Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) failed to conduct a reasonable search for a recording of a specific Microsoft Teams meeting and related communications. PSPC confirmed that while Microsoft Teams has recording capabilities, this function was not used for the meeting in question, and therefore no recording existed. The institution also stated that the meeting was informal and did not involve activities or decisions requiring record creation under its policies. The OIC's investigation found that PSPC tasked the appropriate program area and IT branch to search for the records, and re-tasked meeting attendees, but no responsive records were identified. The OIC concluded that PSPC took reasonable steps to identify and locate responsive records, even though none were found. Consequently, the complaint was deemed not well founded.

• Whether Public Services and Procurement Canada conducted a reasonable search for a recording of a Microsoft Teams meeting
• Whether Public Services and Procurement Canada conducted a reasonable search for communications regarding a Microsoft Teams meeting
• Whether there was an obligation for Public Services and Procurement Canada to create a record of the informal meeting