Canadian privacy & access decisions

The complainant alleged that Transport Canada improperly withheld information related to a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft system (MCAS) under various exemptions of the Access to Information Act. Transport Canada initially withheld all records under paragraphs 20(1)(a), (b), and (c), and the third party, Boeing, also suggested the application of subsection 13(1). The Commissioner found that Transport Canada and Boeing did not demonstrate that all the withheld information met the requirements for trade secrets under paragraph 20(1)(a), nor for confidential third-party information under paragraph 20(1)(b), particularly for general or publicly available information. Similarly, the Commissioner found that the institution failed to demonstrate a reasonable expectation of harm for all information under paragraph 20(1)(c). The Commissioner also concluded that subsection 13(1) did not apply as the information was not provided in confidence. Furthermore, Transport Canada's exercise of discretion under subsection 20(6) was deemed unreasonable as it did not consider the public interest related to the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes. The complaint was found to be well-founded, and Transport Canada was ordered to disclose specific information and re-exercise discretion.

• Whether s.19(1) personal information exemption was properly applied (removed from scope)
• Whether s.20(1)(a) trade secrets exemption was properly applied to all records
• Whether the information was secret for s.20(1)(a)
• Whether the third party intended to treat the information as secret for s.20(1)(a)
• Whether the information had industrial or commercial application for s.20(1)(a)
• Whether the third party had an interest worthy of legal protection for s.20(1)(a)
• Whether s.20(1)(b) confidential third-party financial, commercial, scientific or technical information exemption was properly applied to all records
• Whether the information was financial, commercial, scientific or technical for s.20(1)(b)
• Whether the information was confidential for s.20(1)(b)
• Whether the information was supplied by a third party to a government institution for s.20(1)(b)
• Whether the third party consistently treated the information as confidential for s.20(1)(b)
• Whether s.20(1)(c) financial impact on a third party exemption was properly applied to all records
• Whether disclosure could result in material financial loss or gain to the third party for s.20(1)(c)
• Whether there was a reasonable expectation of harm for s.20(1)(c)
• Whether disclosure could injure the competitive position of the third party for s.20(1)(c)
• Whether Transport Canada reasonably exercised discretion under s.20(5) regarding disclosure with consent
• Whether Transport Canada reasonably exercised discretion under s.20(6) for public health or public safety reasons
• Whether s.13(1) confidential information from government bodies exemption was properly applied
• Whether the information was obtained in confidence from a government body for s.13(1)