Access to Information Act – Annual Report – April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015

Table of contents

• Introduction
  • Additional Copies
• Part I — General information on the Public Service Commission of Canada
  • 1.1 Raison d'être and mandate
  • 1.2 Strategic outcome and Program Alignment Architecture
• Part II — Report on the Access to Information Act
  • 1. Organization of Delegation and Activities
    • 1.1 Delegation order
    • 1.2 The Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
    • 1.3 The Access to Information and Privacy Directorate
    • 1.4 Liaison officers
  • 2. Summary of Access to Information and Privacy Directorate activities
    • 2.1 Development of policies, directives, guidelines and other key documents
    • 2.2 Advice and training
    • 2.3 Tracking system and imaging software
  • 3. Statistical Report: Interpretation
    • 3.1 Requests under the Act
    • 3.2 Nature of requests
    • 3.3 Inter-organizational consultations
    • 3.4 Informal access to previously released Information
    • 3.5 Disposition of requests completed
    • 3.6 Exemptions invoked
    • 3.7 Exclusions invoked
    • 3.8 Extension of time limits
    • 3.9 Completion time
    • 3.10 Translation
    • 3.11 Format of information released
    • 3.12 Fees
    • 3.13 Costs
  • 4. Complaints
    • 4.1 Number of complaints
    • 4.2 Nature of complaint
    • 4.3 Complaints closed
• Annex A – Delegation Instrument
• Annex B – 2014-2015 Annual Access to Information Act Statistical Report
• Appendix I – Historical Comparisons

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (Revised Statutes of Canada, Chapter A-1, 1985) was proclaimed on July 1, 1983. It was amended as a result of the Royal Assent of the Federal Accountability Act on December 12, 2006. Certain provisions came in to force on December 12, 2006 and others took effect on April 1, 2007 and September 1, 2007.

The Access to Information Act (the “Act”) gives Canadian citizens and individuals present in Canada a broad right of access to information contained in government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions.

Section 72 of the Act requires that the head of every federal government institution prepare an annual report, for submission to Parliament, on the administration of the Act within the institution. Every report shall be laid before each House of Parliament within three months after the financial year in respect of which it is made or, if that House is not then sitting, on any of the first 15 days next thereafter that it is sitting.

This Annual Report provides a summary of the management and administration of the Act within the Public Service Commission of Canada (PSC) for the fiscal year 2014-2015.

Additional copies

Additional copies of this report may be obtained by writing to:

Access to Information and Privacy Directorate
Public Service Commission of Canada
22 Eddy Street
Gatineau QC  K1A 0M7

Or at cfp.aiprp-atip.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca

Or by calling 819-420-6561 (fax: 819-420-6552)

The PSC's Access to Information Act Annual Report is also available at the PSC website.

Part I – General Information on the Public Service Commission of Canada

1.1 Raison d'être and mandate

Raison d'être

The mandate of the PSC is to promote and safeguard merit-based appointments and, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to protect the non-partisan nature of the public service. The PSC reports on its mandate to Parliament.

Under the delegated staffing system set out in the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), the PSC fulfills its mandate by providing policy guidance and expertise, as well as by conducting effective oversight. In addition, the PSC delivers innovative staffing and assessment services.

Responsibilities

The PSC is responsible for promoting and safeguarding merit-based appointments that are free from political influence and, in collaboration with other stakeholders, for protecting the non-partisan nature of the public service. It reports independently on its mandate to Parliament.

The PSC is mandated to:

• Make appointments to and within the public service, based on merit and free from political influence. The PSEA provides the authority to the Commission to delegate to deputy heads its authority to make appointments to positions in the public service. This authority is currently delegated to the deputy heads subject to the PSEA, across the federal government.
• Administer the provisions of the PSEA that are related to the political activities of employees and deputy heads. Part 7 of the PSEA recognizes the right of employees to engage in a political activity, while maintaining the principle of political impartiality in the public service. It also sets out specific roles and responsibilities for employees and for the PSC related to political activities.
• Oversee the integrity of the staffing system and, in collaboration with other stakeholders, ensure non-partisanship. This oversight role includes: the regulatory authority and policy-setting function; the ongoing support and guidance and the monitoring of the staffing performance of delegated organizations; the conduct of audits that provide an independent assessment of the performance and management of staffing activities and the conduct of investigations of staffing processes and improper political activities by public servants.

