Federal (Canada) Privacy Decisions

The complainant alleged that Ingenium improperly withheld records related to an exhibit loan under several Access to Information Act provisions. During the investigation, Ingenium decided to no longer rely on some exemptions and agreed to disclose more information. The Commissioner found that photographs withheld under section 14 (federal-provincial affairs) and paragraph 68(c) (material placed by others) were not properly excluded or exempted. The Commissioner ordered Ingenium to disclose the records.

• Whether photographs were properly excluded under paragraph 68(c) of the ATIA.
• Whether photographs were properly exempted under section 14 of the ATIA (federal-provincial affairs).
• The application of the ATIA versus Quebec privacy legislation and Charter values.
• The interpretation of "material placed by others" under paragraph 68(c).

The complainant alleged that the 1,000-day time extension taken by Health Canada to respond to an access request was unreasonable. The request concerned information about an application for religious exemption to serve ayahuasca. Health Canada claimed the extension was necessary due to the large volume and complexity of the records, which required extensive internal consultations. The Commissioner found that Health Canada met the requirements for claiming the extension under paragraphs 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act. Therefore, the complaint was determined not to be well founded.

• Reasonableness of a 1,000-day time extension claimed by Health Canada
• Whether the large volume of records unreasonably interfered with Health Canada's operations
• Whether necessary consultations could reasonably be completed within 30 days
• Whether the duration of the extension was reasonable under the circumstances

The complainant alleged that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) did not conduct a reasonable search for records concerning cybersecurity and data breach risks associated with the ArriveCan application. The complainant specifically questioned the absence of information related to certain companies and expenses. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) investigated CBSA's search process and concluded that the relevant branch searched appropriate repositories and provided responsive records. Therefore, the OIC found the search to be reasonable and the complaint not well-founded.

• Whether the institution conducted a reasonable search for records.
• Definition of a reasonable search under the Access to Information Act.
• Adequacy of search efforts by the Information, Science and Technology Branch.

The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) improperly withheld records concerning the use of Indigenous languages in the House of Commons proceedings, citing exemptions related to government and third-party negotiations. The Information Commissioner found that PSPC failed to justify withholding information under paragraph 20(1)(d) regarding third-party negotiations. While PSPC could withhold per diem rates under paragraph 18(b) related to government negotiations, it failed to reasonably exercise its discretion in doing so. The Commissioner ordered PSPC to disclose most of the withheld information and reconsider its decision on the per diem rates.

• Proper application of paragraph 18(b) (negotiations by government institutions)
• Proper application of paragraph 20(1)(d) (negotiations by a third party)
• Reasonable exercise of discretion to withhold information
• Burden of proof on the institution to justify exemptions