Canadian privacy & access decisions

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) failed to respond to an access to information request for over two years, leading to a deemed refusal under the Access to Information Act. During the investigation, the RCMP provided insufficient information regarding the records or the processing of the request to establish a reasonable response date. Due to the continued lack of response, the Information Commissioner found the complaint to be well-founded. The Commissioner ordered the RCMP to respond to the access request within 10 business days from the effective date of the order. However, the RCMP ultimately responded to the request before the order officially came into effect.

• Whether the institution failed to respond to an access request within the statutory time limits (deemed refusal)
• Whether the institution provided sufficient information to justify the delay