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, 2022 to March 31, 2023.

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 provide guidance to departmental officials on matters involving the Act. As of March 31, 2023, 14 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, 10 ATIP analysts, and a student. 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 head of a government institution shall, without regard to the identity of a person making a request for access to a record under the control of the institution, make every reasonable effort to assist the person in connection with the request, respond to the request accurately and completely and, subject to the regulations, provide timely access to the record in the format requested.”

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 to Improve Access to Information

Access to Information and Privacy Communities Development Office (APCDO)

In 2022-2023, the Department’s ATIP Division became a member of the newly formed Access to Information and Privacy Communities Development Office (APCDO), an initiative led by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) with membership open to ATIP offices across the federal public service. The APCDO was established to enhance the capacity of ATIP offices to provide Canadians with access to government information in a timely manner by attracting new talent to the ATIP offices and providing ATIP professionals with centralized training and professional development programs. In 2022-2023, employees of the Department’s ATIP office benefited from attending a number of the APCDO’s training sessions tailored to the community thereby enhancing their skills.

ATIP Online Request Service Platform

In the summer of 2022, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) launched its next generation ATIP Online Request Service Platform to enhance the user experience on the digital request service, a portal used by individuals and organizations to submit requests under the ATIP legislation. The Department of Finance was an early adopter of the enhanced platform, having participated in its pilot prior to the official launch. Procedures were established to ensure requests were efficiently captured and tracked following these changes. The digital request service was used to submit all but one of the 650 Access to Information Act requests received in 2022-2023, which is evidence that the portal is a favoured tool for the Act’s users. Requesters have the option to send their requests through other channels as well, for example mail or email.

Other Process Updates

In early 2023, the ATIP office updated its approval templates for senior officials, removing information that was deemed redundent or irrelevant, and including only the key information useful for executives when providing approvals. The template was shortened using more consise language with a visual component that more effectively communicates important information.

The Department also adjusted its approach to consultations so that an initial review of the records is always conducted prior to sending out consultations, with the redacted information removed at the onset and only pertinent information remaining. This reduces the burden on the stakeholders receiving the consultation and is a best practice encouraged by the Information Commissioner of Canada.

Training and Awareness

During the reporting period, the ATIP Division provided two training and awareness sessions to 68 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. One of the sessions was the result of a joint effort between the Information Management team and the ATIP office, given the natural linkages in these two similar but distinct fields. Participans benefited from having functional experts in both areas share their knowledge and respond to questions.

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

Access to Information Act Designation Order

The Minister of Finance Canada, pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Minister as the head of the Department of Finance, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position.

This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Arrêté sur la délégation en vertu de la Loi sur l'accès à l'information

En vertu de l'article 95 de la Loi sur l'accès à l'information, le ministre des Finances Canada délègue aux titulaires des postes mentionnés à l'annexe ci-après, ainsi qu'aux personnes occupant à titre intérimaire lesdits postes, les attributions dont [il ou elle] est, en qualité de responsable du Ministère des Finances, investi[e] par les dispositions de la Loi ou de son règlement mentionnées en regard de chaque poste.

Le présent document remplace et annule tout arrêté antérieur.

