Shared Services Canada (Re), 2026 OIC 21

The complainant alleged that Shared Services Canada (SSC) improperly withheld information requested under the Access to Information Act. The request was for a report from Gartner, Inc. The complainant argued the information was wrongly withheld under exemptions related to personal information, third-party financial/commercial/scientific/technical information, financial impact on a third party, and negotiations by a third party. The Information Commissioner found that while some information met the criteria for exemption under paragraph 20(1)(b), SSC failed to demonstrate that other withheld information met exemption requirements or that reasonable severance was not possible. The Commissioner ordered SSC to re-exercise its discretion on certain information and disclose specific parts of the report.

• Improper withholding of information under exemptions 19(1), 20(1)(b), 20(1)(c), and 20(1)(d) of the ATIA.
• Whether information qualified as confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific, or technical information under paragraph 20(1)(b).
• Whether reasonable severance was possible under section 25 of the ATIA.
• Whether SSC reasonably exercised its discretion to withhold information under subsection 16(2).