Archived - Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2021-2022

Table of Contents

Introduction

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

Mandate of the Department of Finance Canada

Administration of the Access to Information Act

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives

Training and Awareness

Delegation of Authority

Information Holdings

Interpretation of the Statistical Report (Annex A)

Monitoring Compliance

ANNEX A  Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Introduction

This Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act within the Department of Finance Canada (the 'Department') is prepared and tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act, and covers the period from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act (the Act)came into force on July 1, 1983, and saw its most significant amendments with the passage of Bill C-58 on June 21, 2019. Its purpose is to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution in accordance with the principles that such information should be available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific, and that decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government. The Act is intended to complement existing procedures for access to government information; it is not intended to limit access to information that is normally available to the general public. Under the Act, Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or any person or corporation present in Canada have the right to request access to information contained in government records. The Act also puts into practice the principle of 'open by default' in the digital age by making key information available proactively, without the need to make a request.

The Department recognizes that the right of access to information in records under its control and other federal government institutions is an essential element of our system of democracy. It is committed to openness and transparency, respecting both the spirit and the requirements of the Act, its regulations and related policy instruments. The Department further acknowledges the importance of facilitating access to records by requiring that its employees make every reasonable effort to assist applicants.

Mandate of the Department of Finance Canada

The Department helps the Government of Canada develop and implement strong and sustainable economic, fiscal, tax, social, security, international and financial sector policies and programs. It plays an important central agency role, working with other departments to ensure that the Government's agenda is carried out and that ministers are supported with high-quality analysis and advice.

The Department's responsibilities include the following:

• Preparing the federal budget and the Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections;
• Preparing the Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada and, in cooperation with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Receiver General for Canada, the Public Accounts of Canada;
• Developing tax and tariff policy and legislation;
• Managing federal borrowing on financial markets;
• Designing and administering major transfers of federal funds to the provinces and territories;
• Developing financial sector policy and legislation; and
• Representing Canada in various international financial institutions and groups.

The Minister of Finance is accountable for ensuring that his/her responsibilities are fulfilled both within his/her portfolio and with respect to the authorities assigned through legislation. In particular, the Minister has direct responsibility for a number of acts as well as fiscal and tax policy relating to other acts that are under the responsibility of other ministers.

Administration of the Access to Information Act

Access to Information and Privacy Division

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division is part of the Consultations and Communications Branch. The ATIP Division is responsible for administering the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act for the Department. As a centralized operation, the ATIP Division coordinates the timely processing of requests under the legislation, conducts interdepartmental consultations, handles complaints lodged with the Information Commissioner, and responds to informal inquiries. Division staff also provides guidance to departmental officials on matters involving the Act. As of March 31, 2022, ten employees within the ATIP Division were dedicated to the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act along with related functions. On that date, the ATIP Division was comprised of a director, supported by two managers, six ATIP analysts, and an administrative assistant. The Department of Finance Canada did not enter into any service agreements pursuant to section 96 of the Access to Information Act.

Principles on Assistance to Applicants

Section 4(2.1) of the Act reads as follows:

The Department is committed to both the spirit and intent of these principles, and adheres to the Act and to the Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act with respect to their application when processing requests under the Act.

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives

Impact of COVID-19 on ATIP Operations

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the health and economic well-being of people around the world.

Like other workplaces across Canada, the Government of Canada implemented exceptional workplace measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 and protect federal employees and the public. Starting March 16, 2020, the Department of Finance and other institutions were operating with significantly reduced on-site workforces, with most employees asked to work remotely. As a result, the Department's ability to meet the legislated timelines under the Access to Information Act was significantly constrained in 2020-2021, resulting in delays in responding to requests, which were also felt in 2021-2022.

Throughout 2021-2022, the Department continued to process its requests electronically after   modernizing its work processes the previous year resulting in an end-to-end digital paperless delivery model. With the reintegration of a limited number of employees at the physical workplace, the Division was able to focus on requests that that had been received in previous years and requiring the processing of paper records, in addition to new incoming requests which could be processed digitally.

