The federal government has spent at least $1.63 million fighting the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada in court — the very body responsible for holding it accountable for secrecy and access-to-information delays.

According to a response to Order Paper Question Q-339, tabled November 5, 2025, by the Department of Justice, the total cost of litigation since January 2021 includes both actual and notional expenses.

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“The total legal costs (actual and notional costs) associated with the litigation files noted above involving the Information Commissioner, since January 1, 2021, amount to approximately $1.63M,” the department admitted.

The Justice Department noted that government lawyers and paralegals are salaried employees, so there are no formal “fees” — but a notional cost was calculated based on billable-hour equivalents for time spent fighting the Commissioner in court.

The Information Commissioner’s role is to enforce Canadians’ right to access federal records — a right that routinely runs into stonewalling from government departments. For years, the watchdog has warned that agencies are overusing exemptions, missing deadlines, and even ignoring orders to disclose documents.