1.2 Strategic outcome and program alignment architecture

The PSC Program Alignment Architecture consists of one strategic outcome and four programs.

Public Service Commission of Canada Strategic outcome

To provide Canadians with a highly competent, non-partisan and representative public service, able to provide service in both official languages, in which appointments are based on merit and the values of fairness, access, representativeness and transparency.

Program activity – Staffing system integrity and political impartiality

The Staffing System Integrity and Political Impartiality program is focused on independently safeguarding merit and non-partisanship in the federal public service. This program includes developing and advancing strategic policy positions and directions; conducting policy research; establishing Public Service Commission (PSC) policies and standards; providing advice, interpretation and guidance; and administering delegated and non-delegated authorities, including official languages, the political activities regime and Priority Administration.

Program activity – Staffing services and assessment

The Staffing Services and Assessment program maintains the systems that link Canadians and public servants seeking employment opportunities in the federal public service with hiring departments and agencies. It provides assessment-related products and services in the form of research and development, consultation, assessment operations and counselling for use in recruitment, selection and development throughout the federal public service. This program also includes delivering staffing services, programs and products to departments and agencies, to Canadians and public servants, through client service units located across Canada.

Program activity – Oversight of integrity in staffing and of non-partisanship

The Oversight of Integrity in Staffing and of Non-partisanship program provides an accountability regime for the implementation of the appointment policy and regulatory framework for safeguarding the integrity of public service staffing and ensuring staffing is free from political influence. This program includes monitoring departments’ and agencies’ staffing performance and compliance with legislative requirements; conducting audits and studies; carrying out investigations; and reporting to Parliament on the integrity of public service staffing and the non-partisanship of the public service.

Program activity – Internal services

Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These groups are: Management and Oversight Services; Communications Services; Legal Services; Human Resources Management Services; Financial Management Services; Information Management Services; Information Technology Services; Real Property Services; Materiel Services; Acquisition Services; and Travel and Other Administrative Services. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not to those provided specifically to a program.

Part II – Report on the Access to Information Act

1. Organization of delegation and activities

1.1 Delegation order

Under section 3 of the Access to Information Act (the Act), the President of the PSC is designated as the head of the government institution for the administration of the Act.

Pursuant to section 73 of the Act, deputy heads may delegate any of their powers, duties or functions under the Act by signing an order authorizing one or more officers or employees of the institution, who are at the appropriate level, to exercise or perform the powers, duties or functions of the head specified in the order.

The powers, duties and functions of the PSC President, under the Act, are delegated to the Director of Access to Information, Privacy and Transition Projects, who is the PSC’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) coordinator (see Annex A – Delegation Instrument).

1.2 The Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator

The ATIP coordinator is responsible and accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures to enable the efficient processing of requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The coordinator is also responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of policies, systems and procedures that are required by both Acts as well as Treasury Board of Canada (TB) directives and policies. The activities of the coordinator include:

• Processing requests made under both Acts;
• Acting as spokesperson for the PSC in dealings with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) and other government departments and agencies on matters related to the Act;
• Responding to consultation requests submitted by other federal institutions for PSC documents;
• Reviewing information collection in accordance with the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and the Procedures for the Management of Public Opinion Research;
• Preparing the Annual Report to Parliament and other statutory reports, as well as other material that may be required by central agencies;
• Promoting awareness and providing advice to PSC employees to ensure responsiveness to the obligations of both acts, TB policies and their impact on various program initiatives; and
• Monitoring the PSC's compliance with both Acts, Regulations and relevant procedures and policies.

1.3 The Access to Information and Privacy Directorate

The Access to Information and Privacy Directorate (the Directorate) supports the ATIP Coordinator in administering the provisions of the Acts and related TB policies for the PSC. The Directorate is comprised of a manager and two analysts. During the course of this reporting period, the Directorate hired two consultants to assist with the processing of official requests. The Directorate also received ad hoc support from the Corporate Secretariat for updating Info Source, preparing reports and scanning and entering data.

The analysts are responsible for processing Access to Information Act and Privacy Act consultations and requests, preparing responses to complaints, reviewing the PSC’s Info Source chapter and supporting all other ATIP responsibilities.

