Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) failed to respond to an access request within the extended due date. The request sought all transactions and communications related to providing safe drinking water to Grassy Narrows First Nation during a 25-year boil water advisory. ISC initially received over 17,000 pages of responsive records, leading to the file being backlogged due to volume and ongoing litigation. Despite the complainant agreeing to significantly narrow the scope of the request to final versions containing scientific analysis and sampling data, reducing the record count to an estimated 6,500 pages, ISC was unable to provide a work plan or an estimated response date. The Information Commissioner found that ISC failed to meet its obligation to respond within the extended period and ordered the institution to provide a complete response within 75 business days. ISC confirmed it would implement the order.

• Whether Indigenous Services Canada responded to the access request within the extended time limit under subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act
• Whether Indigenous Services Canada's failure to provide a work plan or estimated response date after the scope was narrowed constituted a contravention of its obligations under the Act