Canadian privacy & access decisions

An anonymous applicant requested internal and external communications, research findings, and results concerning the monitoring of adverse events and causation between COVID-19 vaccines and fatalities/serious adverse events from January 2021 to December 2022. A federal institution applied under subsection 6.1(1) of the Access to Information Act to decline to act on this request, arguing it was vexatious, made in bad faith, and an abuse of the right of access, and that it had fulfilled its duty to assist. The Commissioner found that the institution had made every reasonable effort to assist the requester in narrowing the request, which the requester largely declined. The Commissioner determined that the request, as framed, was an abuse of the right of access because it was overly broad, would generate an estimated 700,000 pages, and processing it would unreasonably interfere with the institution's operations and hinder other requesters' rights. The Commissioner also noted overlap with other requests from the same requester. Consequently, the Commissioner granted the institution's application to decline to act on the request.

• Whether the institution's application under subsection 6.1(1) ATIA was timely
• Whether the institution met its duty to assist the requester under subsection 4(2.1) ATIA
• Whether the access request was an abuse of the right of access under subsection 6.1(1) ATIA
• Whether processing the request would unreasonably interfere with the institution's operations
• Whether processing the request would hinder other requesters' right of access
• Whether the access request was repetitive or overlapped with other requests from the same requester