Dekalb Canada Inc. v. Canada ( Agriculture and Agri-Food )
T-1998-97
Dubé J.
15/9/99
7 pp.
Application for judicial review of Agriculture Canada's decision to release certain information requested by third party under Access to Information Act-Information containing test results for Dekalb hybrid corn samples-Information requester party to one of seven law suits instituted against Dekalb by farmers claiming damages against Dekalb-Dekalb arguing information would reveal trade secret information regarding applicant's research and development, and would prejudice Dekalb in said law suits-Application dismissed-Act, s. 20(2) requiring disclosure of information containing results of product or environmental testing as relating to public health and safety-Testing herein carried out by or on behalf of government institution, not as service to person for fee-Monitoring of varietal purity of certified seeds done as part of inspection program to monitor health, safety and quality of Canada's agricultural and food products and to promote consumer protection and production of quality seeds in accordance with national standards-Furthermore, document in question not divulging trade secrets as not revealing information emanating from Dekalb's research and development efforts-Merely providing end results of government inspection-Such information available to public on request-Fact party making request plaintiff against Dekalb and may use information at trial not making document confidential-Information not confidential where may be obtained by observation, albeit with more effort by requester-Document not supplied by Dekalb in confidence and with expectation would never be revealed to public-Created by Agriculture Canada-Allegation information regarding test results inaccurate and erroneous irrelevant-Access to Information Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. A-1, s. 20(2).