Transport Canada (Re), OIC 2023 38
The complainant alleged that Transport Canada improperly withheld portions of a Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report concerning a Canadian National Railway (CN) employee's death, citing subsection 19(1) (personal information) and paragraph 20(1)(b) (confidential third-party information) of the Access to Information Act. The Information Commissioner found that certain information, such as train numbers, track numbers, and locations, did not meet the requirements for exemption under subsection 19(1) as their disclosure would not create a serious possibility of identifying individuals. While some information did qualify as personal information, Transport Canada failed to demonstrate it had properly exercised its discretion under paragraph 19(2)(c) regarding public interest disclosure. Furthermore, the Commissioner concluded that the institution and CN did not prove that the information withheld under paragraph 20(1)(b) met all four requirements of that exemption, particularly regarding confidentiality and public interest. Consequently, the complaint was found to be well founded, and Transport Canada was ordered to disclose the information not properly exempted.
- 1Whether information such as train numbers, track numbers, and locations constitutes personal information under s.19(1) ATIA
- 2Whether disclosure of portions of witness statements would create a serious possibility of identification under s.19(1) ATIA
- 3Whether Transport Canada reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2)(c) ATIA regarding public interest disclosure
- 4Whether the withheld information is financial, commercial, scientific or technical under s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- 5Whether the withheld information is confidential by an objective standard under s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- 6Whether the information was supplied by a third party to a government institution under s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- 7Whether the third party consistently treated the information as confidential under s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- s.19(1) personal information: Exemption not upheld for certain information
- s.19(2)(c) public interest override: Discretion not properly exercised
- s.20(1)(b) third-party information: Exemption not upheld
- Disclosure of records: Records ordered disclosed
- Complaint outcome: Complaint well founded
Complaint well founded — disclosure ordered
The Commissioner found that Transport Canada failed to demonstrate that certain information met the criteria for exemption under subsection 19(1) and that it properly exercised its discretion under paragraph 19(2)(c). Additionally, the institution and the third party did not satisfy all four requirements for exemption under paragraph 20(1)(b).
The Minister of Transport is ordered to disclose information that does not meet the requirements of subsection 19(1), to reconsider its discretion under paragraph 19(2)(c) for information withheld under subsection 19(1), and to disclose information withheld under paragraph 20(1)(b) that does not meet the requirements of subsection 19(1).
- s.19(1) ATIA
- s.19(2) ATIA
- s.19(2)(a) ATIA
- s.19(2)(b) ATIA
- s.19(2)(c) ATIA
- s.20(1)(b) ATIA
- s.20(5) ATIA
- s.20(6) ATIA
- s.30(1)(a) ATIA
- s.35(2)(b) ATIA
- s.35(2)(c) ATIA
- s.35(2)(d) ATIA
- s.36.1(1) ATIA
- s.36.3 ATIA
- s.43 ATIA
- s.3 Privacy Act
- s.8 Privacy Act
- s.8(2)(m)(i) Privacy Act
This summary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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