Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that the Department of Justice Canada (Justice) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference and the Hughes Inquiry. Initially, Justice stated it could not locate any responsive records. However, during the OIC's investigation, it was discovered that Justice had not tasked the National Litigation Sector (NLS), which was identified as the most appropriate Office of Primary Interest. After being tasked, the NLS located over 40,000 pages of responsive records. The Commissioner concluded that Justice did not conduct a reasonable search and found the complaint to be well founded. The Commissioner also found Justice's estimated processing time of 55 months to be unreasonable and recommended a final response by September 4, 2023.

• Whether the Department of Justice Canada conducted a reasonable search for records
• Whether the National Litigation Sector (NLS) was appropriately tasked for the search
• Whether the institution's estimated processing time for the records was reasonable