After a little over four years, the Department of National Defence (DND) has processed a freedom of information request from the Western Standard, only to ask if the requester still wants the records.The original request, filed on June 10, 2021, asked for details on federal contracts with aerospace firms for refurbishing or replacing aircraft used by the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team.The Snowbirds, flying aging CT-114 Tutor jets since the 1960s, have faced scrutiny over maintenance and potential replacements amid safety concerns over the years.“We would like any information related to L3Harris contracts on refurbishment or replacement airplanes for the Snowbirds. We would like any information, documents, texts, or other communications related to the federal government's dealings with L3Harris concerning contracts with or for the government. Time period for search: Jan 1, 2019, to Jun 13, 2021,” the request read.A month later, on July 13, 2021, DND's Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) director, Deirdra Finn, invoked a 300-day extension under the Access to Information Act (ATIA), citing the need for third-party consultations pursuant to section 9(1)(c) of the ATIA.A follow-up email from an ATIP analyst the next day assured the Western Standard that the DND was doing “everything we can to process your request in a timely manner” and that “a supervisor will be in contact with you no later than tomorrow regarding your latest correspondence.”.Hydro Ottawa charged record $700,000 for FOI request from Canadian government watchdog.Radio silence followed for the next four years.On Nov. 3, 2025, senior ATIP analyst Kathy Wesley contacted the Western Standard by email to gauge if there was any continued “value” in proceeding with the request “due to the passage of time.”“I apologize for the delay in contacting you regarding this matter,” Wesley wrote.“DND continues to hire and contract additional resources to manage the workload, and we do our best to manage broad requests such as this one that concern a large number of records — in this case, nearly 5,000 pages— most of which will require consultation with Public Services and Procurement Canada and/or L3Harris Technologies Inc.”Wesley went on to say she expected that “L3Harris would identify most of the records emanating from, and/or concerning, their contracts with DND to be commercially confidential information, thus those records would be subject to exemption from disclosure.”She then directed the Western Standard to public databases for contracts over $10,000, including links to open government portals and CanadaBuys for 2019–2020 awards to L3Harris.
