The complainant alleged that the extension of time the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) took under subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act to respond to an access request was unreasonable. The request was for communications during a specific period related to designated projects in Western Canada, which involved the development of either a critical mineral mine or a metallurgical steelmaking coal mine. The allegation falls under paragraph 30(1)(c) of the Act.

IAAC extended the time period by 880 days under paragraphs 9(1)(a), (b) and (c). If the extension were valid, the time limit for the response would be December 15, 2025.

IAAC could not show that it met all the requirements of paragraph 9(1)(a), in particular, that it had applied sufficient rigour and logic as part of a serious effort to determine a reasonable period for the extension of time.

Given that IAAC did not establish that the extension of time was reasonable, the extension is invalid and IAAC is deemed to have refused access under subsection 10(3).

The Information Commissioner ordered IAAC to provide a complete response to the access request no later than April 23, 2025. The President of IAAC gave notice to the Commissioner that IAAC would be implementing her order and outlined the specific actions he is taking to ensure compliance, including increasing IAAC’s capacity to process the request, and engaging a consultant to optimize all ATIP processes while also harnessing digital tools to enhance efficiency.

The complaint is well founded.