Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that National Defence (DND) improperly refused to issue a new response letter after providing contextual information in its initial response to an access request. The request sought policy records, regulations, directives, orders, and instructions concerning the authority to generate Branch Standing Orders within the Canadian Armed Forces. DND's initial response stated that no responsive records were found but included additional information, such as hyperlinks to publicly available documents and an explanation using cautious language like "might," to assist the requester. The complainant argued this contextual information was speculative and not based on documented records, thus contravening DND's duty to assist under subsection 4(2.1) of the Access to Information Act. The OIC found that DND's inclusion of supplementary information, clearly distinguished from the official response, was an attempt to assist the requester in good faith and did not misrepresent the existence of records or create new ones. Therefore, DND was not obligated to issue a new response letter.

• Whether National Defence improperly refused to issue a new response letter
• Whether the inclusion of contextual information in a 'no records' response contravenes the duty to assist under subsection 4(2.1) ATIA
• Whether the contextual information was speculative and not grounded in documented records
• Whether the institution's response was complete and appropriate under subsection 10(1) ATIA