Decisions

The complainant alleged that the Privy Council Office (PCO) did not conduct a reasonable search in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act for records contained in Ops 3 and Ops 4 files.

The allegation falls within paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The investigation determined that the Offices of Primary Interest did not retrieve all relevant records when they were tasked to do so. PCO was unable to show that it conducted a reasonable search for all of the records responsive to the access request. The Office of the Information Commissioner asked PCO to conduct a subsequent search for all relevant records. As a result, 251 pages of responsive records were identified.

The Information Commissioner ordered that PCO provide a subsequent response to the access request by December 22, 2024.

PCO gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the order.

The complaint is well founded.

The complainant alleged that Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) did not respond to an access request within the 30‑day period set out in section 7. The request was for copies of the following documents described in briefing note M20101, “Chronology of Litigation re. CCEPIRSS”, previously released in A-2021-00209. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The Investigation determined CIRNAC did not respond by the required date and is deemed to have refused access to the requested records under subsection 10(3). The Information Commissioner found the delay taken by the Resolution & Partnerships unit to retrieve all relevant records, despite multiple follow-ups by its Access to Information and Privacy office, unacceptable.

The Information Commissioner ordered that CIRNAC complete the retrieval of all records responsive to the request and provide a response to the access request no later than the 36th business day following the date of the final report. The Information Commissioner also recommended the development of of performance indicators to hold its senior officials accountable as well as proper processes and procedures to ensure that CIRNAC’s Offices of Primary Interest abide by their responsibilities to provide responsive records in a timely fashion.

CIRNAC gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the order. CIRNAC did not indicate whether it would implement the recommendations stemming from this investigation.

The complaint is well founded.