Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Health Canada improperly withheld information under paragraphs 20(1)(b), 20(1)(c), and 21(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act in response to a request for records related to Tetra Tech, including peer reviewer comments. The OIC found that Health Canada failed to demonstrate that the information withheld under paragraph 20(1)(b) was objectively confidential or entirely supplied by the third party, as some information was publicly available or originated from Health Canada itself. Regarding paragraph 20(1)(c), the OIC concluded that neither Health Canada nor Tetra Tech demonstrated a reasonable expectation of competitive harm from disclosure. However, the OIC upheld the application of paragraph 21(1)(b) for certain internal consultations and found Health Canada's exercise of discretion to be reasonable for this exemption. Consequently, the Commissioner ordered Health Canada to disclose the information improperly withheld under paragraph 20(1)(b). Health Canada agreed to implement the order.

• Whether the information withheld under s.20(1)(b) was financial, commercial, scientific or technical
• Whether the information withheld under s.20(1)(b) was objectively confidential
• Whether the information withheld under s.20(1)(b) was supplied by a third party to a government institution
• Whether the third party consistently treated the information withheld under s.20(1)(b) as confidential
• Whether disclosure of information could reasonably be expected to have a material financial impact on a third party under s.20(1)(c)
• Whether disclosure of information could reasonably be expected to injure the competitive position of a third party under s.20(1)(c)
• Whether the information withheld under s.21(1)(b) constituted accounts of consultations or deliberations
• Whether Health Canada reasonably exercised its discretion not to disclose information under s.21(1)(b)