2020-2021 Annual Report to Parliament – Access to Information Act

1. INTRODUCTION

The Access to Information Act (hereinafter the act) gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and any individual or corporation present in Canada the right of access to records under the control of a government institution, subject to limited and specific exceptions. The act further provides that decisions on the non-disclosure of information can be reviewed independently of government.

This report is prepared in accordance with section 94 of the act, which requires that the head of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) prepare, for tabling in Parliament, an annual report on the administration of the act. This report will be published on the Agency’s website.

ACOA’s mandate is to create opportunities for economic growth in Atlantic Canada by helping businesses become more competitive, innovative and productive, by working with diverse communities to develop and diversify local economies, and by championing the strengths of Atlantic Canada. Additional information is available on ACOA’s website (https://www.canada.ca/en/atlantic-canada-opportunities.html).

2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate oversees the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It consists of a director (ATIP coordinator) and one support staff member located at ACOA’s head office in Moncton, New Brunswick. The ATIP coordinator is responsible for processing all access and privacy requests, and for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines and procedures to manage the Agency’s compliance with the ATIP acts.

The ATIP coordinator also reviews various documents before publication to ensure that they do not contain information that would be subject to exemption or exclusion under the acts. During this reporting period, the ATIP Directorate reviewed records prepared in response to 127 written parliamentary questions.

The administration of the legislation within ACOA is also facilitated at the branch and regional levels. Each sector and corporate branch has a liaison officer (generally reporting to the deputy minister or an assistant deputy minister) who coordinates the records-retrieval process. In addition, a casual employee was hired to assist during the heavier workload periods in 2020-2021.

3. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

For the purpose of the Access to Information Act, the President delegated full authority to the Vice-President, Finance and Corporate Services and Corporate Secretary, and partial authority to the ATIP Coordinator.

A copy of the signed delegation instrument for the Access to Information Act is attached as Annex A.

4. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE STATISTICAL REPORT

The following information is provided to assist the reader in interpreting the information reported in Annex B and Annex C.

Number of requests received and closed

The Agency received 47 requests in 2020-2021, a decrease of 56 percent over the previous period.

A total of 53 requests were closed, which included 10 outstanding requests from 2019-2020. Four requests were carried over to the next reporting period.

The following table shows the trend in the number of requests, by source, over the last 10 fiscal years. Nearly half of the requests received during the reporting period were submitted by requesters who identified themselves as members of the media.

Number of requests received, by source, over the last 10 fiscal years
SOURCE 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021
Media 28 20 8 7 0 5 5 9 61 22
Academia 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 1 2
Business 3 4 6 11 11 10 5 4 9 7
Organization 3 2 8 4 3 5 0 1 4 6
Public 4 10 6 18 11 11 12 8 5 5
Declined to identify 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 28 5
Total 39 36 28 42 25 32 23 26 108 47

Exemptions and exclusions

As in the last 10 fiscal years, the three major exemptions invoked were those related to the sections of the act pertaining to personal information (section 19), third-party information (section 20) and the operations of government (section 21).

In 2020-2021, paragraph 68(a) of the act was invoked to exclude information already in the public domain in response to one request.

Records relevant to three requests contained or referred to Cabinet confidences; therefore, these records were excluded under section 69 of the act.

Complexities

Records were retrieved in response to 48 of the 53 access requests closed in 2020-2021. No relevant records existed for the other five requests. Records were disclosed in full for 14 requests (29 percent), disclosed in part for 33 requests (67 percent), and entirely exempted for one request. The processing of these requests included the review of 4,867 pages of records, of which 3,089 pages were disclosed in part or in their entirety. Electronic copies of the records were provided in response to all requests.

The following table provides additional information regarding the pages disclosed.

Details on the number of pages processed and disclosed
Number of requests Number of pages processed Total pages disclosed
41 between 1 and 100 pages 592
5 between 101 and 500 pages 1,088
1 between 501 and 1,000 pages 340
1 between 1,001 and 5,000 pages 1,069

Thirty requests required that the Agency initiate consultations, as described below.