Dated in Ottawa on this 5^th day
of May, 2021

Fait à Ottawa en ce 5^ieme jour
de mai 2021

Table 1
Schedule 1: Designation Order— *Access to Information Act*
Powers, duties, or functions	Section	Deputy Minister	Associate Deputy Minister and G7/G20 & FSB Deputy for Canada	Associate Deputy Minister	Senior Assistant Deputy Ministers Assistant Deputy Ministers Chief of Audit and Head of Evaluation Associate Assistant Deputy Ministers Executive Directors	Assistant Deputy Minister, Consultations and Communications Branch, Director General, Consultations and Communications BranchD	Director, Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP)	ATIP Managers Senior ATIP Advisors
Responsibility of government institutions	4(2.1)	Deputy Minister		Associate Deputy Minister			Director, Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP)	ATIP Managers Senior ATIP Advisors	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Reasons for declining to act on request	6.1(1)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Notice – suspension, end of suspension	6.1(1.3), (1.4), (2)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Notice where access requested	7	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Transfer of request	8(1)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Extension of time limits	9	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Where access is refused	10	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Application fee waiver	11(2)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Language of access	12(2)(b)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Access in an alternative format	12(3)(b)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Exemption - Information obtained in confidence	13	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Federal-provincial affairs	14	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - International affairs and defence	15	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Law enforcement and investigations	16	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act	16.5	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Safety of individuals	17	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Economic interests of Canada	18	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Economic interest of certain government institutions (Canada Post Corporation, Export Development Canada, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and VIA Rail Canada Inc.)	18.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Personal information	19	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Third-party information	20	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption – Advice, etc.	21	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Testing procedures, tests and audits	22	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption – Internal audits	22.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption – Protected information - solicitors-advocates and notaries	23	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption – Protected information – patents and trademarks	23.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exemption - Statutory prohibitions against disclosure	24	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Severability	25	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Exception – Refusal of access if information to be published	26	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Notice to third parties	27(1), (4)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Representations of third party and decision	28(1)(b), (2), (4)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Notice to Information Commissioner of notices to third parties	33	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Right to make representations	35(2)(b)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Notice to the Commissioner of action taken or proposed to be taken to implement the order or recommendations of the Commissioner	37(1)(c)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Access to be given	37(4)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Review by Federal Court – government institution	41(2)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Service or notice of application	43(2)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Notice to person who requested the record (application to Federal Court by third party)	44(2)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Special rules for hearings	52(2)(b), (3)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Facilities for inspection of manuals	71(1)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Annual report – government institutions	94(1)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Notice – Provision of services related to access to information	96(3)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Spending authority	96(5)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Access to Information Regulations	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Transfer of request	6(1)	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Method of access	8	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
Limitations in respect of format	8.1	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

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)

Sections 1 and 2 – Requests under the Access to Information Act and Informal requests

Number of Formal Requests

The Department of Finance received 650 formal requests in 2022-2023, corresponding to a 21 per cent decrease from the 823 formal requests received the previous reporting year. During this reporting period, the total number of requests in the Department’s inventory was 1,506 as 856 requests remained outstanding at the end of 2021-2022. By the end of the reporting period, 860 requests were completed and 646 were carried forward to 2023-2024.

The following table illustrates that the volume of requests has been unpredictable in recent years, with a low of 650 requests received in 2022-2023, and a peak of 1,724 in 2018-2019.

Table 2
Overview of *Access to Information Act*
Fiscal Year	New Requests Received	Requests Completed	Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Released	On-Time Compliance Rate
2022-2023	650	860	50,742	29,070	40%
2021-2022	823	946	38,710	17,907	53%
2020-2021	1,115	486	14,569	6,725	73%
2019-2020	744	794	52,558	21,921	78%
2018-2019	1,724	1,598	61,009	30,623	84%

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 952 informal requests, a more than three-fold increase compared to the previous year, when the Department received 295 informal requests.

In 2022-2023, the Department received 167 consultations from other government institutions and organizations on matters of interest to the Department, an 8.7 per cent decrease compared to 183 consultations the previous year. The total number of consultations in the Department’s inventory was 206 as 46 remained outstanding from 2021-2022. By the end of 2022-2023, a total of 295 consultations were completed and 18 were carried forward to 2023-2024.

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 2022-2023 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.

Table 3
**ATIP Division Overall Caseload**
Fiscal Year	Overall Caseload	Increase/Decrease from Previous Reporting Period
2022-2023	1,777	+ 35%
2021-2022	1,314	- 8.0%
2020-2021	1,428	- 6.2%
2019-2020	1,523	- 40%
2018-2019	2,550	+ 53%

Sources of Requests

The following table shows the breakdown of requests by source. Media representatives submitted by far the most requests in 2022-2023, as in previous years. They were followed by members of the public, individuals that declined to identify their category, businesses, academia, and finally, organizations. Requests from the business community have declined more noticeably than the those from other categories over the past three years.

