Annual report to Parliament: Access to Information Act 2020 to 2021

Abstract

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act is submitted in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. It presents an overview of Access to Information Act activities carried out within Environment and Climate Change Canada during the reporting period of April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

During the reporting period, Environment and Climate Change Canada received 1,683 requests under the Access to Information and completed 1,251 requests.

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. A-1) came into force on July 1, 1983. The Act grants Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and persons residing in Canada the right to access information in records held by the federal government, except for types of information falling under the exemptions or exclusions. Section 94 of the Act requires every head of a federal government institution to submit a report to Parliament on the administration of the Act within their institution during the fiscal year.

This report is submitted in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. It presents an overview of Access to Information Act activities carried out within Environment and Climate Change Canada during the reporting period of April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Further, since the Canada Emission Reduction Incentives Agency was not operational during this reporting period, an Agency report will not be prepared for this period.

The Department of the Environment was established by the Government Reorganization Act (1970-71-72, c. 42) on June 10, 1971. A number of acts and regulations provide the Department with its mandate and allow it to carry out its programs. Under the Department of the Environment Act, the powers, duties and functions of the Minister of the Environment extend to and include matters relating to:

• the preservation and enhancement of the quality of the natural environment, including water, air and soil quality;
• renewable resources, including migratory birds and other non-domestic flora and fauna;
• water;
• meteorology;
• the enforcement of any rules or regulations made by the International Joint Commission relating to boundary waters; and
• the coordination of the policies and programs of the Government of Canada respecting the preservation and enhancement of the quality of the natural environment.

Organizational structure

As Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator, the Director of the Access to Information and Privacy Division has delegated authority on all matters concerning Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP). The ATIP Division is part of the Corporate Secretariat, which is found within the Public Affairs and Commuications Branch of the Department. The ATIP Division is the central coordinating body for all requests received by Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The ATIP Division directs all activities within Environment and Climate Change Canada relating to the administration, application and promotion of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It provides advice to senior management on the implementation of the statutes and prepares reports to Parliament, the Treasury Board Secretariat and senior management. The ATIP Division represents the Department in complaints and investigations conducted by the Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and in any Federal Court applications arising from ATIP matters.

The ATIP Division is organized into two functional areas; an Operations Unit, and a Policy and Governance Unit. The Operations Unit activities include processing requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and responding to consultations requests submitted by other federal institutions. The Policy and Governance Unit provides advice and support to departmental officials on a variety of matters to ensure ECCC remains compliant with legislative requirements and policy obligation pursuant to both Acts. Furthermore, the Policy and Governance Unit works collaboratively with departmental officials to fulfill the Department’s proactive publication requirement and oversees its compliance. Each unit is led by a manager, who reports to the ATIP Director. The Operational Unit consist of two team leaders, one senior advisor, four advisors, two intake officers, and administrative officer and a clerical assistant. The Policy and Governance Unit consist of one senior advisor. In order to help meet the increase in volume and complexity of requests, the Division also engaged the support of three consultants during the reporting period. As of March 31, 2021, the ATIP Division was comprised of 15 officers.

Capacity development

Environment and Climate Change Canada remains committed to recruiting, training and maintaining a workforce that possesses specialized skills and that will continue to provide the best possible service to both internal and external clients.

During the reporting period, Environment and Climate Change Canada completed several staffing actions. This included the appointment of a Senior ATIP advisor, two junior ATIP advisors and an Administrative Officer.

Environment and Climate Change Canada continues to focus on developing capacity through its ATIP Professional Development Program. The program aims to train employees over a period of three to five years through a combination of competency-based training, professional development training and work assignments. Candidates enter the program at the PM-01 or PM-02 level and graduate as Senior ATIP Advisors at the PM-04 level. The program enables the ATIP Division to better manage increasing workloads while facilitating succession planning through the transfer of corporate memory and encourages staff to remain with the Department for a longer period of time. During the reporting period, two participants in the ATIP Professional Development Program were promoted to the next level and one new participant joined the program.

Delegation of authority

Decision-making responsibility for the application of the various provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act have been formally established and is outlined in the departmental Delegation of Authority Instrument found in Appendix B of this report.

The Delegation Order in effect during the time frame of this Report was approved by the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, in January 2017.

Interpretation of the statistical report

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Statistical Report on the Access to Information Actis included in Appendix A of this report.

Between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, Environment and Climate Change Canada received 1,683 requests under the Access to Information Act. There were 746 requests carried forward from the 2019–2020 reporting period, for a total of 2,429 active requests in the 2020–2021 reporting period.

