A requester dutifully paid all fees when asked by the department. The department failed to meet extended times for response and revised response times negotiated with the Information Commissioner. The commissioner asked Agriculture Canada at least to refund the fees. This case, and this attitude, it is to be hoped, will be an abberation. Delay remains the tactic of choice for dealing with politically sensitive requests which cannot lawfully be refused.
Difficult times are the test for the effectiveness of and commitment to access rights.
This year, the government did not always pass the test. In the run-up to the 1995 Quebec Referendum, the Privy Council Office and Heritage Canada ignored, in some cases, the access law's response times. After intervention by the Information Commission, Heritage Canada relented and gave its answer shortly before the referendum. PCO steadfastly refused to disclose until the very day of the referendum. The irony is that, while neglecting its own obligation to answer, the government was accusing the other side of excessive secrecy.