Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) failed to respond to an access request for COVID-19-related contracts within the statutory time limit. PSPC received the request on April 6, 2020, with a response due by May 6, 2020. PSPC stated that the delay was partly due to the request being placed on hold because of COVID-19 measures. However, the Information Commissioner has previously ruled that the pandemic does not justify suspending access request processing. The investigation found that PSPC did not respond by the deadline and did not claim an extension. PSPC finally responded on April 1, 2021, nearly a year after the initial deadline. The Commissioner concluded that PSPC failed to meet its obligations under the Access to Information Act, resulting in a deemed refusal.

• Whether Public Services and Procurement Canada responded to the access request within the time limit set out in section 7 of the Access to Information Act
• Whether the COVID-19 pandemic justified suspending the processing of an access request