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Annual Report on the Access to Information Act for the period ending March 31, 2016

4.   Complaints and Judicial Review

Individuals who are not satisfied with the processing of their access to information request can file a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC).

The OIC received a total of three complaints against Elections Canada in 2015–2016. At the beginning of the reporting period, the OIC also had six outstanding complaints to consider.

The OIC determined that one complaint received in 2015–2016 was well-founded as Elections Canada failed to respond to the request by the deadline established by the Act.

One complaint filed against Elections Canada in 2011–2012 was settled in the course of the investigation, as Elections Canada provided information from its political contributions and expenses database in an alternative format. One complaint filed against Elections Canada in 2014–2015 was discontinued.

One complaint received in 2015–2016 relates to Elections Canada's application of exemptions and the other complaint relates to missing records. The investigation of these complaints has not concluded.

No judicial reviews were reported to Elections Canada in 2015–2016.