Decisions

The complainant alleged that the Privy Council Office (PCO) had not conducted a reasonable search for records in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act. The request was for minutes of the Joint Intelligence Committee for the period of November 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act. The Information Commissioner found that PCO did not initially conduct a reasonable search for records. In the course of the investigation, PCO agreed to conduct a new search for records and retrieved additional records responsive to the access request. The Information Commissioner ordered PCO to complete the retrieval of all records responsive to the request, process all additional records located as a result of the new search, give access to additional records, and provide a supplementary response to the access request by November 22, 2024. PCO gave notice to the Commissioner that it would implement the order. PCO issued a supplementary response to the complainant.

The complaint is well founded.

The complainant alleged that the length of the extension of time Shared Services Canada (SSC) took under subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act to respond to an access request was unreasonable. The request was for all records pertaining to the preparation of solicitation documents, approvals and decisions from SSC from January 1, 2020, to April 8, 2024.  This allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(c) of the Act.

The Information Commissioner found SSC’s use of a benchmark for how many of the expected 15,000 pages of responsive records it could process a month (500 pages) to be unreasonable. She also disagreed with SSC’s decision to factor into the length of the extension anticipated delays due to problems with ATIP Express, SSC’s new access software. While acknowledging the institution’s difficulties, the Commissioner noted that the implementation of software must not unduly affect requesters’ access rights. Institutions must ensure that software is thoroughly tested and includes the necessary features to facilitate timely access before rolling it out, since poorly functioning technology can lead to inefficiencies and, in turn, delays. Given that the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat approved institutions’ use of ATIP Express, and that this software affects the implementation of the Act, the Commissioner will monitor its performance closely to determine whether the existing issues are resolved and whether new ones arise.

The Commissioner found the extension of time to be unreasonable. She ordered SSC to provide interim releases every three months and a complete response to the access request no later than September 30, 2025. The President of Shared Services gave notice to the Commissioner that he would implement the orders. 

The complaint is well founded.