Annual Report Access to Information Act 2017 to 2018

Chapter I - Report on the Access to Information Act

1.0 Introduction

The Access to Information Act (ATIA) provides the Canadian public with a broad right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution. This is in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public and that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific.

Section 72 of the ATIA requires that the Head of every federal government institution submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of this Act over the fiscal year. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has delegated the administration of the ATIA, including the reporting of the Annual Report, to the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC).

This report describes how the CSC fulfilled its access to information responsibilities during the reporting period covering 2017-2018.

2.0 Organization

2.1 About the Correctional Service of Canada

CSC was formed in 1979 through the amalgamation of the Canadian Penitentiary Service and the Parole Board of Canada (PBC). CSC has the fundamental obligation to contribute to public safety by actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control.

It does this by operating under the rule of law, in particular the Correctional and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), which provides its legislative framework. The Commissioner of CSC has the authority, extending from the CCRA, to issue directives, procedures and guidelines to carry out the agency’s operations.

CSC contributes to public safety by administering court-imposed sentences for offenders sentenced to two years or more. This involves managing institutions (penitentiaries) of various security levels and supervising offenders on different forms of conditional release, while assisting them in become law-abiding citizens. CSC also administers post-sentence supervision of offenders with Long Term Supervision Orders for up to 10 years.

CSC works closely with its Public Safety Portfolio partners, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the PBC, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and three review bodies, including the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI).

2.2 The Access to Information and Privacy Division

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division is part of the Policy Sector and reports to the Director General of Rights, Redress and Resolution. The Division is responsible for the overall administration of the ATIA and the Privacy Act. In addition, each sector, region, institution, district, parole office and community correctional centre has an access to information and privacy liaison who assists the national ATIP Division in administering its overall responsibilities.

During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the ATIP Division continued to improve and streamline its processes with the overall goal of increasing the efficiency of the office.

The ATIP Division is funded for 54 FTEs and is comprised of one Director, his Assistant, three Deputy Directors, five Team Leaders, one Senior Policy Advisor, a Policy and Governance Unit, and 18 Analysts who process requests for information under the ATIA and Privacy Act.

There is also an Information Processing and Reporting Unit (IPRU) comprised of one Office Manager and a team of clerical support staff. The IPRU is responsible for processing incoming requests, generating routine correspondence, tasking the institutions in order to retrieve records for privacy requests, ensuring quality control, preparing final release packages for the mail, and providing general support to the ATIP office.

There is one team dedicated to processing current requests made under the ATIA. This team is led by a Team Leader and is comprised of four employees at the PM-03 and PM-04 level. The Access team is responsible for reviewing and analyzing documents, providing guidance, conducting consultations, processing complaints received about their files from the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), and providing guidance and support to program areas on the application of the ATIA.

In addition, there are two backlog Teams that handle overdue ATIA requests.

The Policy and Governance Unit develops reports, policies, guidelines, tools and procedures to support ATIP requirements within CSC, oversees the Privacy Impact Assessment process, manages privacy breaches, processes complaints on the use and disclosure of personal information from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) and acts as a complaints liaison for the ATIP Division, and provides training to CSC employees.

During the fiscal year 2017-2018, there were nine full-time equivalents (FTE), and one casual employee whose time was devoted to ATIA activities. It is important to note that while the ATIP Division is funded for 54 FTEs, a number of staff are on extended leave or in a return to work situation, which greatly limits the number of FTEs that are in the office, working on ATIP files on a full-time basis.

2.3 Operational Challenges

The ATIP Division continues to process a large number of complex access requests, while trying to balance the processing of a large volume of Access to Information Act requests, relating to

• investigations, mortality, and fact-finding reports;
• cell phone surveillance technology;
• employee matters, such as disciplinary reports;
• health services, such as prescription medications provided to offenders;
• contraband seized in institutions;
• food services;
• mental health;
• administrative segregation; and
• Commissioner’s briefing notes and communications on various CSC initiatives.

