Complaints, audits, investigations and appeals

Applicants have the right to register a complaint with the Information Commissioner of Canada regarding any matter relating to the processing of a request. 

As noted in Table 1, during the 2018–2019 reporting period, 20 complaints were filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada against Environment and Climate Change Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada provided representations to the Office of the Information Commissioner in 27 complaints and received a report of findings or recommendations in 11 of these complaints.

Nine (9) complaints received in 2018-2019, as well as 15 complaints from previous reporting periods were completed in 2018-2019, for a total of 24 complaints closed. 

Eleven (11) complaints received in this reporting period and 28 complaints from previous years remain outstanding.

Table 2 provides a breakdown of the reasons for and results of the complaints that were completed in 2018–2019.   

Explanation of the results of investigations

Well founded - Following an investigation, the Information Commissioner found that the government institution had failed to respect one or more of its obligations under the Access to Information Act

Not well founded – Following an investigation, the Commissioner found no or insufficient evidence to conclude that the government institution had failed to respect one or more of its obligations under the Access to Information Act.

Resolved - The complainant is satisfied with the resolution achieved through the Office of the Information Commissioner's intervention, or the matter central to the complaint is no longer at issue before the complaint has been fully investigated. For example, a delay complaint is resolved when the complainant receives a response to their request before the allegation of delay has been fully investigated. Likewise, a complaint about refusal of access is resolved when the complainant receives the withheld information at issue in the complaint before the allegation of proper application of exemptions has been fully investigated.

Discontinued – The complaint was withdrawn or abandoned before all the allegations were fully investigated. A complaint may be discontinued for various reasons. For example, the complainant may no longer be interested in pursuing the matter, or cannot be located to provide additional information critical to reaching a conclusion.

The Department reviews the outcomes of all of the Office of the Information Commissioner investigations and where appropriate, incorporates lessons learned into business processes.

There were no recommendations raised by other Agents of Parliament during the reporting period.

Applications/appeals to the federal court or federal courts of appeal

There were no applications or appeals filed to the Federal Court or Federal Court of Appeal during the 2018-2019 reporting period.