ATIA
- s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- s.20(1)(c) ATIA
- s.21(1)(a) ATIA
- s.21(1)(b) ATIA
- s.13(1) ATIA
- s.16(2) ATIA
- s.19(2)(a) ATIA
- s.19(2)(b) ATIA
- s.19(2)(c) ATIA
- s.20(5) ATIA
- s.21(2) ATIA
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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