5823-00068 — Transport Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway Company
The complainant alleged that Transport Canada improperly withheld information from a Final Report of an investigation into an accidental death at a Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) yard. Transport Canada initially withheld information under paragraphs 16(1)(c), 19(1), and 20(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act. CP also asserted additional exemptions under paragraphs 20(1)(c), section 23, and subsection 24(1). The Information Commissioner found that Transport Canada did not meet the burden for withholding an incident number under 16(1)(c). For 19(1), the Commissioner found that while much of the witness statement information was personal and posed a serious re-identification risk, factual information could be severed and disclosed. Regarding 20(1)(b), the Commissioner determined that some technical and commercial information met the exemption criteria, but other information, particularly safety-related content, did not meet the confidentiality requirement. The Commissioner rejected CP's additional exemption claims under 20(1)(c), 23, and 24(1) due to insufficient evidence. The complaint was found to be well founded, and Transport Canada was ordered to disclose specific information.
- 1Whether s.16(1)(c) law enforcement or investigation harm was reasonably expected for the incident number
- 2Whether information was personal information under s.19(1)
- 3Whether factual information could be severed from personal information under s.19(1)
- 4Whether there was a serious risk of re-identification for personal information under s.19(1)
- 5Whether Transport Canada reasonably exercised discretion under s.19(2)
- 6Whether information was financial, commercial, scientific or technical under s.20(1)(b)
- 7Whether information was confidential under s.20(1)(b)
- 8Whether information was supplied by a third party under s.20(1)(b)
- 9Whether the third party consistently treated information as confidential under s.20(1)(b)
- 10Whether Transport Canada reasonably exercised discretion under s.20(6)
- 11Whether s.20(1)(c) financial impact or competitive harm was reasonably expected
- 12Whether information was subject to solicitor-client privilege under s.23
- 13Whether information was subject to litigation privilege under s.23
- 14Whether information was restricted by another law under s.24(1) (Canada Labour Code s.144(3))
- s.16(1)(c) law enforcement: Exemption not upheld for incident number
- s.19(1) personal information: Partial disclosure ordered for factual information
- s.20(1)(b) confidential third-party: Partial disclosure ordered for safety information
- s.20(1)(c) financial harm: Exemption not upheld
- s.23 solicitor-client privilege: Exemption not upheld
- s.24(1) statutory prohibition: Exemption not upheld
- Overall complaint outcome: Well founded, disclosure ordered
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
The institution and third party failed to demonstrate that the requirements of the applied exemptions were met for certain information, particularly regarding the incident number, severable factual information from witness statements, and safety-related commercial information. The Commissioner also found no basis for the additional exemptions claimed by the third party.
The Minister of Transport is ordered to disclose the incident number withheld under paragraph 16(1)(c), factual information withheld under subsection 19(1) that is not personal and can be severed, and information withheld under paragraph 20(1)(b) that did not meet the exemption requirements.
- s.16(1)(c) ATIA
- s.19(1) ATIA
- s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- s.20(1)(c) ATIA
- s.23 ATIA
- s.24(1) ATIA
- s.19(2) ATIA
- s.20(6) ATIA
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
- s.35(2)(d) ATIA
- s.36.3 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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