Extensions

The statutory time limit to respond to requests was extended 24 times, as follows:

Details on the length of extensions taken
Number of requests Length of extension
1 30 days or less
4 31 to 60 days
16 61 to 120 days
2 121 to 180 days
1 181 to 365 days

Extensions were taken pursuant to paragraphs:

Legislated timelines

One request was closed late in 2020-2021 because of a delayed response to an external consultation. The responding organization was unable to reply within the timeline given due to the impact of COVID-19 on its operations. Fifty-two requests were closed within the legislated timelines.

The following table provides details on the response times for the past 10 years:

Details on response times for the past 10 years
Fiscal year No. of responses on time / Total no. of requests Percentage of responses provided on time
2011-2012 19/39 49 %
2012-2013 22/36 61 %
2013-2014 16/28 57 %
2014-2015 36/42 86 %
2015-2016 20/25 80 %
2016-2017 29/32 91 %
2017-2018 19/23 83 %
2018-2019 16/16 100 %
2019-2020 107/108  99 %
2020-2021 52/53 98.1 %

Fees

The Access to Information Act authorizes the collection of a $5 application fee. Fees totalling $140 were collected through the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Access to Information and Privacy Online Request Service to cover the application fee for 28 requests closed in 2020-2021. The Agency waived the fee for 12 requests, and the fees related to seven other requests transferred to the Agency were collected by other government institutions.

In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, ACOA waives all fees prescribed by the act and regulations other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the regulations.

Consultations

In 2020-2021, the Agency responded to 37 consultations received from other federal government institutions and provincial governments, which represents a decrease of 37 percent over the previous reporting period. These consultations involved the review of 311 pages and were completed within the required timelines.

Costs

In 2020-2021, the total cost of administering the Access to Information Act was $191,845. This amount includes $185,958 in salary costs and $5,887 in operations and maintenance costs (e.g. licences for systems). Compared to the previous reporting period, this represents a decrease of $18,299. The operations and maintenance costs normally include travel to offer training sessions in the Agency’s regional offices; however, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, no training was given in 2020-2021.

5. TRAINING AND AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

Awareness sessions on the requirements of the Access to Information Act are made available to all employees of the Agency upon request. Although no training sessions were delivered in ACOA offices during the reporting period, many informal briefings were provided to Agency employees who requested information on the requirements of the act.

6. POLICIES, GUIDELINES, PROCEDURES AND INITIATIVES

The Agency did not implement any new or revised access to information policies, guidelines or procedures during the reporting period.

7. COMPLAINTS AND AUDITS

Requesters may register a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner regarding any matter related to the processing of their request.

One complaint related to the exemptions applied to relevant records in response to a request that was initiated in 2020-2021 and is still ongoing.

Two complaints from 2019-2020 were closed during the reporting period. One was discontinued by the complainant, and the other was ruled not well founded by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

No audits were conducted during the reporting period.

8. MONITORING

No monitoring was conducted during the reporting period.

9. IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The telework measures taken by the Agency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic did not have an impact on the organization's ability to fulfill its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act.

ANNEX A - Delegation Order

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order, signed by ACOA’s president

ANNEX B - Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act


Name of institution: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Reporting period: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021

Section 1 - Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

Number of requests

 

Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 47
Outstanding from previous reporting period 10
Total 57
Closed during reporting period 53
Carried over to next reporting period 4

1.2 Sources of requests

Sources of requests
Source Number of Requests
Media 22
Academia 2
Business (private sector) 7
Organization 6
Public 5
Declined to identify 5
Total 47

1.3 Informal requests

Informal requests
Completion Time  
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
35 5 2 0 0 0 0 42

Note: All requests previously recorded as “treated informally” will now be accounted for in this section only.

Section 2 - Decline to act on vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of right requests

Decline to act on vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of right requests
  Number of Requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period 0
Sent during reporting period 0
Total 0
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period 0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period 0
Carried over to next reporting period 0

Section 3 - Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition and completion time
Disposition of Requests Completion Time
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
All disclosed 2 6 4 1 0 1 0 14
Disclosed in part 1 11 4 12 4 1 0 33
All exempted 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 5
Request transferred 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 21 8 14 4 2 0 53

3.2 Exemptions

Exemptions
Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests
13(1)(a) 0 16(2) 0 18(a) 0 20.1 0
13(1)(b) 0 16(2)(a) 0 18(b) 0 20.2 0
13(1)(c) 1 16(2)(b) 0 18(c) 0 20.4 0
13(1)(d) 0 16(2)(c) 3 18(d) 0 21(1)(a) 7
13(1)(e) 0 16(3) 0 18.1(1)(a) 0 21(1)(b) 28
14 0 16.1(1)(a) 0 18.1(1)(b) 0 21(1)(c) 12
14(a) 2 16.1(1)(b) 0 18.1(1)(c) 0 21(1)(d) 0
14(b) 0 16.1(1)(c) 0 18.1(1)(d) 0 22 0
15(1) 0 16.1(1)(d) 0 19(1) 12 22.1(1) 0
15(1) - I.A.* 0 16.2(1) 0 20(1)(a) 0 23 1
15(1) - Def.* 0 16.3 0 20(1)(b) 11 23.1 0
15(1) - S.A.* 0 16.31 0 20(1)(b.1) 0 24(1) 0
16(1)(a)(i) 0 16.4(1)(a) 0 20(1)(c) 9 26 2
16(1)(a)(ii) 0 16.4(1)(b) 0 20(1)(d) 11    
16(1)(a)(iii) 0 16.5 0        
16(1)(b) 0 16.6 0        
16(1)(c) 0 17 0        
16(1)(d) 0 * I.A.:  International Affairs    Def.:  Defence of Canada    S.A.:  Subversive Activities

3.3 Exclusions

Exclusions
Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests
68(a) 1 69(1) 0 69(1)(g) re (a) 2
68(b) 0 69(1)(a) 1 69(1)(g) re (b) 0
68(c) 0 69(1)(b) 0 69(1)(g) re (c) 0
68.1 0 69(1)(c) 0 69(1)(g) re (d) 0
68.2(a) 0 69(1)(d) 0 69(1)(g) re (e) 0
68.2(b) 0 69(1)(e) 0 69(1)(g) re (f) 0
    69(1)(f) 0 69.1(1) 0

3.4  Format of information released

Format of information released
Paper Electronic Other
0 47 0

3.5  Complexity

3.5.1  Relevant pages processed and disclosed

Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Number of Pages Processed Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
4,867 3,089 48

3.5.2  Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests
Disposition Less Than 100 Pages Processed 101-500 Pages Processed 501-1,000 Pages Processed 1,001-5,000 Pages Processed More Than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed
All disclosed 14 157 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 27 435 4 1,088 1 340 1 1,069 0 0
All exempted 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 41 592 5 1,088 1 340 1 1,069 0 0

3.5.3  Other complexities

Other complexities
Disposition Consultation Required Assessment of Fees Legal Advice Sought Other Total
All disclosed 3 0 0 0 3
Disclosed in part 26 0 0 0 26
All exempted 1 0 0 0 1
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0
Total 30 0 0 0 30

3.6  Closed requests

3.6.1  Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

Number of requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines 52
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) 98.1

3.7  Deemed refusals

3.7.1  Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines
Number of Requests Closed Past the Legislated Timelines Principal Reason
Interference with Operations/ Workload External Consultation Internal Consultation Other
1 0 1 0 0

3.7.2  Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

Requests closed beyond legislated timelines
Number of Days Past Legislated Timelines Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where No Extension Was Taken Number of Requests Past  Legislated Timeline Where an Extension Was Taken Total
1 to 15 days 0 0 0
16 to 30 days 0 1 1
31 to 60 days 0 0 0
61 to 120 days 0 0 0
121  to 180 days 0 0 0
181 to 365 days 0 0 0
More than 365 days 0 0 0
Total 0 1 1

