Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (Infrastructure Canada) improperly withheld information related to payment requests from Signature on the Saint Lawrence Group (SSLG). The request sought official documents from January 2016 to March 2019. While the complainant later narrowed the complaint, the investigation focused on exemptions related to third-party financial information and disclosure restrictions. The Commissioner found that only information concerning pricing and contractual relationships met the criteria for exemption under paragraph 20(1)(c).

• Application of section 20(1)(c) regarding financial impact on a third party.
• Application of section 20(1)(b) regarding confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information.
• Application of section 24(1) regarding disclosure restricted by another law.
• Burden of proof for third-party exemptions.

The complainant alleged that the time National Defence (DND) took to respond to an access request regarding military equipment sent to Ukraine was unreasonable. The OIC found that DND did not meet the requirements for a valid time extension. DND was deemed to have refused access. Following discussions facilitated by the OIC, the complainant narrowed the scope of the request, and DND then estimated a six-month response time. The Commissioner ordered DND to provide a complete response by November 25, 2024.

• Reasonableness of time extension under subsection 9(1) of the ATIA.
• Whether DND met the requirements for a time extension due to volume of records under paragraph 9(1)(a).
• Deemed refusal of access under subsection 10(3) due to failure to respond within the extended period.
• Impact of narrowing the request on the response timeline.