Table 4
**Sources of Requests**
Source	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023
Media	773	547	485
Academia	7	13	15
Business	135	62	22
Organization	54	19	10
Public	104	155	72
Decline to Identify	42	127	46
Total	1,115	823	650

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

Number of Requests

The Department of Finance did not decline to act on any requests in 2022-2023.

Section 4 – Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

Disposition of Requests

The following table indicates the disposition of the 860 requests completed during this reporting period:

Table 5
**Number of Requests**
Disposition	Number of Requests	Percentage of Requests
All disclosed	19	2.2%
Disclosed in part	673	78.2%
All exempted	10	1.2%
All excluded	24	2.8%
No records exist	73	8.5%
Request transferred	6	0.7%
Request abandoned	55	6.4%
Neither confirmed or denied	0	0%
Decline to act	0	0%
Total	860	100%

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

Table 6
**Disposition of Requests**
Disposition	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023
All disclosed	47	48	19
Disclosed in part	237	719	673
All exempted	3	19	10
All excluded	23	32	24
No records exist	137	88	73
Request transferred	21	12	6
Request abandoned	18	28	55
Neither Confirmed or Denied	0	0	0
Decline to act	0	0	0
Completed	486	946	860

Completion Time

Four hundred and sixty six (54 per cent) of the 860 requests were closed within six months or less, with 137 of these requests (16 per cent of the total) having received a response within 30 days, 120 of them (14 per cent) requiring between 31 and 60 days, 131 requests (15 per cent) requiring between 61 and 120 days, and 70 requests (8.1 per cent), between 121 and 180 days.

The remaining 394 requests (46 per cent) required 181 days or more. Requests requiring more than six months to complete usually involved a large volume 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 2022-2023, the Department continued to focus on both incoming requests as well as 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 2022-2023, the Department invoked a total of 2,791 exemptions pursuant to specific sections of the Act (more than one exemption can be applied to a specific request).

These exemptions were as follows:

Table 7
**Exemptions**
Section of the Act	Description of the Exemptions	Number of Times Exemptions Applied
Section 13	Information obtained in confidence from other governments	131
Section 14	Federal-provincial affairs	165
Section 15	International affairs and defence	156
Section 16	Law enforcement, investigations, and Security	547
Section 17	Safety of individuals	2
Section 18	Economic interests of Canada	194
Section 19	Personal information	97
Section 20	Third party information	195
Section 21	Operations of government	1,247
Section 22	Testing procedures, tests and audits	1
Section 23	Solicitor-client privilege	48
Section 24	Statutory prohibitions	10
Section 26	Information to be published	0

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. In accordance with the Act, exclusions were invoked 544 times: in 10 instances under section 68 because the requested records could be found in the public domain, and 534 times under section 69, as records contained confidences of the King'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 692 cases, and in all instances, documents were provided electronically.

Complexity

Four hundred and sixty two requests processed by the Department in 2022-2023 involved complex issues which required the need to consult with other government institutions and/or third parties, or required legal advice. 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 five files processed which contained more than 1,000 pages, with the largest one comprising of more than 12,000 pages.

Deemed Refusals

Of the 860 requests completed this fiscal year, 346 (40 per cent) were closed on time, a decrease from 2021-2022’s rate of 53 per cent, 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 – 423 files, almost half of the 860 requests closed, were carried forward from previous years.

The 514 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 403 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. In the other 111 cases, no extension of the statutory deadline was taken.

The table below provides the completion time for the 514 requests closed past the statutory deadline in 2022-2023.

Table 8
**Requests Closed Past the Statutory Deadline**
Number of Requests	Completion Time After the Deadline
48	within 1 to 15 days
17	within 16 to 30 days
35	within 31 to 60 days
47	within 61 to 120 days
48	within 121 to 180 days
124	within 181 to 365 days
195	more than 365 days

Translations

No requests for translations were received.

Section 5 – 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 2022-2023, the Department claimed 345 extensions under s. 9(1)(a) due to the volume of records and interference with government operations, versus 415 the previous fiscal year. Third party notifications required 25 extensions under s. 9(1)(c), up from 18 in 2020-2021.

