The complainant alleged that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) did not respond to four access requests within the 30-day time limit set out in section 7 of the Access to Information Act.

The investigations showed that the RCMP did not meet its obligation, in all four requests, to respond within the 30-day time limit. The RCMP could not demonstrate how the operational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic justified the significant delays in obtaining responsive records from its Offices of Primary Interest (OPIs).

Given the 2020 systemic investigation and the public commitments that were made by the former Minister of Public Safety on behalf of the RCMP, the Information Commissioner was disappointed that some of the problems that were identified have yet to be addressed.

The Information Commissioner ordered the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to prepare a final response to each of the four requests forthwith.

The RCMP gave notice that the complainant had agreed to consolidate all four requests into one (A-2020-02614) and that the RCMP would respond to this request by March 18, 2022.

All four complaints are well founded.