In 2020–2021, a total of 1,251 requests were completed, and 1178 were carried forward to the next reporting period.

Figure 1 is a percentage breakdown of the sources of access to information requests received in 2020–2021.

Figure 1 – Sources of Access to Information requests 2020 to 2021

During the 2020–2021 reporting period, 51 requests were abandoned by applicants for various reasons.

There were 1,077 requests for information for which there were no records. Environment and Climate Change Canada receives a number of requests each year for documents pertaining to the environmental compliance of properties (such as spills, infractions or investigations). Ninety-four percent (94%) or 1014 no record responses in 2020-2021 consisted of environmental compliance requests where no records were located concerning the properties in question. It should be noted that a no record response is the requester’s desired outcome in these requests.

Records were retrieved in response to 118 requests. Of these, 35% were all disclosed 63% were disclosed in part and records were all exempted/excluded in 2% of requests.

In 2020–2021, Environment and Climate Change Canada received 1,683 requests under the Access to Information Act. This represents an 11% decrease in comparison to the previous reporting period.

Figure 2 displays the number of access to information requests that were received by the ATIP Division from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021.

Figure 2 – Access requests received, Access to Information Act, 2016 to 2021

Environment and Climate Change Canada completed 1,251 requests under the Access to Information Act in 2020-2021. Overall, 1,172 were completed within the legislative timeline, which represents 93.7% of all access requests closed during the reporting period.

The number of access to information requests that were closed by the ATIP Division from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021 is found in Figure 3.

Figure 3 – Access requests closed, Access to Information Act, 2016 to 2021

In the 2020–2021 reporting period, 38,650 pages of records were processed in response to access to information requests, which represents a decrease of 93% in comparison to the 2019–2020 fiscal year. This decrease can be attributed in large part to the operational challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of pages processed by the ATIP Division in response to requests under the Access to Information Act from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021 is found in Figure 4.

Figure 4 – Pages processed for access requests, Access to Information Act, 2016 to 2021

Exemptions and exclusions

The Access to Information Act prescribes a number of exemptions and exclusions that allow or require the Department to refuse to disclose certain types of information. The two most common exemptions invoked by Environment and Climate Change Canada in 2020–2021 were for personal information (section 19) and government operations (section 21).

Time limitations

During the 2020–2021 reporting period, 1,031 (82%) of the completed requests were processed within the initial 30-day period. This included 188 requests completed in the first 15 days, and 843 requests completed between 16 and 30 days.

Figure 5 is a breakdown of completion times for requests closed during the 2020–2021 reporting period.

Figure 5 – Completion time for access requests, 2020 to 2021

A total of 79 requests were completed beyond the legislated deadline. Of the 79 late requests, 51 requests were late due to heavy workloads.

Extension of time limits

Section 9 of the Access to Information Act allows government institutions to extend the deadline for responding to a request if the request requires the institution to search a large number of records, to consult with other government institutions, or to communicate with third parties.

In 2020–2021, 123 requests required extensions of 30 days or less, 76 required an extension of between 31 and 60 days, 46 required an extension of between 61 to 120 days and 2 required an extension between 121 to 180 days. In total, 247 requests required an extension past the original deadline of 30 days. Most extensions were required in order to conduct extensive searches.

Complexity of files

A number of files were considered complex for various reasons. Of the requests closed during the 2020–2021 reporting period, 37 were considered to be complex. There were 34 requests that were complex due to the need to conduct consultations, 2 requests required legal advice, and 1 request was classified in the “other” category. The “other” category consists of files containing high-profile subject matter, records held in a regional office or another country, or records that are in a language other than French or English.

Of the requests closed by Environment and Climate Change Canada in 2020-2021, 2 required consultations with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Legal Services to confirm Cabinet confidence exclusions.

Consultations

As an integral part of departmental processing procedures, other government institutions are consulted if access requests contain issues of interest to them. Although formal consultations are undertaken in writing, additional discussions between ATIP offices are initiated as required in order to facilitate the completion of each case. Consultations are also regularly undertaken with third parties and other levels of government.

As the environment is a shared jurisdiction, Environment and Climate Change Canada regularly receives access to information consultation requests from other federal and provincial departments that are processing files with records originating from or concerning the Department’s programs or services.

In 2020–2021, Environment and Climate Change Canada received 125 access to information consultations from other federal government institutions and 29 consultations from other organizations for a total of 154 consultations received. This constitutes a 49% decrease relative to the previous reporting period. There were 61 access consultations outstanding from the previous reporting period. In total, during the 2020–2021 reporting period, 120 consultations were completed. Sixty-six (66) access consultations were carried forward to the 2021-2022 reporting period.

Figure 6 provides the number of access to information consultations that were received by the ATIP Division from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021.

Figure 6 – Access consultations received, Access to Information Act, 2016 to 2021

The number of access to information consultations that were closed by the ATIP Division from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021 is found in Figure 7.

Figure 7 – Access consultations closed, Access to Information Act, 2016 to 2021

The number of pages processed in response to access to information consultations during the 2020–2021 reporting period decreased in comparison to the 2019–2020 reporting period: 4448 pages were processed for consultations compared to 12,805 pages during the previous period. This is a decrease of 66%.

Figure 8 displays the number of pages processed by the ATIP Division in response to access to information consultations received from 2016–2017 to 2020–2021

Figure 8 – Pages processed for access consultations, Access to Information Act, 2016 to 2021

During the 2020–2021 reporting period, 45 (37%) of the completed access consultations were processed within the initial 30-day period. This included 14 completed in the first 15 days and 31 completed between 16 and 30 days.

Proactive disclosure and informal requests

The ATIP Division works collaboratively with departmental officials to fulfill the proactive disclosure requirements found in Part II of the Access to Information Act.

During the 2020-2021 reporting period, the ATIP Division partnered with program leads to review and publish briefing note titles on a monthly basis as well as QP notes, in accordance with the legislative requirements. Additionally, a summary list of completed access to information requests is also published on the Open Government website on a monthly basis.

Environment and Climate Change Canada continues to process informal access to information requests. Between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, the Department received 99 informal access to information requests for previously released access to information packages. Environment and Climate Change Canada completed a total of 120 informal requests during the 2020–2021 reporting period. Ten (10) requests were carried forward to 2021-2022.

Furthermore, throughout the year, the ATIP Division provides advice to departmental staff with respect to informal requests, parliamentary questions and the review of draft audit, evaluation, security and harassment reports.

In 2020-2021, the ATIP Division processed 7 parliamentary questions. In addition, the ATIP Division provides advice to programs responding to other parliamentary questions. Over the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the ATIP Division also assisted program officials in two requests for the Production of Papers for Standing Committees.

The ATIP Division also assists other branches within the department in the review of various documents such as investigation reports and harassment complaint files. The ATIP review ensures that mandatory exemptions such as personal information and Cabinet confidence-related information are properly identified, where appropriate.

Fees

In the 2020–2021 reporting period, total fees of $6,085 were collected for the processing of 1217 requests. Fees were waived or refunded in a total of 34 requests.

Costs

The total costs involved in administering the Access to Information Act during the 2020-2021 reporting period were $1,353,727. This includes $1,034,280 for salaries, and $319,447 for goods and services ($311,275 for professional services contracts and $8,172 for other costs).

Training activities

The ATIP Division provides daily advice to departmental officials on the processing of ATIP requests as well as the interpretation of the Acts to ensure the efficient and consistent processing of all requests received by the Department.

As a result of the operational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, over the last year, the ATIP Division has focused on providing targeted training and assistance to help Environment and Climate Change Canada staff respond to requests. During the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the ATIP Division conducted five (5) formal information and training sessions that were attended by approximately 150 Environment and Climate Change Canada employees. The sessions included an overview of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act as well as a description of internal procedures and associated deadlines for responding to requests.

Impact of COVID-19 measures

The exceptional measures put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and protect the health and safety of Canadians continued to necessitate significant changes to the operations of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s ATIP Division over the 2020-2021 reporting period.

Over the year, the ATIP Division undertook several initiatives to assist in adapting to the changing work environment and improve operations. In spring 2020, the ATIP Division developed and implemented a new process to manage electronic documents. As a result, it deployed new guidance to assist program staff to retrieve and prepare records in response to requests and worked with program officials to facilitate the continued processing of requests.

In summer 2020, ECCC acquired and began using epost Connect, a Canada Post tool that allows departments to provide electronic responses to larger requests securely (up to Protected B). This provided ECCC with additional flexibility to provide larger volume electronic responses to requesters and to resume consultations on larger or sensitive requests.

Recognizing the importance of access to information and privacy to Canadians, in fall 2020, ECCC updated its Business Continuity Plan to recognize ATIP Division as an essential service.

The rapid pace of business transformation within ECCC since March 2020 has also significantly impacted the policy workload within the ATIP Division. The ATIP Division has been called upon to provide advice on the collection, use, retention and disposal of personal information in order to help reduce the risks associated with dozens of new initiatives or updated business processes.

As most program officials and ATIP Division staff continued to work remotely, throughout the fiscal year, the retrieval, and processing of classified and hard copy records remained difficult. In addition, the capacity to conduct consultations with other government departments and third parties varied according to their ability to receive and process consultation packages. As a result, most requests processed over the 2020-2021 period were administrative in nature. When necessary, the ATIP Division processed electronic records in response to requests and opened a second request for paper records that will be processed once program officials return to work onsite.

Within the ATIP Division, there was an increased onsite presence towards the end of the fiscal year which allowed staff to continue processing files containing classified and paper records.

Over the upcoming year, ECCC’s ATIP Division will continue to refine its electronic retrieval processes. These process improvements, along with increased onsite presence are expected to stabilize ATIP performance.

Policies, guidelines, procedures and reporting

Policy framework

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s access to information policy framework was approved in November 2012. No changes were brought to the access to information policy framework in 2020-2021.

Reporting

The ATIP Division regularly monitors the timeliness and trends associated with the processing of requests through ongoing communication with branch and directorate liaison contacts. This includes providing performance reports on the status of branch retrievals to branch head offices on a regular basis. In addition, weekly reports on the number of requests received are provided to the Deputy Minister’s Office and to the Communications Branch. ATIP updates are also provided to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Executive Management Committee

Publicly accessible information and inquiry points

Info Source is a series of publications containing information on the Government of Canada and on the Government’s data collection activities. Info Source is intended to help the public access government information and to exercise their rights under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act.

The ATIP Division is responsible for providing updates on Environment and Climate Change Canada’s activities and information holdings for publication in Info Source which is published on the Department’s website. While no changes were made to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Info Source Chapter in 2020-2021, updates are planned for next fiscal year.

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s comprehensive website provides information on the Department’s policies, its organizational structure and the means to contact departmental officials. In accordance with the federal government’s policy of proactive disclosure, the Department’s website also allows access to internal evaluations and audits, as well as information on hospitality expenses, contracts and grants.

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s website also has an access to information and privacy webpage that provides background information on both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It also contains a Frequently Asked Questions section and links to access to information request forms, personal information request forms and summaries of completed access to information requests.

In order to facilitate public access to information and to comply with the Act, the Environment and Climate Change Canada Library has been designated a public reading room. The library is located on the 1st floor of the Place Vincent Massey Annex, 351 St. Joseph Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec.

Online request service

Environment and Climate Change Canada has participated in the Treasury Board Secretariat Online Request Service Pilot Project since April 2014. This initiative makes the process of requesting government records simpler and more convenient by enabling Canadians to submit their ATIP requests and application fees online. In June 2019, the Department successfully migrated to the new Treasury Board Secretariat Online Request Service.

Environment and Climate Change Canada received received 1,492 access to information requests online during the 2020–2021 reporting period. This represents 89% of the total number of access requests received by the Department.

Complaints, audits, investigations and appeals

Applicants have the right to register a complaint with the Information Commissioner of Canada regarding any matter relating to the processing of a request.

As noted in Table 1, during the 2020–2021 reporting period, 36 complaints were filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada against Environment and Climate Change Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada provided representations to the Office of the Information Commissioner in 45 complaints and received a report of findings or recommendations in 10 of these complaints.

Table 1 – Complaints received in 2020 to 2021

Section 32 New complaints received	Section 35 Representations provided to the Office of the Information Commissioner	Section 37 Findings or recommendations received
36	45	10

Four (4) complaints received in 2020-2021, as well as 12 complaints from previous reporting periods were completed in 2020-2021, for a total of 16 complaints closed.

Thirty-two (32) complaints received in this reporting period and 29 complaints from previous years remain outstanding.

Table 2 provides a breakdown of the reasons for and results of the complaints that were completed in 2020–2021.

Table 2 – Results of investigations

Reason for complaint	Number of decisions	Well founded	Not well founded	Resolved	Discontinued
Delay	9	7	0	2	0
Exemptions	2	1	0	0	1
Extensions	0	0	0	0	0
Fees	0	0	0	0	0
Miscellaneous	0	0	0	0	0
Refusal – s.69	1	0	0	0	1
Refusal – General	4	0	2	1	1
Total	16	8	2	3	3

Explanation of the results of investigations

Well founded – Following an investigation, the Information Commissioner found that the government institution had failed to respect one or more of its obligations under the Access to Information Act

Not well founded – Following an investigation, the Commissioner found no or insufficient evidence to conclude that the government institution had failed to respect one or more of its obligations under the Access to Information Act.

Resolved – The complainant is satisfied with the resolution achieved through the Office of the Information Commissioner's intervention, or the matter central to the complaint is no longer at issue before the complaint has been fully investigated. For example, a delay complaint is resolved when the complainant receives a response to their request before the allegation of delay has been fully investigated. Likewise, a complaint about refusal of access is resolved when the complainant receives the withheld information at issue in the complaint before the allegation of proper application of exemptions has been fully investigated.

Discontinued – The complaint was withdrawn or abandoned before all the allegations were fully investigated. A complaint may be discontinued for various reasons. For example, the complainant may no longer be interested in pursuing the matter, or cannot be located to provide additional information critical to reaching a conclusion.

The Department reviews the outcomes of all of the Office of the Information Commissioner investigations and where appropriate, incorporates lessons learned into business processes.

There were no recommendations raised by other Agents of Parliament during the reporting period.

Applications/appeals to the Federal Court or Federal Court of Appeal

There were no applications or appeals filed to the Federal Court or Federal Court of Appeal during the 2020-2021 reporting period.

Appendix A: Statistical report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Environment and Climate Change Canada - ATIP Secretariat

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

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

Category	Number of requests
Received during reporting period	1,683
Outstanding from previous reporting period	746
Total	2,429
Closed during reporting period	1,251
Carried over to next reporting period	1,178

1.2 Sources of requests

Source	Number of requests
Media	241
Academia	16
Business (private sector)	1,237
Organization	55
Public	89
Decline to identify	45
Total	1,683

1.3 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
17	14	48	32	9	0	0	120

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

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

2.1 Number of requests

Source	Number of requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Sent during reporting period	0
Total	0
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0

Section 3: Requests closed during the reporting period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of requests	Completion time
	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
All disclosed	1	10	10	6	6	4	4	41
Disclosed in part	3	9	14	6	5	18	20	75
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
All excluded	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
No records exist	156	813	88	14	6	0	0	1,077
Request transferred	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
Request abandoned	23	11	11	1	0	0	5	51
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	188	843	124	27	17	22	30	1,251

3.2 Exemptions

Section	Number of requests
13(1)(a)	1
13(1)(b)	0
13(1)(c)	2
13(1)(d)	1
13(1)(e)	1
14	2
14(a)	2
14(b)	0
15(1)	2
15(1) - International Affairs	0
15(1) - Defence of Canada	0
15(1) - Subversive Activities	0
16(1)(a)(i)	0
16(1)(a)(ii)	0
16(1)(a)(iii)	0
16(1)(b)	0
16(1)(c)	1
16(1)(d)	0
16(2)	17
16(2)(a)	0
16(2)(b)	0
16(2)(c)	6
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
16.31	0
16.4(1)(a)	0
16.4(1)(b)	0
16.5	0
16.6	0
17	0
18(a)	0
18(b)	0
18(c)	0
18(d)	0
18.1(1)(a)	0
18.1(1)(b)	0
18.1(1)(c)	0
18.1(1)(d)	0
19(1)	62
20(1)(a)	0
20(1)(b)	9
20(1)(b.1)	0
20(1)(c)	7
20(1)(d)	1
20.1	0
20.2	0
20.4	0
21(1)(a)	21
21(1)(b)	25
21(1)(c)	2
21(1)(d)	0
22	0
22.1(1)	0
23	1
23.1	0
24(1)	0
26	0

3.3 Exclusions

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

3.4 Format of information released

Paper	Electronic	Other
1	114	1

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

Number of pages processed	Number of pages disclosed	Number of requests
38,650	23,819	169

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

Disposition	Less than 100 pages processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages processed		1001-5000 pages processed		More than 5000 pages processed
	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed
All disclosed	39	275	2	735	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	58	1,180	10	1,894	1	794	4	4,681	1	12,501
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
All excluded	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	46	4	1	24	0	0	4	1,731	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	144	1,459	13	2,653	2	794	9	6,412	1	12,501

3.5.3 Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation required	Assessment of fees	Legal advice sought	Other	Total
All disclosed	7	0	0	2	13
Disclosed in part	24	0	15	13	121
All exempted	1	0	0	0	1
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	3	5	4	0	27
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0
Total	34	0	2	1	37

