Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Health Canada improperly withheld information related to a COVID-19 Vaccine Periodic Safety Update Report under sections 13(1), 19(1), 20(1)(b), and 20(1)(c) of the Access to Information Act. The Information Commissioner found that Health Canada correctly applied section 13(1) and 19(1) to some information, but failed to reasonably exercise its discretion under section 13(2) for publicly available information. The Commissioner also found that Health Canada and the third party (Pfizer) did not establish that sections 20(1)(b) or 20(1)(c) applied. Consequently, the Commissioner ordered Health Canada to disclose information not covered by sections 13(1) or 19(1), and to re-evaluate the disclosure of section 13(1) information that is publicly available. Health Canada agreed to comply with the order.

• Whether s.13(1) ATIA applied to information obtained from the European Medical Agency (EMA)
• Whether Health Canada reasonably exercised its discretion under s.13(2) ATIA regarding publicly available information
• Whether s.19(1) ATIA applied to personal information that could identify individuals
• Whether Health Canada reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2) ATIA
• Whether s.20(1)(b) ATIA applied to confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information
• Whether s.20(1)(c) ATIA applied to information that could cause financial impact or harm competitive position to a third party