Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) improperly withheld information under paragraphs 18(b) and 19(1) of the Access to Information Act. The request sought documents detailing the total remuneration of the 250 highest-paid unionized employees of CBC's French services for two fiscal years. The CBC withheld approximately 25 exact individual salaries per fiscal year, citing paragraph 18(b) related to competitive position. The investigation found that disclosing these specific salaries could reasonably injure the CBC's competitive position in the limited and competitive French broadcasting market, as it could be used in salary negotiations and impact employee retention. The Commissioner concluded that the CBC properly applied paragraph 18(b) and reasonably exercised its discretion by balancing its mandate with the need to manage resources in a competitive market. Given the applicability of paragraph 18(b), the Commissioner did not assess the application of subsection 19(1). The complaint was therefore not well founded.

• Whether s.18(b) ATIA (competitive position) was properly applied to withhold exact individual salaries
• Whether disclosing the information could reasonably be expected to injure the competitive position of the institution
• Whether the institution reasonably exercised its discretion in deciding to withhold the information under s.18(b)
• Whether s.19(1) ATIA (personal information) was properly applied to withhold exact individual salaries

The complainant alleged that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) improperly withheld information related to a contract for an Advanced Access to Information and Privacy consultant. ESDC had withheld portions of the records under various exemptions, including personal information (s.19(1)), third-party financial harm (s.20(1)(c)), consultations or deliberations (s.21(1)(b)), solicitor-client privilege (s.23), and statutory prohibitions (s.24(1)). The Commissioner found that ESDC improperly applied s.19(1) to certain information in a consultant's CV related to their position, function, and responsibilities, as this fell under exceptions to the definition of personal information. ESDC also failed to demonstrate reasonable efforts to seek consent for the release of other personal information. For s.20(1)(c), the Commissioner found that ESDC and third parties did not provide sufficient evidence to support the exemption for most of the withheld contract details, except for hourly rates. Regarding s.21(1)(b), ESDC failed to show that some withheld information constituted accounts of consultations or deliberations. The Commissioner upheld ESDC's application of s.23 and s.24(1). The complaint was found to be well founded, and ESDC was ordered to disclose the improperly withheld information and to make reasonable efforts to seek consent for other personal information.

• Whether s.19(1) ATIA (personal information) was properly applied to information in a consultant's CV related to position, function, and responsibilities
• Whether information related to position, function, and responsibilities falls under exceptions to the definition of personal information (Privacy Act s.3(j) and s.3(k))
• Whether ESDC made reasonable efforts to seek consent for the release of personal information under s.19(2)(a) ATIA
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised discretion under s.19(2)(b) ATIA regarding publicly available personal information
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised discretion under s.19(2)(c) ATIA regarding public interest in disclosure of personal information
• Whether s.20(1)(c) ATIA (financial impact on a third party) was properly applied to hourly rates
• Whether s.20(1)(c) ATIA (financial impact on a third party) was properly applied to names and details of candidates
• Whether s.20(1)(c) ATIA (financial impact on a third party) was properly applied to contract details (number of hours, days per week, maximum value of amendments, reference to third-party contract)
• Whether there was a reasonable expectation of material financial loss or harm to competitive position under s.20(1)(c) ATIA
• Whether s.21(1)(b) ATIA (accounts of consultations or deliberations) was properly applied to specific pages of records
• Whether information withheld under s.21(1)(b) constituted factual information
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised discretion under s.21(1)(b) ATIA
• Whether s.23 ATIA (solicitor-client and litigation privilege) was properly applied
• Whether ESDC reasonably exercised discretion under s.23 ATIA
• Whether s.24(1) ATIA (disclosure restricted by another law) was properly applied to supplier business numbers under s.241 of the Income Tax Act