Investigation of the Department of National Defence’s refusal to disclose personal information of a deceased individual

A representative, on behalf of a deceased member's estate executor, requested personal information from the Department of National Defence (DND) related to an investigation into allegations against the deceased. DND processed the request informally and disclosed some information under subparagraph 8(2)(m)(i) of the Privacy Act, but did not explicitly state its refusal to process the request formally under paragraph 10(b) of the Privacy Regulations. The OPC investigated whether the representative was entitled to make the request for the purpose of administering the estate. The OPC found that while the representative was authorized to administer the estate, they did not sufficiently demonstrate a connection between the requested information and the administration of the estate. Therefore, the complaint was not well-founded, as the representative failed to meet the requirements of paragraph 10(b) of the Regulations.