One hundred and ten extensions were claimed for consultations on Confidences of the King’s Privy Council and 295 extensions for other types of consultations, for a total of 405 extensions claimed under s. 9(1)(b). Extensions for consultations are down from the 526 extensions in 2020-2021.

Section 6 – Fees

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: $1,850
Fees waived: $1,400
Cost of operating the program: $1,063,829

Section 7 – Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Organizations

The Department received 167 consultations from other government institutions and organizations this reporting year, carried over 46 from the previous fiscal year, and closed 195.

Of the 195 consultations that were completed in 2022-2023, the Department responded to 98 (50 per cent) in 30 days or less; 32 (16 per cent) were responded to in 31 to 60 days, 41 (21 per cent) required 61 to 120 days, and 24 (12 per cent) required more than 121 days to complete.

Section 8 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

The departmental legal services unit responded to 158 consultations to confirm whether documents were Cabinet Confidences. All but six consultations were responded to within 120 days.

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

Section 9 – Investigations and Reports of Finding

Twenty-seven complaints against the Department were received during the reporting period:

Nine complaints concerned the exemption of information;
Four complaints concerned the exclusion of information under section 69 of the Act;
Eleven complaints concerned delay in responding or extensions taken; and,
Three complaints related to a response indicating that no records exist or alleged that the Department did not undertake a complete search for records.

In 2022-2023, the Office of the Information Commissioner closed 58 complaint investigations against the Department, including complaints received in previous reporting periods:

Seventeen complaints were concluded as “well-founded”;
Fourteen complaints were concluded as “not well-founded”;
Sixteen complaints were “resolved’’ during the course of the investigation; and,
Eleven complaints were “discontinued” by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Of the 58 completed complaints, a single one was the subject of an order by the Commissioner. The Department agreed to the recommendations and carried out the requirements of the order.

No audits were initiated or concluded this fiscal year.

Section 10 – Court Action

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

Section 11 – Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

Administration of the Act cost the Department $1,063,829 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.

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

Throughout 2022-2023, the Department continued to process its requests electronically after having modernized its work processes in 2020 in the weeks following the start of pandemic, resulting in a beginning-to-end digital paperless delivery model.

The Department was able to receive and process requests submitted by mail, email, and through the digital request service throughout all of 2022-2023. The ATIP Division also had capacity to process almost all electronic and paper record types throughout the year, with the exception of those falling in the category of ‘’Secret and Top Secret Paper records’’ on the supplemental reporting form. During the first 13 weeks of the reporting period, the Division had partial capacity to process documents falling in this categorty since only a limited number of staff were accessing the physical work place at that time. This limitation was no longer in place from July 2022 onward, when more and more employees began accessing the physical workplace as they began to prepare for the hybrid work environment that is currently in place at the Department of Finance since fall 2022.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, the Department had 856 active requests in its inventory and it ended the year with 646 active files. Throughout reporting period, the Department focused its resources on both incoming requests and those from previous years and in 2022-2023 had closed more requests (860) than it had received (650), reducing its inventory of active requests by 210. This is the second consecutive year that the inventory is smaller than it was at the beginning of the year, resulting in continued progress on reducing the backlog following the impacts of COVID-19.

Of the 646 active requests at the beginning of the fiscal year, 212 files (33 per cent) were from 2022‑2023 and 434 requests (67 per cent) were received prior to then. Of the 434 requests received prior to 2022‑2023, 238 requests (55 per cent) were received in one of the two previous years and the remaining 196 requests (45 per cent) were received prior to 2020-2021.

At the end of 2022-2023, a total of 22 complaints against the Department remained in its inventory of active complaints. Seventeen of these (77 per cent) were received in 2022-2023 and the remaining five (23 per cent) were received prior to that year.

Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act

The Department of Finance is a government institution for the purposes of Part 2 of the Access to Information Act. The Department is subject to the following proactive publishing requirements:

Table 9
**Proactive publishing requirements**
All Government Institutions as defined in section 3 of the Access to Information Act
Legislative Requirement	Section	Publication Timeline
Travel Expenses	82	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Hospitality Expenses	83	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Reports tabled in Parliament	84	Within 30 days after tabling
Government entities or Departments, agencies, and other bodies subject to the Act and listed in Schedules I, I.1, or II of the Financial Administration Act
Contracts over $10,000	86	*Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter
Grants & Contributions over $25,000	87	Within 30 days after the quarter
Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent	88(a)	Within 120 days after appointment
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent, that is received by their office	88(b)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received
Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent’s appearance before a committee of Parliament	88(c)	Within 120 days after appearance
Government institutions that are departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act or portions of the core public administration named in Schedule IV to that Act (i.e. government institutions for which Treasury Board is the employer)
Reclassification of positions	85	Within 30 days after the quarter
Ministers
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for new or incoming ministers	74(a)	Within 120 days after appointment
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister, that is received by their office	74(b)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received
Package of question period notes prepared by a government institution for the minister and in use on the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December	74(c)	Within 30 days after last sitting day of the House of Common in June and December
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister’s appearance before a committee of Parliament	74(d)	Within 120 days after appearance
Travel Expenses	75	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Hospitality Expenses	76	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Contracts over $10,000	77	Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter
Ministers’ Offices Expenses Note: This consolidated report is currently published by TBS on behalf of all institutions.	78	Within 120 days after the fiscal year
* Q1 = 1st quarter (April 1 to June 30); Q2 = 2nd quarter (July 1 to September 30); Q3 = 3rd quarter (October 1 to December 31); Q4 = 4th quarter (January 1 to March 31)

The ATIP Division, which falls within the Consultations and Communications Branch, is responsible for publishing the titles of memoranda to the Minister and to the Deputy Minister each month, for posting the transition materials for new ministers and deputy ministers, as well publishing the Department's access to information and privacy annual reports. The Consultations and Communications Branch is also responsible for publishing materials surrounding parliamentary affairs, for example materials prepared for the Minister or for the Deputy Minister for committee appearances as well as Question Period notes following the end of the winter and summer sessions. The Corporate Services Branch, having responsibility for coordinating the Department’s human resources and financial activities, manages the disclosure of information on expenses for travel, hospitality, and those related to the minister’s office, posting information related to contracts, grants and contributions, and reclassification of positions. All other annual reports are published by the branch responsible for its preparation. Departmental officials are aware of their obligations regarding proactive publication.

Proactively published information can be found on the Open Government Portal or in the Transparency section of the Department’s web site.

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.

Compliance with Part 2 of the Act on proactive publication was not formally monitored in 2022-2023 as this was not a requirement.

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

Name of institution: Department of Finance

Reporting period: April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1
**Number of requests**
		Number of Requests
Received during reporting period		650
Outstanding from previous reporting periods		856
Outstanding from previous reporting period	402
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	454
Total		1,506
Closed during reporting period		860
Carried over to next reporting period		646
Carried over within legislated timeline	132
Carried over beyond legislated timeline	514

1.2
**Source of requests**
Source	Number of Requests
Media	485
Academia	15
Business (private sector)	22
Organization	10
Public	72
Decline to Identify	46
Total	650

1.3
**Channels of requests**
Source	Number of Requests
Online	649
E-mail	1
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	650

Section 2: Informal Requests

2.1
**Number of informal requests**
		Number of Requests
Received during reporting period		952
Outstanding from previous reporting periods		0
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	0
Total		952
Closed during reporting period		952
Carried over to next reporting period		0

2.2
**Channels of informal requests**
Source	Number of Requests
Online	141
E-mail	811
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	952

2.3
**Completion time of 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
87	77	35	753	0	0	0	952

2.4
**Pages released informally**
Less Than 100 Pages Released		100-500 Pages Released		501-1,000 Pages Released		1,001-5,000 Pages Released		More Than 5,000 Pages Released
Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released
894	12,694	52	11,581	4	2,886	2	3,289	0	0

