Public Services and Procurement Canada (Re), 2026 OIC 12
The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) took an unreasonable amount of time to extend its response deadline for an access request concerning documents related to the parliamentary consideration of ArriveCAN. The Information Commissioner found that while PSPC demonstrated the need for consultations due to a large volume of records, it failed to justify the 150-day extension for these consultations, relying instead on service standards rather than a genuine assessment of the time required. Consequently, the extension was deemed unreasonable, and PSPC was ordered to provide a complete response by June 1, 2026.
- Reasonableness of time extension under paragraph 9(1)(a) for volume of records
- Reasonableness of time extension under paragraph 9(1)(b) for consultations
- Institution's failure to demonstrate genuine assessment of time required for consultations
- Deemed refusal of access under subsection 10(3) due to unreasonable extension
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
The institution failed to demonstrate that the 150-day extension for consultations was reasonable, as it relied primarily on service standards instead of assessing the actual time needed for the specific records and consultations. This led to a finding that the extension was unreasonable, constituting a deemed refusal of access.
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The Minister of Public Works and Government Services was ordered to provide a complete response to the access request no later than June 1, 2026, and was recommended to issue interim releases for documents not requiring consultation.
- s.9 ATIA
- s.9(1)(a) ATIA
- s.9(1)(b) ATIA
- s.10(3) ATIA
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
- s.30(1)(c) ATIA
This is a summary of a decision by the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada and is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice.