Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) improperly withheld information under subsections 19(1), 20(1)(b), and section 23 of the Access to Information Act, related to an Occupational Health and Safety Tribunal decision concerning a Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) employee's death. The Commissioner found that ESDC and CN Rail did not demonstrate that all requirements for paragraph 20(1)(b) were met, particularly regarding confidentiality and whether the information was truly commercial or technical. While ESDC met the requirements for subsection 19(1) and section 23, the Commissioner determined that ESDC failed to reasonably exercise its discretion to decide whether to disclose the information, especially for publicly available personal information. Consequently, the Commissioner ordered ESDC to disclose the information withheld under paragraph 20(1)(b) and to re-exercise its discretion for information withheld under subsection 19(1) and section 23, considering all relevant factors for and against disclosure. ESDC agreed to implement the order.

• Whether s.19(1) personal information exemption was properly applied
• Whether the institution reasonably exercised its discretion under s.19(2) for personal information
• Whether the information is financial, commercial, scientific or technical under s.20(1)(b)
• Whether the information is confidential under s.20(1)(b)
• Whether the third party supplied the information to a government institution under s.20(1)(b)
• Whether the third party consistently treated the information as confidential under s.20(1)(b)
• Whether s.23 solicitor-client privilege exemption was properly applied
• Whether the institution reasonably exercised its discretion for s.23 solicitor-client privileged information