2.5
**Pages re-released informally**
Less Than 100 Pages Re-released		100-500 Pages Re-released		501-1,000 Pages Re-released		1001-5,000 Pages Re-released		More Than 5,000 Pages Re-released
Number of Requests	Pages Re-released	Number of Requests	Pages Re-released	Number of Requests	Pages Re-released	Number of Requests	Pages Re-released	Number of Requests	Pages Re-released
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on 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
Withdrawn during reporting period	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0

Section 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.1
**Disposition and completion time**
Disposition of Requests	Completion Time
Disposition of 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
All disclosed	0	2	4	5	1	2	5	19
Disclosed in part	21	50	107	116	60	117	202	673
All exempted	2	2	5	0	0	1	0	10
All excluded	1	2	5	5	5	4	2	24
No records exist	19	23	6	5	2	7	11	73
Request transferred	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
Request abandoned	6	3	1	0	2	8	35	55
Neither confirmed nor denied	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
Total	55	82	128	131	70	139	255	860

4.2
**Exemptions**
Section	Number of Requests
13(1)(a)	56
13(1)(b)	51
13(1)(c)	22
13(1)(d)	1
13(1)(e)	1
14	72
14(a)	51
14(b)	42
15(1)	98
15(1) - I.A.*	54
15(1) - Def.*	4
15(1) - S.A.*	0
16(1)(a)(i)	0
16(1)(a)(ii)	0
16(1)(a)(iii)	0
16(1)(b)	0
16(1)(c)	20
16(1)(d)	0
16(2)	18
16(2)(a)	3
16(2)(b)	1
16(2)(c)	505
16(3)	0
16.1(1)(a)	0
16.1(1)(b)	0
16.1(1)(c)	0
16.1(1)(d)	0
16.2(1)	0
16,3	0
16.4(1)(a)	0
16.4(1)(b)	0
16,5	0
16,6	0
17	2
18(a)	41
18(b)	53
18(c)	0
18(d)	83
18.1(1)(a)	1
18.1(1)(b)	14
18.1(1)(c)	0
18.1(1)(d)	0
19(1)	97
20(1)(a)	5
20(1)(b)	103
20(1)(b.1)	0
20(1)(c)	63
20(1)(d)	24
20,1	0
20,2	0
20,4	0
21(1)(a)	589
21(1)(b)	468
21(1)(c)	145
21(1)(d)	45
22	1
22.1(1)	0
23	48
23,1	0
24(1)	10
26	0
* I.A.: International Affairs * Def.: Defence of Canada * S.A.: Subversive Activities

4.3
**Exclusions**
Section	Number of Requests
68(a)	9
68(b)	0
68(c)	1
68.1	0
68.2(a)	0
68.2(b)	0
69(1)	1
69(1)(a)	20
69(1)(b)	0
69(1)(c)	7
69(1)(d)	33
69(1)(e)	48
69(1)(f)	6
69(1)(g) re (a)	117
69(1)(g) re (b)	0
69(1)(g) re (c)	54
69(1)(g) re (d)	78
69(1)(g) re (e)	137
69(1)(g) re (f)	33
69.1(1)	0

4.4
**Format of information released**
Paper	Electronic				Other
Paper	E-record	Data set	Video	Audio	Other
0	692	0	0	0	0

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1
**Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats**
Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests
50742	29070	781

4.5.2
**Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests**
Disposition	Less Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 Pages Processed		501-1,000 Pages Processed		1,001-5,000 Pages Processed		More Than 5,000 Pages Processed
Disposition	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed
All disclosed	18	130	1	314	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	618	9,946	45	9,993	5	3,327	4	11,174	1	12,103
All exempted	9	155	1	143	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	23	513	1	186	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	46	307	8	1,813	1	638	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	714	11,051	56	12,449	6	3,965	4	11,174	1	12,103

4.5.3
**Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats**
Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

4.5.4
**Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests**
Disposition	Less Than 60 Minutes Processed		60 - 120 Minutes Processed		More than 120 Minutes Processed
Disposition	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.5
**Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats**
Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

