This post was updated following a response from the relevant office.
There is a single word with enough muscle to jeopardize international relations and national security … at least according to the Access to Information team at the Privy Council Office.
The sheet below was included in a 345-page release of notes to the prime minister from the clerk of the privy council, part of which related to last spring’s funeral arrangements for Margaret Thatcher.
The first word in the first sentence under the section “overview” is blacked out. A note at the bottom of the page references the section of the Access to Information Act providing for such a redaction.
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From the act, Section 15(1) gives the government the right to withhold any information that could reasonably have a negative effect on international affairs or national defence.
We can’t be certain what the word is. However, judging by the rest of the sentence, which was left intact, one could reasonably guess the blacked out word is something along the lines of while, since, or although—a simple subordinating conjunction.
It’s possible, and arguably more reasonable, to believe this was an accidental slip of the black pen, the above redaction spread a bit too far. But that raises an important question: how often is government information inadvertently and unnecessarily redacted?
Tuesday evening, the ATIP coordinator for the Privy Council Office responded to an email asking whether the redaction was deliberate. It was deliberate, he said, confirming it was made under Section 15(1).
Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault has already raised plenty of red flags about the state of the system, saying it is unsustainable and ready to bust.
For reference, here’s Section 15(1) from the act, copied and pasted from here:
International affairs and defence
15. (1) The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any record requested under this Act that contains information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the conduct of international affairs, the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada or the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities, including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, any such information.
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