5820-03828 — Public Services and Procurement Canada

The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to a contract for decommissioning and demolition services. The request specifically sought various documents, including environmental assessments, meeting minutes, and inventory reports, concerning a subcontract awarded by Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions (BGIS) to Temprano & Young Architects Inc. PSPC initially did not acknowledge control over some records and did not attempt to obtain them from BGIS. The Information Commissioner found that, based on a Supreme Court of Canada precedent, records held by BGIS were under PSPC's control due to the nature of their contractual relationship and PSPC's ability to obtain them. The Commissioner also determined that PSPC's search was unreasonable, as it failed to identify numerous responsive records and did not seek records from BGIS. Consequently, the complaint was found to be well founded, and PSPC was ordered to conduct further searches, including contacting BGIS, and to provide a new response to the complainant.