Training and Awareness

During the reporting period, the ATIP Division provided two training and awareness sessions to 113 participants. These sessions were given to employees and managers within the Department and covered various topics surrounding the Acts' legislative and policy requirements. For example, the sessions discussed the effective processing of access to information and privacy requests, proactive publication requirements, the principles surrounding the management of personal information, and the application of the Acts' exemption and exclusion provisions.

Delegation of Authority

The delegation of authority approved on May 5, 2021 provides the authority to approve or deny the release of departmental information requested under the Act. This is shared by the Department's Deputy Minister, Associate Deputy Minister, Senior Assistant Deputy Ministers, Assistant Deputy Ministers, Associate Assistant Deputy Ministers, Chief of Audit and Head of Evaluations, Executive Directors, Director General of Communications, ATIP Director, ATIP Managers and Senior ATIP Advisors. Generally, the ATIP Director approves all exemptions.

DESIGNATION / DÉLÉGATION

ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT / LOI SUR L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Information Holdings

All government institutions subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act publish an inventory of their information holdings as well as relevant details about personal information under their control. The information can assist individuals in making an access to information or personal information request, or in exercising their privacy rights.

A description of the Department's programs, activities, and information holdings, including its classes of records and personal information banks can be found in Info Source: Sources of Federal Government and Employee Information.

Some programs and activities, such as human resources and financial management, are common to most government institutions. These are known as internal services and they involve the following types of information:

• Standard classes of records: These are descriptions of all records created and used to support internal services.
• Standard personal information banks: These are descriptions of personal information contained in records, and collected and used to support internal services.

Interpretation of the Statistical Report (Annex A)

Section 1 – Requests under the Access to Information Act

Number of Formal Requests

The number of formal requests received in this reporting period was 823, corresponding to a 26.2% decrease from the 1,115 formal requests received the previous reporting year. During this reporting period, the total number of requests in the Department's inventory was 1,802 as 979 requests remained outstanding from 2020-2021. By the end of 2021‑2022, 946 requests were completed and 856 were carried forward to 2022-2023.

The following table illustrates that the volume of requests has been unpredictable in recent years, with a low of 744 requests received in 2019-2020, and a peak of 1,724 the previous year in 2018-2019.

Other Requests

Government institutions also receive requests for records that were released in response to previous requests. As these requests are not made pursuant to the Access to Information Act, they are considered informal.  This reporting year, the Department received 295 informal requests, a 41% increase compared to the previous year, when the Department received 174 informal requests.

In 2021-2022, the Department received 183 consultations from other government institutions and organizations on matters of interest to the Department, a 29% increase compared to 130 consultations the previous year. The total number of consultations in the Department's inventory was 211 as 28 remained outstanding from 2020-2021. By the end of 2021-2022, 166 consultations were completed and 45 were carried forward to 2022-2023.

Overall ATIP Caseload

The table below illustrates a five-year trend of the total overall ATIP caseload. This includes formal Access to Information Act requests, Privacy Act requests, informal requests, and consultations received from other government institutions and organizations. The 2021-2022 caseload was similar to most recent years. In addition to administering the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, the ATIP Division also supported the Department and lent its expertise when required to respond to parliamentary motions for the production of documents.

Sources of Requests

The following table shows the breakdown of requests by source. Like in previous years, media representatives submitted by far the most requests in 2021-2022, followed by members of the public, individuals that declined to identify their category, and then businesses. There was a decline in business submissions by half. Organizations and academics formed the smallest proportion of requests during the reporting period.  

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

Number of Requests

The Department of Finance did not decline to act on any requests in 2021-2022.

Section 3 – Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

Disposition of Requests

The following table indicates the disposition of the 946 requests completed during this reporting period:

The following is a comparison of the disposition of requests completed for the last three reporting periods:

Completion Time

Five hundred and twenty six (55.6%) of the 946 requests were closed within six months or less, with 147 of these requests (15.5% of the total) having received a response within 30 days,  102 of them (23.0%) requiring between 31 and 60 days, 152 requests (20.0%) requiring between 61 and 120 days, and 125 requests (9.3%), between 121 and 180 days. 

