Public Safety Canada, Access to Information and Privacy
Answer to the clarification: the scope is not narrowed, all versions and drafts; 1 October stands; name the provision for “abandoned”.
The letter ·
Re: A-2026-00209 – Public Safety Canada / Sécurité publique Canada
Hello,
This answers the Department's message of 22 September 2026 on file A-2026-00209 under the Access to Information Act. The answer is in writing so that it sits on the file.
THE ANSWER. No. The request is not limited to final versions, and it is not limited to the most recent version where no final version exists. Section 3 of the Act defines a record as any documentary material, regardless of medium or form, and a draft is a record. Where several versions of 1 document exist, each version is a record within the scope of the request. Subsection 4(2.1) requires a response that is accurate and complete, and a response limited to final versions is neither. The request stands as written on 30 August 2026.
THE TIMING. In its own letter of 31 August 2026 the Department registered the request, waived the fee and set 1 October 2026 as the due date. For 22 days it raised no question. On 22 September, 9 days before its own date, it asks 1 question. It gives me until 22 October to answer, 3 weeks after that date. Section 7 runs 30 days from receipt. The Act suspends that period in 1 case only, under subsection 6.1(1.2): an application to the Information Commissioner for approval to decline to act. No such application has been made. A question about versions does not stop the clock. The date of 1 October 2026 stands.
THE WORD ABANDONED. The Department's letter says the request will be treated as abandoned. No provision of the Act says that. Nothing in it lets a registered request lapse because the requester did not answer a question the Department chose to ask. Name the instrument under which a registered request becomes abandoned, or state in writing that there is none.
ITEM BY ITEM. Where no record responsive to a numbered item exists, the response says so expressly, item by item. That was in the request, and it applies to each of the 5 items.
By 1 October 2026 the Department owes 1 of 2 notices. Under section 7, it covers each of the 5 items. Under section 9, it states the paragraph relied on and the length, within the same 30 days. Where the date passes without either, the matter goes to the Information Commissioner as a deemed refusal under subsection 10(3). The statement on abandonment goes with it under paragraph 30(1)(f). This exchange goes into the public register at http://dzyuban.com/registry
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
The answer ·
Unclassified | Non classifié
Dear Danilo Dzyuban,
FILE NUMBER: A-2026-00209
Public Safety Canada has received your request under the Access to Information Act on August 31, 2026. The request is for:
“Period covered: 1 January 2020 to the date this request is processed (August 31, 2026).
This request concerns the National Risk Profile. Its first public report, published in May 2023, assesses earthquakes, wildland fires and floods. The published material identifies nuclear and radiological attack only as a hazard that may be selected for a future round. It states that the selection of hazards for future rounds is contingent on resource allocation.
I request the following records.
1. Any record explaining why three hazards were not assessed in the first or second round of the National Risk Profile. Armed conflict. Armed attack on Canada. Nuclear attack on Canada
2. Any record of the decision on which hazards to include in each round, including the criteria applied and the officials who made that decision
3. Any assessment held by the Department of the risk of nuclear attack on Canada, or of armed conflict affecting Canada
4. Any record concerning the policies, programs and measures established under section 6(1) of the Emergency Management Act, so far as they require ministers to address the case of war or other armed conflict under paragraph 6(2)(d)
5. Any record identifying which minister is responsible for identifying the risk of nuclear attack on Canada under section 6(1) of that Act
Please exclude media monitoring and news clippings.”
In order for us to process your request, further clarification is required.
One of our teams would like to confirm whether or not you would accept final versions or the most recent version should a final version not exist.
Please contact me to discuss your request using the file number above. Your request will be considered abandoned and the file will be closed should the required clarifications not be received by October 22, 2026.
Sincerely,