Complaint: Instead of the requested Excel spreadsheet, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) released a photocopy of a PDF of data found in a specialized database about First Nations water and wastewater systems, with parts of the pages cut off.

Investigation: The OIC learned that INAC was concerned that releasing the data in Excel would require it to alter it in order to protect exempted information, in violation of section 67.1 (altering a record with intent to deny access). Once the OIC assured INAC this would not be the case, the institution then stated that its software would not allow it to export to Excel and that, therefore, converting the data would be unreasonable, as per the Access to Information Regulations.

Outcome: The requester received an Excel spreadsheet six months after making the request.

Information Commissioner’s position:

• Institutions must be mindful that the government has committed, under the Open Government Partnership, to releasing data in open formats.
• The OIC emphasizes this to institutional officials during investigations focusing on the format of records.