The complainant alleged that Global Affairs Canada (Global Affairs) did not conduct a reasonable search in response to an access request under the Access to Information Act. The request was for records related to roundtable discussions held in 2010 regarding international education and the "Statement of Principles for the Ethical Recruitment of International Students by Education Agents and Consultants", also known as the “London Statement”, as well as information related to the reasons why Canada chose not to endorse the statement. The allegation falls within paragraph 30(1)(a) of the Act.

The investigation determined that additional records that would have been responsive to the request ought to have existed but, through inadvertence, they had not been preserved. Global Affairs conducted additional searches and found additional records.

The Information Commissioner recommended that Global Affairs save all records of business value to their corporate repositories and remind employees of their information management responsibilities.

The Commissioner also ordered Global Affairs to provide the additional records to the complainant. Global Affairs gave notice to the Commissioner that it would be implementing the recommendations and orders.

The complaint is well founded.