In addition to the increased number of complex requests, the ATIP Division resources were used to support the Department of Justice (DOJ) on a number of ongoing litigation cases.

Retention of qualified ATIP professionals continues to be a challenge as more staff retire and leave for other opportunities.

The ATIP Division continues to have a backlog of outstanding ATIA requests to process. The reduction of the backlog continues to be a main priority and extra effort was given to reduce the number of overdue ATIA requests by assignments and overtime.

3.0 Highlights & Accomplishments

3.1 Improved Efficiencies

During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, CSC’s ATIP Division identified and implemented practices in an effort to make things more efficient. These included:

• Building the ATIP Division’s Human Resources component. During this past fiscal year, a number of staffing actions, including deployments, appointments and assignments were launched in an effort to build ATIP’s staff complement. The resulting actions included an acting appointment for a new ATIP Director, the permanent appointment of two PM-05 Team Leaders, two PM-04s, two CR-04s, one AS-01, and an external secondment of a PM 3 analyst. Two term positions were also offered at the CR-04 level.
• Three competitive processes have also been launched during this reporting period. These competitions are to hire two Deputy Directors at the PM-06 level and a Manager for the PRU Unit at the AS-03 level. These staffing actions are at the final stage and the successful candidates should be appointed early in the new upcoming fiscal year.
• In addition, competitive processes will also be launched to fill in all vacant positions from CR-4 to PM-05 levels.
• Finally, the ATIP Divisional management team has developed an ATIP Professional Development Program (ATIP-PDP) as part of its HR plan. The ATIP-PDP will be implemented in 2018-2019 and serves as a staffing program to address present and future operational needs. The program has been designed to develop individuals from the PM-02 to the PM-04 level, using external and internal qualified candidates. This program is similar to those used in other large ATIP Divisions.
• The implementation of a new process as a result of the Correctional Investigator’s “In the Dark” Report, to provide as much information as possible to family members of deceased offenders and to ensure follow up with a designated point of contact that can meet to discuss the specifics in a compassionate manner has been refined. This process has met with positive feedback, including from both the Correctional Investigator and family members.
• A process was implemented to respond to the Interim ATIA Directive concerning the release of information in user-friendly formats (e.g. Excel spreadsheets), whenever possible.
• Participation in external ATIP community meetings and internal planning with Citizenship and Engagement Sector, Communications, and IT concerning proactive publication in preparation of the Royal Assent of Bill C-58. This includes a streamlined process to proactively release lists, such as the CSC Commissioner’s Briefing Notes.
• Regional sites, including institutions, continue to scan documents to the ATIP Division through a secure drive which has resulted in records being provided for processing in a timelier fashion while at the same time contributing to a paperless environment.
• The use of encryption of emails allowing for the timelier exchange of Protected B information with government partners, in particular the OPC and the OIC.
• The continued use of a divisional complaints coordinator so that the ATIP Division can work closely with the OIC to respond to formal complaints and queries using a single point of contact.
• Priority was given to addressing section 37 complaints and outstanding delay complaints from the OIC.
• The Information Processing and Reporting Unit (formerly the Intake Unit) continuing to be the central hub for the ATIP divisional intake process and providing ongoing support to the ATIP Division. One of the key activities is to clear and inventory the ATIP Division’s file room and ensure that the Division is only keeping information required for retention.

3.2 Litigation Projects

During this fiscal year, CSC’s ATIP Division worked with the DOJ on a number of Litigation projects that resulted in the review and retrieval of documents to assist with the collection and indexing of documents in relation to ongoing court cases. A number of the ATIP Division’s resources were diverted from operational duties to respond quickly to these particular requests.

3.3 Development of Exemption Rationales

As a result of staff feedback, the ATIP Division continues to develop a set of rationales that will assist in the application and consistency of exemptions applied concerning various subjects. This document will be used by staff as a central resource for ATIP information, specifically in complaint responses.