3.8  Requests for translation

Requests for translation
Translation Requests Accepted Refused Total
English to French 0 0 0
French to English 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0

Section 4 - Extensions

4.1  Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests
Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken 9(1)(a) Interference With Operations 9(1)(b)
Consultation
9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
All disclosed 3 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 0 0 9 11
All exempted 0 0 1 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 10 11

4.2  Length of extensions

Length of extensions
Length of Extensions 9(1)(a)
Interference With Operations
9(1)(b)
Consultation
9(1)(c)
Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
30 days or less 1 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 0 0 0 4
61 to 120 days 2 0 10 4
121 to 180 days 0 0 0 2
181 to 365 days 0 0 0 1
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 10 11

Section 5 - Fees

Fees
Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
  Requests Amount   Requests Amount
Application 28 $140 12 $60
Other fees 0 $0 0 $0
Total 28 $140 12 $60

Section 6 - Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

6.1  Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations
Consultations Other Government of Canada Institutions Number of Pages to Review Other Organizations Number of Pages to Review
Received during reporting period 34 278 3 33
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 0 0 0 0
Total 34 278 3 33
Closed during the reporting period 34 278 3 33
Carried over to next reporting period 0 0 0 0

6.2  Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions
Recommendation Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
Disclose entirely 19 3 0 0 0 0 0 22
Disclose in part 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 12
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 31 3 0 0 0 0 0 34

6.3  Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations
Recommendation Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
Disclose entirely 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Disclose in part 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

Section 7 - Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

7.1  Requests with Legal Services

Requests with Legal Services
Number of Days Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed 101-500 Pages Processed 501-1,000 Pages Processed 1,001-5,000 Pages Processed More Than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 1 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7.2  Requests with Privy Council Office

Requests with Privy Council Office
Number of Days Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed 101‒500 Pages Processed 501-1,000 Pages Processed 1,001-5,000 Pages Processed More Than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Section 8 - Complaints and Investigations

Complaints and Investigations
Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate Subsection 30(5) Ceased to  investigate Section 35 Formal representations Section 37 Reports of finding received Section 37 Reports of finding containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner Section 37 Reports of finding containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
1 0 0 2 0 0

Section 9 - Court Action

9.1 Court actions on complaints received before June 21, 2019 and ongoing

Court actions on complaints received before June 21, 2019 and ongoing
Section 41
(before June 21, 2019)
Section 42 Section 44
0 0 0

9.2 Court actions on complaints received after June 21, 2019

Court actions on complaints received after June 21, 2019
Section 41 (after June 21, 2019)
Complainant (1) Institution (2) Third Party (3) Privacy
Commissioner (4)
Total
0 0 0 0 0

Section 10 - Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

10.1  Costs

Costs
Expenditures Amount
Salaries $185,958
Overtime $0
Goods and Services $5,887
    • Professional services contracts $0  
    • Other $5,887
Total $191,845

10.2  Human Resources

Human Resources
Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees 2.000
Part-time and casual employees 0.180
Regional staff 0.000
Consultants and agency personnel 0.000
Students 0.000
Total 2.180

ANNEX C - Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

Name of institution: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Reporting period: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021

Section 1 - Capacity to Receive Requests

Number of weeks the institution was able to receive ATIP requests through the different channels

Number of weeks the institution was able to receive ATIP requests through the different channels
  Number of Weeks
Able to receive requests by mail 52
Able to receive requests by email 52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service 52

Section 2 - Capacity to Process Records

2.1  Number of weeks the institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels

Number of weeks the institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels
  No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Protected B Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret Paper Records 0 52 0 52

2.2  Number of weeks the institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels

Number of weeks the institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels
  No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Electronic Records 0 0 52 52
Protected B Electronic Records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret Electronic Records 0 52 0 52

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