Public Services and Procurement Canada (Re), 2021 OIC 12
Date: 2021-04-28
OIC file number: 5820-03592
Institution file number: A-2020-00002
Summary
The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) did not respond to their access request for a list of all COVID-19-related contracts between January 1, 2020, and April 4, 2020, within the time limit set out in section 7 of the Access to Information Act. PSPC indicated that part of the reason for its delay in responding to the request was that it had been placed on hold due to measures taken to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Information Commissioner has already indicated that, under the Act,an institution cannot suspend the processing of these access requests because of the pandemic. The Office of the Information Commissioner concludes that PSPC failed to respond to the request within the time limit set out in section 7 of the Act and is therefore deemed to have refused to give access to the requested records under subsection 10(3). PSPC responded to the request on April 1, 2021. The complaint is well founded.
Complaint
[1] The complainant alleged that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) did not respond to their access request for a list of all COVID-19-related contracts between January 1, 2020, and April 4, 2020, within the time limit set out in section 7 of the Access to Information Act.
Investigation
[2] PSPC received the access request on April 6, 2020. The statutory deadline for responding to it was May 6, 2020.
[3] The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) received the complaint on February 5, 2021.
[4] The investigation revealed that PSPC failed to respond to the request before May 6, 2020, and it did not claim an extension of time.
[5] Pursuant to subsection 10(3), when institutions fail to respond to an access request within the statutory 30-day limit or upon the expiration of a valid extension of time, they are deemed to have refused to give access to the requested records (Canada (Office of the Information Commissioner) v. Canada (National Defence), 2015 FCA 56, at paragraph 73).
[6] PSPC informed the OIC that part of the reason for its delay in responding to the request was that it had been placed on hold due to the government’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. However, the Commissioner has already indicated, in Canadian Heritage (Re), 2020 OIC 10,that under the Act,an institution cannot suspend the processing of these access requests because of the pandemic.
[7] PSPC placed the request on hold between April 6, 2020, and September 23, 2020. It finally responded to the request on April 1, 2021, more than six months after the hold ended. There was no valid extension of time justifying these two separate delays, totalling approximately one year during which the complainant’s right of access was denied.
[8] In light of the above, the OIC concludes that PSPC failed to respond to the access request within the time limit set out in section 7 of the Act. Therefore, PSPC is deemed to have refused to give access to the requested records under subsection 10(3).
[9] Since PSPC responded to the request on April 1, 2021, it is not necessary for the Commissioner to issue an order. However, the OIC would like to remind PSPC that it is responsible for taking the necessary measures to fulfill its access to information obligations as required by the Act.
Results
[10] The complaint is well founded.
Section 41 of the Act provides a right to the complainant who receives this report to apply to the Federal Court for a review. The complainant must apply for this review within 35 business days after the date of this report and must serve a copy of the application for review to the relevant parties, as per section 43.