3.4 Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures

During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, the ATIP Division implemented new access to information policies, practices and procedures, including:

• The reporting on statistical information in response to access to information requests to ensure accuracy and improved coordination.
• A guideline document on how to process public interest disclosures for family members is being drafted. This document is to provide clear direction on how to treat Access to Information Act requests from family members seeking information on their loved ones, such as CSC’s Board of Inquiries reports.
• The creation of an ATIP Bulletin that is provided to Senior Executives and Divisional staff. The newsletter is a communications tool designed to disseminate important ATIP information, such as policy developments, complaint findings of note and the implementation of any TBS Directives to respond to the Open Government ATIA legislative reform.
• An ATIP Info Bulletin was prepared and sent to internal ATIA Liaisons concerning the creation of records to satisfy ATIA requests. The Bulletin provides guidance on those situations where records may be created, so as not to interfere with the operations of CSC.

3.5 Training & Awareness

The Policy and Governance Unit plays a fundamental role in developing and delivering training to employees at National Headquarters (NHQ), Regional Headquarters and in the Institutions across Canada, as well as the ATIP staff, on ATIP related matters.

During this reporting period, the ATIP Division continued delivering ATIP Awareness Training to the sectors and the regions in order to ensure CSC employees have an understanding of ATIP and the importance of their role in the process. Regional ATIP Liaisons also delivered training sessions within their regions. Employees were trained from various areas of CSC, including:

• Assistant Wardens and Deputy Wardens
• Security Intelligence Officers
• New Employee Orientation Program (NEOP) - Québec Region

A total of five training sessions were delivered this reporting period - 45 employees received ATIP training at NHQ. An additional four training sessions were delivered in the Québec Region, comprising 64 employees.

The Policy and Training Unit was changed to the Policy and Governance Unit (PGU) to properly reflect the work of the Unit. PGU continues to provide advice and answer questions and concerns regarding training, policy and guidelines, interpretations of the acts through its GEN-NHQ Policy and Training email account. Through the use of these email accounts, CSC staff is provided with a single point of contact to increase their knowledge of the ATIP legislation.

3.6 ATIP Website - Internal and External

CSC’s ATIP Division continued to work with the e-Communications colleagues on the Intranet Renewal Project. The new site will continue to educate the wider CSC community on privacy related issues, including ATIP legislation, policies and procedures, directives, privacy breach prevention and reporting, Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) procedures, and a list of ATIP Tips and Bulletins.

In accordance with Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) guidelines, CSC posts summaries of completed access to information requests on a monthly basis on the Government of Canada’s Open Government portal.

To view CSC’s Completed Access to Information Requests page, please visit:

• http://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?f%5B0%5D=ss_ati_organization_en%3ACorrectional%20Service%20of%20Canada

ATIP’s external internet continues to be user-friendly and includes dedicated pages for instructions on submitting access and privacy requests, the duty to assist, an up-to-date list of the completed Privacy Impact Assessments, and frequently asked questions. To view the ATIP Division’s Internet site, please visit:

• /content/canadasite/en/correctional-service/corporate/transparency/atip.html

3.7 Info Source

CSC is responsible for providing comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date descriptions of its functions, programs, activities. CSC’s program records continue to be properly described and reflect its 2017-2018 Program Activity Architecture.

During the 2017-2018 fiscal year, CSC ATIP worked closely with CSC’s Information Management Services on the implementation of GCDOCs.

