Federal (Canada) Privacy Decisions

The complainant alleged that Global Affairs Canada did not conduct a reasonable search for records related to international education roundtables in 2010 and Canada's decision not to endorse the "London Statement." The investigation found that additional responsive records should have existed but were not preserved due to inadvertence and poor information management practices. Global Affairs conducted further searches and found additional records. The Commissioner ordered Global Affairs to provide the newly found records and recommended improvements to information management practices.

• Reasonableness of the search conducted by the institution
• Proper preservation and retention of records
• Identification and disclosure of responsive records

The complainant alleged that Health Canada improperly withheld dates related to an Abbreviated New Drug Submission (ANDS) under exemptions for confidential third-party commercial information (paragraph 20(1)(b)) and potential financial impact on a third party (paragraph 20(1)(c)). The Information Commissioner found that the dates did not meet the criteria for either exemption, as they were considered administrative details rather than commercial information and the expectation of financial harm was too speculative. The Commissioner ordered Health Canada to disclose the dates.

• Whether the dates of correspondence are confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information under paragraph 20(1)(b) of the ATIA.
• Whether disclosure of the dates could reasonably be expected to have a material financial impact on a third party or harm its competitive position under paragraph 20(1)(c) of the ATIA.
• The interpretation of 'commercial information' in light of Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence.
• The requirement for a reasonable expectation of probable harm to justify withholding information under paragraph 20(1)(c).

The complainant alleged that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) did not conduct a reasonable search for records related to specific First Nations in British Columbia between 1871 and 1960. During the OIC investigation, DFO conducted a second search and retrieved approximately 7000 additional pages of responsive records. The Information Commissioner found the initial search to be unreasonable but was satisfied after the second search.

• Reasonable search
• Scope of the request