The complainant alleged that the Old Port of Montreal Corporation Inc. had improperly withheld information under paragraph 18(b) (competitive position of government institutions, negotiations by government institutions), paragraph 18(d) (government financial interests), subsection 19(1) (personal information), paragraph 20(1)(c) (financial impact on a third party) and paragraph 20(1)(d) (negotiations by a third party) of the Access to Information Act in response to an access request for records related to the loan of objects for the exhibit “Autopsy of a Murder”.
Signatures were removed from the scope of the complaint.
The institution did not provide any representations supporting the application of the exemptions. A third party made representations related to photographs of human remains that were withheld pursuant to subsection 19(1). Given the photographs do not relate to an identifiable individual or they relate to an individual who has been deceased for more than 20 years, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) found that the photographs could not be withheld pursuant to subsection 19(1). The Office of the Privacy
Commissioner agreed with the OIC’s position.
The Information Commissioner ordered the Old Port of Montreal Corporation Inc. to disclose all information at issue.
The Old Port of Montreal Corporation Inc. gave notice that it would implement the order.
The complaint is well founded
Related litigation proceeding before the Federal Court: The Chief Coroner of Quebec v. Attorney General of Canada and The Old Port of Montreal Corporation, T-1709-22. The steps taken in this proceeding are available using the following link: Federal Court - Court Files (fct-cf.gc.ca)