Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that National Defence (DND) failed to conduct reasonable searches for records related to specific contracts under the Access to Information Act. The OIC investigation found that DND had not attempted to retrieve records from a third-party contractor, despite being entitled to them under the contract, nor had it searched paper records or a cloud-based platform. While DND initially argued the records were not under its control, it later conceded this point. As a result of the OIC's investigation, DND contacted the contractor and retrieved additional documents from the cloud platform. The Information Commissioner concluded that DND's initial searches were not reasonable. The complaints were found to be well founded, and DND was ordered to process the newly located records and provide new responses to the complainant.

• Whether National Defence conducted reasonable searches for records related to contracts W6369-21-X008 and W6369-19-X033/A
• Whether records held by a third-party contractor, which National Defence was entitled to obtain, were under the control of National Defence
• Whether National Defence adequately searched paper records
• Whether National Defence adequately searched cloud-based platforms