CSC’s Info Source chapter can be found on its external website and will be updated as revisions arise:

• https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/access-information-privacy/access-information/info-source.html

3.8 Ongoing Activities and Monitoring Compliance

Throughout the 2017-2018 fiscal year, officials of the ATIP Division supported the administration of the ATIA through many of its other activities, including:

• Reviewing CSC’s forms to ensure they contain the required access statements.
• Participating as a member of GCconnex - the Forum serves as a direct link to the ATIP community where members discuss issues including PIAs, policy developments and training initiatives.
• Participating as a member of the DOJ and TBS led initiatives concerning ATIA Reform and Open Government Initiatives
• Attending networking functions with other ATIP colleagues such as the ATIP Community meetings presided by the TBS, as well as their workshops.
• Strengthening communication and relationship with the OIC by participating in ongoing meetings and discussions.
• Providing advice to CSC employees on access matters and responding to general ATIP questions from our colleagues in the sectors and regions.
• Participating in CSC led projects, such as information management document collection initiatives.
• Generating compliance reports, which are reviewed by Senior Management on a weekly basis, including briefings by the ATIP Director, to ensure that access to information requests are being processed by legislative due dates. This includes a monthly review of ATIP processing times by the Director General of Rights, Redress and Resolution and the Assistant Commissioner, Policy Sector.
• An access to information component remains in the Performance Agreements for Senior Management which requires their sign off on all transmittal notices and checklists in an effort to ensure accuracy and thoroughness of all access to information retrievals.
• The restructuring of the ATIP Division’s workflow to better organize and decrease the processing time for requests.
• Actively monitoring the intake and processing of files on a weekly basis as well as regularly reassessing priorities and redistributing workloads.

4.0 Delegation of Authority

The responsibilities associated with the administration of the ATIA, such as notifying applicants of extensions and transferring requests to other institutions, are delegated to the departmental ATIP Coordinator through a delegation instrument signed by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. The approval of exemptions remains with the Director, the Deputy Directors as well as the Team Leaders. Delegation for public interest releases, as well as research and statistics, rests with the Commissioner, the Senior Deputy Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner of the Policy Sector.

A detailed delegation instrument can be viewed in Appendix A.

Chapter II - Access to Information Act Statistical Report and Supplementary Reporting Requirements for 2017-2018

5.0 Statistical Report

See Appendix B for CSC’s Statistical Report on the ATIA.

6.0 Interpretation of the 2017-2018 Statistical Report

6.1 Requests Processed Under the Access to Information Act

In 2017-2018, CSC received 474 ATIA requests, which was a decrease in 19% from the previous year. Three hundred and twenty-seven requests were carried over from the previous reporting period for a total of 801 requests requiring processing. CSC responded to 377 access to information requests, representing 47% of the total number of requests received and outstanding from the previous reporting period. Please refer to Appendix B for the statistical report.

6.2 Source of Requests

Of the 474 received, the majority of CSC’s requests originated from the public (offenders are included in this category), totaling 422. Media accounted for 32 requests received; eight requests were received from Businesses; two requests were received from Academia; and 10 requests were received from Organizations.

The following graph details the breakdown of requests received by each group:

6.3 Disposition of Requests

Of the 377 requests completed during this reporting period, full disclosure was provided in response to 57 requests and partial disclosure was provided in 127 cases. Information was withheld in its entirety pursuant to exemptions in three cases and in four cases the information was excluded. CSC was unable to process 39 requests as a result of no records existing; 140 were abandoned; three were transferred to other federal government institutions; and four were neither confirmed nor denied. A total of 77,284 pages were processed.

6.4 Exemptions

The majority of exemptions invoked by CSC fell under five sections of the Access to Information Act:

• Subsection 19(1), used to protect personal information, was applied in 123 cases (38 percent)
• Subsection 16(1), used to protect information relating to law enforcement and investigations, was applied in 47 cases (14 percent)
• Subsection 20(1), used to protect information relating to third party information, was applied in 39 cases (12 percent)
• Subsection 16.1(1), used to protect information relating to investigations, examinations and audits, was applied in 37 cases (11 percent)
• Subsection 21(1), used to protect information relating to advice, was applied in 34 cases (10 percent)

A complete breakdown of the exemptions/exclusions applied during this reporting period is as follows:

6.5 Extensions

A total of 56 extensions were required during this reporting period. This represents a decrease in extensions in comparison to the previous fiscal year. As requests get more voluminous, complex and require an increased amount of programming time when asking for statistics, the need for dedicated search time is subsequently increased.