The Directorate updates its intranet site on a regular basis and uses it as the primary vehicle for communicating with PSC employees. In addition, the Directorate delivers training sessions for PSC employees.

The Directorate also reviews office procedures to improve the support it provides to its branch liaison officers and promote a better understanding of their roles, responsibilities and obligations related to the processing of requests under both Acts.

1.4 Liaison officers

The Directorate processes requests with the assistance of liaison officers who are employees knowledgeable of their branch’s activities. There is one liaison officer and one back-up for each branch as well as for the Corporate Secretariat. In addition to acting as the point of contact between their branch and the Directorate, liaison officers are responsible for:

• Tasking the appropriate program experts within their branch to search for relevant records;
• Advising if there are other offices of primary interest;
• Keeping the Directorate apprised of any issues in relation to specific requests (e.g., excessive search time, interference with operations, consultations required); and
• Duly delivering to the Directorate the relevant records, complete with branch recommendations. Liaison officers play an important role in ensuring that the Commission conducts a thorough and complete search of its record holdings when processing information requests.

2. Summary of Access to Information and Privacy Directorate activities

2.1 Development of policies, directives, guidelines and other key documents

During this reporting period, the PSC produced a draft guidance document to assist with the processing of access to information requests in relation to investigations conducted under the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA). Once approved, this tool will streamline the retrieval of these sensitive records and support consistency when reviewing them.

2.2 Advice and training

Advice

In addition to processing Access to Information Act and Privacy Act requests, the Directorate received 184 requests for advice from PSC managers and employees, as well as from other organizations and members of the public regarding a variety of issues and questions related to both Acts.

Some of the 184 requests for advice dealt with the following PSC initiatives:

• Reviewing Memoranda of Understanding, information-sharing agreements and contracts to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Acts and associated policies;
• Reviewing audit reports, responses to parliamentary questions and other documents prior to publication to ensure that information is released in accordance with the Acts; and
• Answering inquiries from the public.

Participation in the governance process

The ATIP manager is a member of the Project Review Committee and the Security Committee. The ATIP coordinator is a member of the Information Management, Information Technology Committee and the Resource Management Committee. Active participation in these committees allows the Directorate to be aware of upcoming issues, initiatives and projects that may have ATIP implications. These fora allow open and frank discussion as well as the ability to provide ad hoc ATIP advice.

Training

During the reporting period, the Directorate developed, tested and implemented a new mandatory training program for supervisors and managers of the PSC. The primary goal is to ensure that they are fully aware of their responsibilities under the Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act and related policies.

The Directorate provided three training sessions to 20 employees and managers on the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and their impact on programs and initiatives.

The ATIP liaison working group met six times during the reporting period to discuss best practices address gaps and provide training opportunities.

2.3 Tracking system and imaging software

During the reporting period, the Directorate continued to use AccessPro Case Management and AccessPro Redaction software and upgraded to the newest versions available.

3. Statistical report: Interpretation

3.1 Requests under the Act

From April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015, the PSC received 40 new requests under the Act, in addition to the four requests that were carried over from the previous period.

The PSC completed its response to 36 requests during the reporting period, requiring the review of 10,172 pages of information. Eight requests were ongoing at the end of the reporting period and were carried forward to the next one.

For a historical comparison of requests received and responses completed, see Annex B.

3.2 Nature of requests

As in previous years, the 36 closed requests covered a wide range of PSC activities:

• Eleven requests (30.5%) dealt with staffing activities. For the most part, requesters were seeking information related to staffing documents, Priority Administration and Second Language Evaluation;
• Eleven requests (30.5%) related to contracts, call-ups and temporary help;
• Nine requests (25%) were from individuals seeking miscellaneous information; and
• Five requests (14%) pertained to investigations and audits conducted under the PSEA.

3.3 Inter-organizational consultations

The PSC received 45 requests for consultation from other government departments and agencies. The processing of these requests required a review of 1 508 pages of information. All requests were closed and none were carried over into the 2015-2016 reporting period.

In response to these 45 requests, the PSC determined that information should be:

• Disclosed in full for 28 requests;
• Disclosed in part for 13 requests; and
• Exempted in full for 1 request.

Three of the 45 requests had to be redirected to other institutions, as the PSC had been consulted in error.

The PSC consulted other government departments and agencies 104 times to process 11 of the requests completed.

