5823-01182 — Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The complainant alleged that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) improperly withheld information under paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act. The request sought data analyzed in the Sea Lice Science Response Report (2022/045) from January to June 2022. DFO initially withheld the information, citing confidentiality, but later conceded that much of the data, including temperature and salinity data, could be disclosed. The Information Commissioner found that neither DFO nor the third parties demonstrated that the information met all the requirements of paragraph 20(1)(b), specifically regarding objective confidentiality and whether all information was supplied by a third party. One third party also raised section 26, but the Commissioner found it did not apply as the 90-day publication timeline had passed. The Commissioner ordered DFO to fully disclose the records, and DFO agreed to comply.