Four hundred and twenty requests (12.3%) required 181 days or more. Requests requiring more than six months to complete usually involved large numbers of documents that required extensive internal consultations, consultations with third parties and, often, consultations with other government institutions. Given the nature of the work done by the Department, consultations must be conducted with other federal government institutions on many of its requests and completion time is consequently impacted by the amount of time required of the other institutions to respond to those consultations. In 2021-2022, in addition to the incoming requests, the Department also focused on older requests that had accumulated during the pandemic and those that had been temporarily set aside after the Department transitioned to remote work since they were available only in paper at the physical workplace.

Exemptions Invoked

In 2021-2022, the Department invoked a total of 2,684 exemptions pursuant to specific sections of the Act (more than one exemption can be applied to a specific request).

These exemptions were as follows:

Exclusions Cited

The Access to Information Act does not apply to information that is already publicly available, such as government publications and material in libraries and museums. It also excludes material such as Cabinet confidences. Consistent with the Act, exclusions were invoked 672 times: 20 for information that could be found in the public domain, available for purchase or found in a library and 652 times under section 69 for confidences of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. Because the Department is responsible for preparing the federal Budget and develops legislation and associated policies, it has a large number of documents classified as Cabinet confidences.

Format of Information Released

Records were provided to applicants in 767 cases, and in all instances, documents were provided electronically.

Complexity

Five hundred and four requests processed by the Department in 2021-2022 involved complex issues which required the need to consult with other government institutions and/or third parties. Legal advice was not sought in any of the files processed during this period. The number of pages in any given file is also a factor in the length of time it takes to complete a file. This year saw six files which contained more than 1,000 pages, with the largest ones comprising of more than 3,000 pages each.

Deemed Refusals

Of the 946 requests completed this fiscal year, 503 (53.2%) were closed on time, a decrease from 2019-2020's 72.8%, owing in large part to the Department's focus on both new requests and those that were already late at the beginning of the year – 500 requests, a little more than half of the 946 requests closed, were carried forward from previous years.

The 443 requests closed after the statutory deadline were delayed for various reasons including consultations, both external and internal, workload pressures, shortage of staff, and difficulty in retrieving records. In 332 instances, extensions of the statutory time limit had been claimed but the files were nonetheless late, due mainly to the volume of pages processed and the consultations both external and internal. In the other 111 cases, no extension of the statutory deadline was taken.

The table below provides the completion time for the 443 requests closed past the statutory deadline in 2021-2022.

Translations

No requests for translations were received.

Section 4 – Extensions

Subsection 9(1) of the ATI Act sets out circumstances under which the initial 30-day time limit for response may be extended. Extensions may be taken for the following reasons:

• The request is for a large number of records or requires a search through a large number of records, and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the institution;
• Consultation is necessary with other government institutions, other levels of governments; or
• Notice is to be given to a third party (pursuant to s. 27(1)) of the pending release of commercial information of that third party.

During 2021-2022, the Department claimed 415 extensions under s. 9(1)(a) due to the volume of records and interference with government operations, versus 164 the previous fiscal year. Third party notifications required 26 extensions under s. 9(1)(c), up from 18 in 2020-2021.

One hundred and eighty-nine extensions were claimed for consultations on Confidences of the Queen's Privy Council and 337 extensions for other types of consultations, for a total of 526 extensions claimed under s. 9(1)(b). Extensions for consultations are up from the 161 extensions taken in 2020-2021.

Section 5 – Fees and Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution.

With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

• Enabling authority: Access to Information Act
• Fee payable: $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATI request
• Total revenue: $2,275
• Fees waived: $1,840

Section 6 – Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Organizations

The Department received 183 consultations from other government institutions and organizations this reporting year, carried over 28 from the previous fiscal year, and closed 166.

