Condita Research
← Back to catalogue/Federal (Canada)Early resolved case summary #2017-002
Federal (Canada)Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents ActEarly-resolved

Early resolved case summary #2017-002: Access to personal information held by insurance company facilitated through the early resolution process

Organization: An insurance companyComplainant: Anonymous applicant
BookmarkView Governing Law
Plain-language brief

An individual complained after an insurance company refused to provide access to her personal information following an incident at a store. The individual sought access to her insurance claim file, including case management notes and a video of the incident. The company initially refused, citing confidential commercial information and the personal information of third parties. Through the OPC's early resolution process, the company agreed to allow the individual to view the video and provided a redacted copy of the case management notes. The OPC's Early Resolution Officer reviewed the redactions to ensure they were properly applied. The complaint was resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.

Key issues
  1. 1Whether an organization must provide an individual with access to their personal information upon request
  2. 2Whether case management notes constitute "confidential commercial information" under PIPEDA paragraph 9(3)(b)
  3. 3Whether a video containing images of third parties can be withheld from an access request
  4. 4Whether an organization can fulfill its access obligations by allowing viewing of a record rather than providing a copy
  5. 5Whether redaction of confidential commercial information or third-party personal information is an appropriate method to grant access
Outcome breakdownFavours: Both, in part
  • Access to video: Access granted
  • Access to case notes: Redacted copy provided
  • Redaction review: Redactions properly applied
  • Complaint resolution: Resolved to satisfaction of both parties
Outcome

Complaint early resolved

Reasoning

The complaint was resolved through the early resolution process, with the company providing access to the video and redacted notes, satisfying the complainant without a formal finding.

AI-generated summary for reference only. Always verify against the official decision ↗
Decision notes
Recommended action / remedy

The company allowed the individual to view the video of the incident and provided a redacted copy of the case management notes.

Statutes considered
  • Principle 4.9 PIPEDA
  • paragraph 9(3)(b) PIPEDA

This summary is informational only and not legal advice.

Pro · AI

Decisions with similar reasoning and facts — found by AI across statutes and jurisdictions, not just keywords.

Pro
Coverage — 13 of 14 jurisdictions searchable

Fully searchable: Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick, Manitoba.

Partial (recent decisions only): Federal (Canada) (651 of 1,631), Nova Scotia (49 of 472), Quebec (6 of 7,090), Prince Edward Island (2 of 279), Yukon (1 of 75).

Coming soon: Nunavut — being re-processed for AI search.

Find decisions like this one — by meaning, not keywords.

Related by meaning is a Pro feature. Upgrade to surface conceptually similar decisions across the corpus, powered by AI.

Upgrade to Pro