4.5.6
**Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests**
Disposition	Less Than 60 Minutes Processed		60 - 120 Minutes Processed		More than 120 Minutes Processed
Disposition	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.7
**Other complexities**
Disposition	Consultation Required	Legal Advice Sought	Total
All disclosed	6	1	7
Disclosed in part	405	1	406
All exempted	7	0	7
All excluded	24	0	24
Request abandoned	18	0	18
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0
Total	460	2	462

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1
**Requests closed within legislated timelines**
	Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines	346
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	40.23255814

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1
**Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines**
Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Principal Reason
Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Interference with operations/ Workload	External Consultation	Internal Consultation	Other
514	364	65	29	56

4.7.2
**Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)**
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	12	36	48
16 to 30 days	3	14	17
31 to 60 days	5	30	35
61 to 120 days	10	37	47
121 to 180 days	11	37	48
181 to 365 days	26	98	124
More than 365 days	44	151	195
Total	111	403	514

4.8
**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 5: Extensions

5.1
**Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests**
Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	Section 69	Other	9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
All disclosed	8	1	2	1
Disclosed in part	279	95	243	19
All exempted	5	0	1	0
All excluded	6	8	8	0
Request abandoned	15	1	7	3
No records exist	32	5	34	2
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0
Total	345	110	295	25

5.2
**Length of extensions**
Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	Section 69	Other	9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
30 days or less	188	3	21	5
31 to 60 days	117	10	87	17
61 to 120 days	37	95	179	3
121 to 180 days	2	2	8	0
181 to 365 days	1	0	0	0
365 days or more	0	0	0	0
Total	345	110	295	25

Section 6: Fees

Fee Type	Fee Collected		Fee Waived		Fee Refunded
Fee Type	Number of Requests	Amount	Number of Requests	Amount	Number of Requests	Amount
Application	370	$1,850.00	280	$1,400.00	0	$0.00
Other fees	0	$0.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00
Total	370	$1,850.00	280	$1,400.00	0	$0.00

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

7.1
**Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations**
Consultations	Other Government of Canada Institutions	Number of Pages to Review	Other Organizations	Number of Pages to Review
Received during the reporting period	161	4,985	6	135
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	45	3,614	1	26
Total	206	8,599	7	161
Closed during the reporting period	188	8,236	7	161
Carried over within negotiated timelines	18	363	0	0
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines	0	0	0	0

7.2
**Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions**
Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
Recommendation	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	31	23	5	9	0	1	2	71
Disclose in part	5	23	22	27	5	5	6	93
Exempt entirely	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	5
Exclude entirely	4	3	1	2	2	2	0	14
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	2	0	1	2	0	0	0	5
Total	44	51	30	40	7	8	8	188

7.3
**Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada**
Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
Recommendation	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	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	3
Disclose in part	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	3
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
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	1	2	2	1	0	1	0	7

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1
**Requests with Legal Services**
Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 Pages Processed		501-1,000 Pages Processed		1,001-5,000 Pages Processed		More Than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of Days	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	108	715	6	635	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	11	62	1	34	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	20	253	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	4	43	1	0	0	0	1	119	0	0
121 to 180	4	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	149	1,093	8	669	0	0	1	119	0	0

8.2
**Requests with Privy Council Office**
Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		100‒500 Pages Processed		501-1,000 Pages Processed		1,001-5,000 Pages Processed		More Than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of Days	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 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1
**Investigations**
Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate	Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate	Section 35 Formal Representations
27	27	35

9.2
**Investigations and Reports of finding**
Section 37(1) Initial Reports			Section 37(2) Final Reports
Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner	Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
1	0	1	31	0	1

Section 10: Court Action

10.1
**Court actions on complaints**
Section 41
Complainant (1)	Institution (2)	Third Party (3)	Privacy Commissioner (4)	Total
0	0	0	0	0

10.2
**Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)**

Section 44 - under paragraph 28(1)(b)	0

Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

11.1
**Allocated Costs**
Expenditures		Amount
Salaries		$1,020,864
Overtime		$701
Goods and Services		$42,965
Professional services contracts	$0
Other	$42,965
Total		$1,063,829

11.2
**Human Resources**
Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees	11.650
Part-time and casual employees	1.200
Regional staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	0.000
Students	0.410
Total	13.260

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