Canadian privacy & access decisions

A representative, on behalf of a deceased member's estate executor, requested personal information from the Department of National Defence (DND) related to an investigation into allegations against the deceased. DND processed the request informally and disclosed some information under subparagraph 8(2)(m)(i) of the Privacy Act, but did not explicitly state its refusal to process the request formally under paragraph 10(b) of the Privacy Regulations. The OPC investigated whether the representative was entitled to make the request for the purpose of administering the estate. The OPC found that while the representative was authorized to administer the estate, they did not sufficiently demonstrate a connection between the requested information and the administration of the estate. Therefore, the complaint was not well-founded, as the representative failed to meet the requirements of paragraph 10(b) of the Regulations.

• Whether the representative was authorized to make a request on behalf of the deceased under paragraph 10(b) of the Regulations
• Whether the request related only to the administration of the deceased's estate under paragraph 10(b) of the Regulations
• Whether DND complied with section 16 of the Privacy Act regarding refusal notifications
• Whether DND properly processed the request informally without explicit written consent and notification of rights