Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) failed to conduct a reasonable search for records from the Deputy Minister’s Office concerning the funding or fiscal management of the Assembly of First Nations between January 1, 2016, and April 1, 2019. The investigation revealed that CIRNAC's initial search was inadequate, as it did not task all relevant sectors despite internal recommendations and evidence suggesting the existence of more records. Specifically, the Policy and Strategic Direction (PSD) sector and the Audit and Evaluation sector were not initially tasked, even though the Deputy Minister's Office suggested their relevance. Furthermore, CIRNAC did not adequately explain why records from PSD prior to 2017 were inaccessible or why there was a paucity of records despite the Deputy Minister's known involvement in related discussions. The Commissioner concluded that CIRNAC did not conduct a reasonable search and ordered the institution to perform a new search and provide a revised response.

• Whether Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada conducted a reasonable search for records from the Deputy Minister’s Office relating to funding or fiscal management of the Assembly of First Nations from January 1, 2016 to April 1, 2019
• Whether all relevant sectors were tasked in the search
• Whether the inaccessibility of records prior to 2017 was adequately explained
• Whether the paucity of located records was reasonable given the Deputy Minister's involvement