6.6 Completion Time

During the reporting period, CSC completed 92 requests in less than 30 days; 113 between 31 and 60 days; 61 requests between 61 to 120 days; 32 requests between 121 to 180 days and 79 were closed over 180 days. Of the requests completed, CSC was successful in responding to 41 percent within the legislated timelines, an increase from the 34 percent achieved the previous fiscal year.

6.7 Informal Requests

During the reporting period, 158 informal requests were received. A total of 11 requests were carried over from the previous reporting year, totaling 169 informal requests requiring processing in 2017-2018. These include requests for previously released access to information packages.

A total of 22 informal requests were closed during 2017-2018.

6.8 Method of Access

Where information was available for release, copies were provided in 184 cases which included paper copies, electronic and CDs.

6.9 Consultations from Other Institutions

The ATIP Division’s workload involves responding to consultations in response to formal requests received by other institutions. CSC works closely with its partners under the Public Safety portfolio such as CBSA, RCMP, CSIS, PBC and the OCI, in order to respond to consultations in a timely fashion. CSC is consulted on such matters as court cases, offender grievances and matters raised with the OCI, offender case files, and individuals who are to be deported after serving their sentences, to name a few examples.

During the 2017-2018 reporting period, the ATIP Division received a total of 115 consultations from other government institutions and organizations processing requests under the ATIA.

The following chart provides the type and number of consultations received over the 2017-2018 reporting year:

7.0 Supplementary reporting requirements

7.1 Complaints and Investigations

Applicants have the right of complaint to the OIC pursuant to the ATIA and may exercise this right at any time during the processing of their request. At the end of this reporting period, CSC received a total of 72 complaints and 63 findings were issued.

The majority of the access complaints received during this reporting period concern application of exemptions and refusal of access. CSC processed 377 requests and received 72 complaints, representing 19 percent of the requests processed by CSC. Topics of complaints include searching emails from backup servers and email accounts of former CSC employees. Delay complaints continue to be the most common type of complaint as CSC is faced with an increase in broadly worded requests for which thousands of documents are searched in a variety of formats.

The following chart provides a breakdown of the type of complaint made to the OIC:

* Please note that some findings and active complaints have been carried over from previous years.

The following procedures are still in place:

1. The OIC continues to be informed of extensions by receiving copies of extension letters.
2. As part of its Duty to Assist, the ATIP Division continues to communicate with requesters discussing the scope of requests, offering alternative suggestions as appropriate, and providing previously released information that is posted as summaries on CSC’s external website.
3. A greater emphasis is placed on working with family members of deceased offenders to provide them with as much information as possible in a compassionate manner.
4. CSC’s ATIP Division continues to take steps to ensure that the timeliness of responses is maintained, by having one point of contact within the ATIP Division to address complaints.

7.2 Fees

A total of $1,815.00 was collected for application fees as per ATIA Regulations.

7.3 Federal Court

There were no federal court cases filed against CSC in this reporting period.

7.4 Resources

The ATIP Division expended a total of $624,609 - 592,555 was in salary costs, and $27,497 in overtime costs. There was $4,557 in operating costs.

Appendix A: Delegation of Authority

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, that is, the Correctional Service of Canada, under the sections of the Act set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Appendix B: Statistical report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Correctional Service Canada

Reporting period: 2017-04-01 to 2018-03-31

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

1.2 Sources of requests

1.3 Informal requests

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

Part 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

2.2 Exemptions

* I.A.: International Affairs
Def.: Defence of Canada
S.A.: Subversive Activities

2.3 Exclusions

2.4 Format of information released

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.3 Other complexities

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

2.7 Requests for translation

Part 3: Extensions

3.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

3.2 Length of Extensions

Part 4: Fees

Part 5: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

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

5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Part 6: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

6.1 Requests with Legal Services

6.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Part 7: Complaints and Investigations

Part 8: Court Action

Part 9: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

9.1 Costs

9.2 Human Resources

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.