Info request sparks comb of one million documents

OTTAWA • Canada’s top federal civil servant says hundreds of government employees are working to compile an enormous trove of documents — potentially a million pages or more — related to the government’s pandemic response, but they need more time before it can be disclosed to MPS to examine.

Depending on how heavily the documents are redacted, they could shed light on the government’s COVID-19 vaccine plan and why Canada hasn’t produced vaccines domestically.

The document disclosure was ordered in a Conservative motion passed in the House of Commons on Oct. 26. The motion would have MPS study every aspect of Canada’s pandemic response, from vaccine procurement to rapid testing to paid sick leave and more.

The motion gave the government until Nov. 30 to disclose the documents, but allowed a seven-day extension.

“Preliminary estimates suggest that there are millions of pages of relevant documents,” said a letter from Privy Council Clerk Ian Shugart to the Commons health committee.

Shugart said compiling the documents has entailed “a significant amount of time and resources.” He said the public service is working to narrow the scope, but the government will need until Dec. 7 to hand it over.