Canadian privacy & access decisions

An applicant complained that Health Canada failed to identify all records responsive to an access request and improperly refused to provide an index of all responsive records. The investigation by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) found that Health Canada had conducted a reasonable search for records and there was no evidence that any records were missing. The OIC also determined that Health Canada's refusal to create an index of records did not violate its duty to assist obligations under subsection 4(2.1) of the Access to Information Act. The Commissioner concluded that creating such an index for this specific request would have been unreasonable. Therefore, the complaint was deemed not well-founded.

• Whether Health Canada conducted a reasonable search for responsive records
• Whether Health Canada's refusal to provide an index of responsive records contravened its duty to assist under subsection 4(2.1) ATIA
• Whether creating an index of records for this request would have been unreasonable