Federal (Canada) privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to the fee schedule or dispersal of payments to provinces and territories under the Budget Implementation Act, 2021. During the investigation, the OIC requested information from PHAC regarding its search parameters and program areas involved. In response, PHAC re-tasked its program areas, which led to the retrieval of approximately 104 additional responsive pages. Although PHAC initially failed to conduct a reasonable search, the subsequent efforts satisfied the Commissioner that a reasonable search had ultimately been performed. The Commissioner ordered PHAC to complete the retrieval and processing of these newly identified records and issue a new response to the complainant within 60 days. PHAC agreed to implement the order.

• Whether the institution conducted a reasonable search for records

The complainant sought rail industry workplace fatality investigation reports from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) between 2000 and 2020. ESDC withheld information under several exemptions, including those for law enforcement, personal information, third-party commercial information, financial impact on third parties, and advice/recommendations. The Commissioner found that ESDC improperly applied the law enforcement exemption and most of the third-party exemptions, noting a lack of demonstrated harm or failure to meet exemption requirements. While some information was genuinely personal, ESDC failed to justify withholding information about individuals deceased for over 20 years or general report titles, and did not reasonably exercise its discretion regarding publicly available information or public interest. Furthermore, ESDC did not properly apply severance to all records and failed to reasonably exercise discretion for the advice/recommendations exemption. Consequently, the complaint was found to be well founded. The Commissioner ordered ESDC to disclose information not properly exempted, re-exercise discretion where appropriate, and conduct a proper severance exercise. ESDC subsequently notified the Commissioner that it would implement the order.

• Whether s.16(1)(c) law-enforcement harm was reasonably expected from disclosing photographs taken during investigations
• Whether information met the requirements of s.19(1) personal information, particularly for individuals deceased for over 20 years or general report titles
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2)(a) regarding consent for personal information disclosure
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2)(b) regarding publicly available personal information
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2)(c) by properly weighing public interest against invasion of privacy for personal information
• Whether information met the requirements of s.20(1)(b) confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information, specifically regarding its commercial/technical nature, confidentiality, and whether it was 'supplied by' a third party
• Whether information met the requirements of s.20(1)(c) financial impact on a third party, particularly regarding speculative harm arguments
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.20(6) by properly weighing public interest against potential harm to third parties for commercial information
• Whether information met the requirements of s.21(1)(b) accounts of consultations or deliberations
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.21(1)(b) for accounts of consultations or deliberations
• Whether ESDC adhered to s.25 severance by failing to apply it to records related to CN

The complainant alleged that the National Capital Commission (NCC) improperly withheld information under paragraphs 16(2)(c), 18(d), and subsection 19(1) of the Access to Information Act concerning renovation projects at Rideau Hall. During the investigation, the NCC disclosed some information previously withheld under subsection 19(1), and the application of paragraphs 16(2)(c) and 18(d) was removed from the scope of the complaint. The Commissioner found that the name, title, and contact information of an NCC employee did not meet the requirements for exemption under subsection 19(1) as it fell under an exception for business contact information. For other personal information, the NCC failed to demonstrate that it had reasonably exercised its discretion to disclose publicly available personal information. The Commissioner ordered the NCC to disclose the NCC employee's information and to properly exercise its discretion regarding publicly available personal information. The NCC agreed to implement the order, and the complaint was found to be well founded.

• Whether s.16(2)(c) ATIA (facilitating the commission of an offence) was properly applied
• Whether s.18(d) ATIA (negotiations by government institutions) was properly applied
• Whether s.19(1) ATIA (personal information) was properly applied to the name, title, and contact information of an NCC employee
• Whether the information about an NCC employee is excluded from the definition of personal information under paragraph 3(j) of the Privacy Act
• Whether the NCC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2)(a) ATIA (consent to disclosure)
• Whether the NCC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2)(b) ATIA (publicly available personal information)
• Whether the NCC reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2)(c) ATIA (disclosure consistent with s.8 of the Privacy Act)