Federal (Canada) privacy & access decisions

The complainant requested access to the Firearms Registry database from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on March 27, 2012, prior to the enactment of the Ending the Long-gun Registry Act. The complainant alleged that the RCMP provided an incomplete response, failed to justify the incompleteness, and obstructed the right of access by destroying responsive records. The investigation focused on whether the RCMP's actions, particularly the destruction of records, constituted an obstruction of the right of access under section 67.1 of the Access to Information Act. The Commissioner examined the circumstances surrounding the destruction of the Long-gun Registry data. The Commissioner found that the destruction of the records was carried out in accordance with a valid legislative process and did not constitute an obstruction of the right of access.

• Whether the information provided was incomplete
• Whether the RCMP justified the incomplete response
• Whether the destruction of responsive records by the RCMP obstructed the right of access under section 67.1 of the Act