Information Commissioner of Canada
The information asked for: three letters of the Department.
The letter ·
RE: More information required (OIC complaint numbers and their associated 3 access request numbers are listed below)
Hello,
OIC complaints 5826-04346, 5826-04347 and 5826-04348, Department of National Defence. This answers the Registry's message of 29 September 2026.
Attached are 4 files: the letter that is the institution's response on each request, and the 2 notices that delivered them.
1. A-2026-01144, OIC file 5826-04346: A-2026-01144-response-letter-2026-09-17.pdf
2. A-2026-01143, OIC file 5826-04347: A-2026-01143-response-letter-2026-09-17.pdf
3. A-2026-01154, OIC file 5826-04348: A-2026-01154-response-letter-2026-09-17.pdf
4. The 2 notices of Canada Post Connect of 18 September 2026, with the date, the sender, the recipient and the subject line: DND-Connect-notices-18-September-2026.pdfEach letter is dated 17 September 2026 and carries the signature block of Shannon Clark Larkin, Executive Director, Access to Information and Privacy. The institution released the 3 letters through Canada Post Connect on 18 September 2026, at 10:19 and 11:18. On each file the letter is the whole of the response, and no record came with it.
The 3 complaints were made on 20 September 2026, 3 days after the date of the letters.
The language of the 3 files is English. Send every report and letter by email to [email].
Confirm in writing by 13 October 2026 that the 3 complaints are admissible, and name the investigator assigned to each. A decision that any of them is inadmissible goes to the Federal Court under section 18.1 of the Federal Courts Act.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Attachments: A-2026-01144-response-letter-2026-09-17.pdf, A-2026-01143-response-letter-2026-09-17.pdf, A-2026-01154-response-letter-2026-09-17.pdf, DND-Connect-notices-18-September-2026.pdf
The answer ·
Dear Danilo Dzyuban,
This is further to the complaint you submitted to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) under the Access to Information Act on September 20, 2026, alleging that National Defence neither confirm nor deny the existence of the records related to three following access requests:
A-2026-01144 (OIC file number 5826-04346)
A-2026-01143 (OIC file number 5826-04347)
A-2026-01154 (OIC file number 5826-04348)
You have not provided sufficient information to allow the OIC Registry to determine whether the allegations in the complaint are admissible. Allegations must include all the necessary details, have been submitted by the 60-day deadline (see Timeframe for submitting a complaint<https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/information-commissioners-guidance/timeframe-filing-complaint>;: https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/information-commissioners-guidance/timeframe-filing-complaint), not be premature and fall within the Information Commissioner's mandate.
In order for the OIC to determine whether your complaint is admissible, please provide a copy of cover letter that accompanied institution's response to the access request. (This could be a copy of the email or letter that accompanied the records the institution provided in response to the access request. More information: What is a response?<https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/information-commissioners-guidance/when-and-how-institutions-are-respond-access-requests#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20response%3F>;: https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/information-commissioners-guidance/when-and-how-institutions-are-respond-access-requests#:~:text=What%20is%20a%20response%3F) (for each of your three access requests listed above).
Copies of any email communications must include the date it was received, the email address of the sender ("from"), the email address of the recipient ("to"), and the subject line.
When providing the information and documents requested above, please also indicate in which official language (English or French) you would like to communicate with the OIC.
When providing the information and documents requested above, please also indicate whether you would like to receive reports and correspondence related to this complaint by mail or email, and provide the corresponding address.
Send the requested information and documents to the OIC Registry by return email or by mail (OIC Registry, 30 Victoria Street, Gatineau QC [postal code]) by October 13, 2026. If the OIC Registry does not hear back from you by this date, it will take no further action on the complaint and close the file.
Complainants, or authorized persons on their behalf, are responsible for providing all necessary documents and information to make it possible for the OIC to determine whether the allegations in the complaint are admissible, including whether they were submitted on time.
See Timeframe for submitting a complaint<https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/information-commissioners-guidance/timeframe-filing-complaint>; (https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/information-commissioners-guidance/timeframe-filing-complaint) for more information about the deadlines for submitting complaints.
If you will be moving or your contact information will be changing for any other reason, please provide the OIC Registry with the new details (mailing address, email address, telephone number) as soon as possible to ensure the OIC can still reach you.