3.4 Informal access to previously released Information

In an attempt to increase and facilitate access, the PSC provides copies of previously released requests that are not of a personal nature. During the reporting period, six such informal requests were made and completed.

Summaries of completed Access to Information Act requests are available at the Open Data Portal.

3.5 Disposition of requests completed

For the 36 closed requests, information was released either in whole or in part in 25 cases, representing 69% of total requests.

3.5.1 All disclosed

In 12 of the 36 completed cases (33%), the applicants were provided with full access to the relevant records.

3.5.2 Disclosed in part

Based on the exemptions and exclusions provisions of the Act, the PSC provided applicants with partial access in 13 of the 36 completed cases (36%).

3.5.3 Nothing disclosed (exempted or excluded)

The PSC did not release any information in three instances (8%). The PSC exempted the information because it related to ongoing investigations and testing materials. No request was entirely excluded under the provisions of the Act.

3.5.4 No records exist

The PSC was unable to process 5 requests (14%) due to the fact that no relevant information existed under the control of the organization.

3.5.5 Abandoned by the applicant

Of the 36 closed requests, 2 (6%) were abandoned by the applicant.

3.5.6 Transferred

Of the 36 completed requests, the PSC transferred one (3%) to another government institution.

3.6 Exemptions invoked

Sections 13 through 24 of the Act set out the exemptions intended to protect information pertaining to a particular public or private interest. Whenever the PSC invoked exemptions, the principle of severing, as described in section 25 of the Act, was applied in order to release as much information as possible. During the reporting period, the most frequently invoked exemptions were subsection 19(1) – personal information and section 23 – solicitor client privilege. A historical comparison of exemptions is presented in Appendix I.

3.7 Exclusions invoked

Sections 68 to 69 of the Act outline certain types of information to which the Act does not apply. These exclusions relate to published material, library and museum material, material placed in Library and Archives Canada by or on behalf of third parties, some materials relating to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, the Canada Broadcasting Corporation and Cabinet onfidences.

During the reporting period, the PSC excluded some information, pursuant to paragraph 68(a) [published material or material available for purchase] twice and 69(1)(g) re(a) [Records related to memoranda to Cabinet] once.

3.8 Extension of time limits

Extensions of the 30-day statutory response time are permissible under subsection 9(1) of the Act. A request may be extended in accordance with multiple provisions of this subsection. During the reporting period, a total of 16 extension provisions were invoked in the processing of 11 requests (31%).

3.9 Completion time

Of the 36 closed requests, the PSC responded to 25 within 30 days or less, representing 69% of all the requests completed. Four requests (11%) were completed within 31 to 60 days, four (11%) within 61 to 120 days and three (8%) in over 121 days.

Of these, 33 (91.6%) were closed within the allowable time limit.

3.10 Translation

The PSC did not receive any requests for the translation of information.

3.11 Format of information released

For the 25 requests in which information was released in whole or in part, 17 requesters (68%) received copies of the information on paper and 8 (32%) received copies electronically.

3.12 Fees

Under the Act, fees for certain activities related to the processing of formal requests can be levied. In addition to the $5 application fee, other charges may also apply for search, preparation and reproduction of the various records, as specified in the Access to Information Regulations. No fees are imposed for reviewing records, overhead or shipping. Moreover, in accordance with section 11 of the Act, no fees are charged for the first five hours required to search for a record or to prepare any part of it for disclosure.

The fees collected during this reporting period totaled $150, while fees waived in accordance with subsection 11(6) of the Act amounted to $215. Fees collected for this reporting period are estimated to be less than 0.2% of the direct cost of administering the Access to Information Program.

3.13 Costs

During the reporting period, the ATIP Directorate spent $110,329 on salaries and $27,770 on goods and services, including $17,030 for professional service contracts, for the administration of the Access to Information Act.

The salary costs represented 1.62 full-time equivalent positions.

4. Complaints

4.1 Number of complaints

The OIC received one complaint regarding Access to Information Act requests presented to the PSC during the reporting period. There were two complaints carried over from the 2013-2014 reporting period.

4.2 Nature of the complaint

The complaint received during the reporting period alleges that the PSC failed to provide access to records under its control during the processing of a request made under the Access to Information Act.

4.3 Complaints closed

The PSC did not receive any notices of findings from the OIC during the reporting period. Three OIC complaint files remained open at the end of the period.