5821-01013 — Correctional Service Canada and Parole Board of Canada

The complainant alleged that Correctional Service Canada (CSC) improperly withheld information from the institutional file of a named inmate, claiming numerous exemptions under the Access to Information Act. CSC withheld over 11,000 pages, disclosing only 149 in full, primarily citing subsection 19(1) for personal information. The Commissioner found that the records contained detailed, intimate, and sensitive personal information about the inmate and other individuals, satisfying the requirements of subsection 19(1). CSC demonstrated that it made reasonable efforts to seek consent from the named inmate but not from others, providing valid reasons for the latter. The Commissioner also found that CSC was not obligated to undertake extensive searches to determine if the information was publicly available given its nature and volume. Furthermore, CSC's delegated authority considered the public interest in disclosure but concluded it did not clearly outweigh the invasion of privacy, providing a transparent explanation. The Commissioner concluded that none of the circumstances under subsection 19(2) for discretionary disclosure were met, and therefore, CSC was not required to exercise discretion. Consequently, the complaint was not well founded.