Decisions

The complainant alleged that the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) did not conduct a reasonable search in response to two access requests made under the Access to Information Act. The complaints fall within paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

Each request sought electronic records sent or received by a warehouse manager within specified timeframes related to masks.

PHAC did not identify any records responsive to either access request. The investigation revealed that the employee deleted the contents of their e-mail box and therefore could not retrieve responsive records. During the investigation, PHAC conducted additional searches and identified responsive records.

The complaints are well founded.

The complainant alleged that the length of the extension of time Public Safety Canada (Public Safety) took under subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act to respond to an access request was unreasonable. The request was for all correspondence between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Public Safety Canada for the period of May 1 to 31, 2022. The complaint falls within paragraph 30(1)(c) of the Act. Public Safety claimed a 240-day extension of time pursuant to paragraphs 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b). If the extension were valid, the time limit for the response would be June 12, 2023. Public Safety could not show that it met all the requirements of paragraphs 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b), in particular that the calculation of the time extension was sufficiently logical and supportable, or that providing access to the records within any materially lesser period of time than the one asserted would unreasonably interfere with its operations and that the consultations could not reasonably be completed within 30 days. Given that Public Safety did not establish that the extension of time was reasonable, the extension is invalid and Public Safety is deemed to have refused access under subsection 10(3). The Information Commissioner ordered the Minister of Public Safety to provide a complete response to the access request on the 36^th business day following the date of the final report. The Director of ATIP and Executive Services at Public Safety gave notice to the Commissioner that they would be implementing her order.

The complaint is well founded.