Québec Court Issues Key Decision On Public Access To…access To Information Requests

On March 20, 2025, in the landmark decision Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales c. Teva Canada limitée,¹ the Court of Québec held that access to information requests themselves are not immune from access under the province's access to information legislation. Teva Canada Limited had been successful before the Québec Access to Information Commission(the Commission), whose decision was appealed by the Centre d'acquisitions gouvernementales (theCAG), a public body responsible for the procurement of provincial government agencies. The Court dismissed the appeal and vindicated Teva's position.

Over three years ago, the CAG had refused to disclose documents sought by Teva Canada Limited (Teva) under the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information (the Access Act).² The documents sought were third parties' access requests that the CAG had previously received as a public body, with responsibilities under the