Information Commissioner of Canada

The letter · 6 October 2026

Re: Complaint under section 30 of the Access to Information Act - Global Affairs Canada - request A-2026-00737 - no answer within 30 days after the fee waiver was granted

Hello,

This supplements my complaint of 30 September 2026 against Global Affairs Canada, file A-2026-00737. It adds paragraph 30(1)(c).

On 5 October 2026 the Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division gave notice of an extension of 90 days under paragraph 9(1)(b), for consultations. The notice is attached as the original message.

The notice came after its time. Subsection 9(1) permits an extension only by notice given within 30 days after the request is received. The notice of 5 October 2026 states that the request was received on 3 September 2026. Counted from that date, the 30 days ended on Saturday 3 October 2026, which is not a holiday under subsection 35(1) of the Interpretation Act. Counted from 31 August 2026, the date the Division recorded on 2 September 2026, the last day was 1 October 2026. Counted from 30 August 2026, the day the email arrived, the last day was 29 September 2026. On each of the 3 dates the notice of 5 October 2026 is late.

The notice also moves the date of receipt. On 2 September 2026 the Division wrote that the request "was received in our office on August 31, 2026". On 5 October 2026 it is "received on September 3, 2026", the day the fee waiver was granted. Section 7 has not referred to section 11 since S.C. 2019, c. 18, s. 6.2. The Act gives no power to move the date of receipt to the date of a waiver.

The extension is unreasonable. The notice names no party consulted, no item that requires consultation, and no reason why the consultations cannot be completed within the original time limit. A period of 90 days added to a time limit that had already expired is no reasonable period having regard to the circumstances under subsection 9(1).

The notice was copied to [email]. Subsection 9(2) requires notice to the Commissioner of an extension of more than 30 days at the same time as notice to the requester.

WHAT THE COMMISSIONER IS TO DO.
1. Investigate the extension under paragraph 30(1)(c), together with the deemed refusal under paragraph 30(1)(a) already before the Registry.
2. Find that the notice of 5 October 2026 was given outside the period in subsection 9(1), extends nothing, and leaves the deemed refusal under subsection 10(3) in place.
3. Confirm whether the Commissioner received notice under subsection 9(2), and on what date.
4. Order the Department to state in writing each party it consults, the items concerned, and the date each consultation was sent.

Send the OIC file number by 16 October 2026. The application to the Federal Court under subsection 41(1) follows the report of the Commissioner.

This exchange goes into the public record at https://dzyuban.com/legal/record/requests/

Respectfully,

Danilo Dzyuban
Attachments: GAC-A-2026-00737-extension-2026-10-05.eml