Health Canada (Re), 2026 OIC 36

The complainant alleged that Health Canada improperly withheld records related to a COVID-19 vaccine safety update report, citing exemptions for confidential government information, personal information, and third-party commercial information. The Information Commissioner found that while some information was properly withheld under exemptions for confidential government information (section 13(1)) and personal information (section 19(1)), Health Canada failed to properly exercise its discretion regarding publicly available information under section 13(1). The Commissioner also found that exemptions for third-party commercial or financial information (section 20(1)(b) and (c)) were not met. The Commissioner ordered Health Canada to disclose the information withheld under third-party exemptions and reconsider the disclosure of publicly available information under section 13(1).

• Proper application of section 13(1) (confidential information from government bodies)
• Proper application of section 19(1) (personal information)
• Proper application of section 20(1)(b) (confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information)
• Proper application of section 20(1)(c) (financial impact on a third party)