Of the 166 consultations that were completed in 2021-2022, the Department responded to 87 (52.4%) in 30 days or less; 38 (22.9%) were responded to in 31 to 60 days, 28 (16.9%) required 61 to 120 days, and 13 (7.8%) required more than 121 days to complete. 

Section 7 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

The departmental Legal Services Unit responded to 196 consultations to confirm whether documents were Cabinet Confidences. All but three consultations were responded to within 120 days.

No consultations on Cabinet confidences were forwarded to the Privy Council Office.

Section 8 – Complaints/Investigations/Audits

Thirty-five complaints against the Department were received during the reporting period:

• Five complaints concerned the exemption of information;
• Three complaints concerned the exclusion of information under section 69 of the Act;
• Seventeen complaints concerned delay in responding or extensions taken;
• Ten complaints related to a response indicating that no records exist.

In 2021-2022, the Office of the Information Commissioner closed 58 complaint investigations against the Department, including complaints received in previous reporting periods:

• Four complaints were concluded as "not well-founded";
• Thirty-three complaints were concluded as "well-founded";
• Six complaints were "resolved'' during the course of the investigation;
• Fifteen complaints were "discontinued" by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Of the 58 completed complaints, 18 resulted in recommendations from the Information Commissioner and three complaints were the subject of an Order by the Commissioner.  The Department agreed to the recommendations and carried out the requirements of the Order in all 21 instances. The remaining 37 complaints did not require the Information Commissioner's intervention.

No audits were initiated or concluded this fiscal year.

Section 9 – Court Action

No appeals to the Federal Court were made in this reporting period.

Section  10 – Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

Administration of the Act cost the Department $1,058,878 this reporting year. Costs incurred in the reporting period include the salaries of ATIP staff and the administrative expenses associated with administration of the Act. Costs do not include salaries of other departmental personnel involved in processing requests.

Section 11 – Supplemental Reporting – Capacity to Receive and to Process Requests and Breakdown of Outstanding Requests and Complaints

In line with public health restrictions, a limited number of employees of the ATIP Division had reintegrated the physical office in 2020 and the Department was able to receive and process requests received by mail and those involving paper records. There was an eight-week period at the beginning of 2022 when the ATIP Division did not have anyone on site due to renewed health and safety concerns relating to the pandemic. After having transitioned to a fully digital process in May 2020, the Division processed requests received electronically (by email or through the digital request service) throughout all of 2021-2022.

At the end of the fiscal year, 856 requests remained in the Department's inventory of active requests. Three hundred and ninety requests (45.6%) were from 2021-2022 and 466 requests (54.4%) were received prior to 2021-2022. Of the 466 requests requests received prior to 2021‑2022, 371 requests (79.6%) were received in one of the 2 previous years and the remaining 95 requests (20.4%) were received prior to 2019-2020.

Throughout 2021-2022, the Department focused its resources on both incoming requests and those from previous years and in 2021-2022 had closed more requests (946) than it had received (823), reducing its inventory by 123 requests.

At the end of 2021-2022, a total of 49 complaints against the Department remained in its inventory of active complaints. Twenty-seven of these (55.1%) were received in 2021-2022 and the remaining 22 (44.9%) were received prior to that year.

Monitoring Compliance

In addition to producing statistics on branch performance across the Department, the ATIP Division continues to send targeted reports showing lists of outstanding branch actions related to Access to Infromation Act requests and consultations from other government departments. These statistics are shared on a weekly basis with senior management, branch ATIP contacts, the Deputy Minister's Office and the Ministers' Offices.

The ATIP Division also updated senior management throughout the fiscal year with a focus on departmental performance, current ATIP activities and the modernization of its work processes.

ANNEX A
Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act
(including Supplemental Statistical Report)

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

Section 2: Informal Requests

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

Section 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.5 Complexity

4.6 Closed requests

4.7 Deemed refusals

Section 5: Extensions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

Section 10: Court Action

Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Section 3: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Access to Information Act

Section 4: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Privacy Act

Section 5: Social Insurance Number (SIN)