Canadian Privacy Decisions

The complainant alleged that National Defence failed to conduct a reasonable search for intelligence assessments on Iraq. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) investigated and found that the institution did not retrieve all relevant records and failed to provide representations on its search efforts. The OIC ordered National Defence to conduct a second search, which located three additional records. National Defence agreed to implement the order.

• Reasonableness of the search conducted by the institution
• Institution's failure to provide representations to the OIC
• Scope of records responsive to the access request

The complainant, as executor of a deceased individual's estate, requested personal information from the Department of National Defence (DND). DND refused to disclose most information, citing Privacy Act exemptions and arguing the request didn't meet the criteria for accessing information on behalf of a deceased person. The OPC found that the complainant was entitled to make the request for estate administration purposes and that DND failed to conduct an adequate search. DND agreed to conduct searches and provide a new response, leading to the complaint being conditionally resolved.

• Eligibility of an estate executor to request personal information of a deceased individual.
• Proper application of section 26 of the Privacy Act (disclosure of personal information about others).
• Adequacy of DND's search for requested records.
• DND's obligation to process formal access requests even if informal avenues exist.