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

Category	Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines	1,172
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	93.7

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Principal reason
	Interference with operations / workload	External consultation	Internal consultation	Other
79	51	3	2	23

3.7.2 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	8	9	17
16 to 30 days	1	4	5
31 to 60 days	1	6	7
61 to 120 days	0	6	6
121  to 180 days	0	4	4
181 to 365 days	0	22	22
More than 365 days	1	17	18
Total	11	68	79

3.8 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 4: Extensions

4.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of requests where an extension was taken	9(1)(a) Interference with operations	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-party notice
		Section 69	Other
All disclosed	30	0	13	3
Disclosed in part	57	1	30	18
All exempted	0	0	0	1
All excluded	1	0	1	0
No records exist	43	0	21	6
Request abandoned	9	0	6	7
Total	140	1	71	35

4.2 Length of extensions

Length of extensions	9(1)(a) Interference with operations	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-party notice
		Section 69	Other
30 days or less	121	0	2	0
31 to 60 days	14	0	28	34
61 to 120 days	4	1	40	1
121 to 180 days	1	0	1	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0	0
365 days or more	0	0	0	0
Total	140	1	71	35

Section 5: Fees

5.1 Fees

Fee type	Fee collected		Fee waived or refunded
	Number of requests	Amount	Number of requests	Amount
Application	1,217	$6,085	34	$170
Other fees	0	$0	0	$0
Total	1,217	$6,085	34	$170

Section 6: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

Consultations	Other Government of Canada institutions	Number of pages to review	Other organizations	Number of pages to review
Received during reporting period	125	5,543	29	1,876
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	61	9,156	5	6,990
Total	186	14,699	34	8,866
Closed during the reporting period	120	4,448	26	1,240
Carried over to next reporting period	66	10,251	8	7,626

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

Recommendation	Number of days required to complete consultation requests
	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
Disclose entirely	11	24	9	13	4	7	1	69
Disclose in part	2	7	13	9	6	9	0	46
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	5
Total	14	31	22	22	10	18	3	120

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Recommendation	Number of days required to complete consultation requests
	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
Disclose entirely	4	3	4	0	0	1	0	12
Disclose in part	2	2	5	1	0	0	1	11
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	1	1	0	0	0	2
Total	6	5	10	3	0	1	1	26

Section 7: Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with legal services

Number of days	Fewer than 100 pages processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages processed		1001-5000 pages processed		More than 5000 pages processed
	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	2	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	2	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of days	Fewer than 100 pages processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages processed		1001-5000 pages processed		More than 5000 pages processed
	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 8: Complaints and investigations

8.1 Complaints and investigations

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate	Subsection30(5) Ceased to investigate	Section 35 Formal representations	Section 37 Reports of finding received	Section 37 Reports of finding containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Section 37 Reports of finding containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
26	0	45	10	0	0

Section 9: Court action

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

Section 41 (before June 21, 2019)	Section 42	Section 44
0	0	0

9.2 Court actions on complaints received after June 21, 2019

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

Section 10: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

10.1 Costs

Expenditures	-	Amount
Salaries	-	$1,034,280
Overtime	-	$0
Goods and Services	-	$319,447
• Professional services contracts	$311,275	-
• Other	$8,172	-
Total	-	$1,353,727

10.2 Human resources

Resources	Person years dedicated to access to information activities
Full-time employees	10.600
Part-time and casual employees	1.700
Regional staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	1.500
Students	0.000
Total	13.800

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

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

Name of institution:

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Capacity to receive requests

Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to receive ATIP requests through the different channels.

Capacity to receive requests	Number of weeks
Able to receive requests by mail	46
Able to receive requests by email	52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service	52

Section 2: Capacity to process records

2.1 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels.

Classification level	No capacity	Partial capacity	Full capacity	Total
Unclassified paper records	6	46	0	52
Protected B paper records	6	46	0	52
Secret and top secret paper records	6	46	0	52

2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels.

Classification level	No capacity	Partial capacity	Full capacity	Total
Unclassified electronic records	0	0	52	52
Protected B electronic records	0	0	52	52
Secret and top secret electronic records	6	46	0	52

Appendix B: Designation order instrument

Access to Information and Privacy Delegation Order

The Minister of the Environment, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of the Privacy 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 of the Environment as the head of Environment and Climate Change Canada, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Schedule

Position	Access to Information Act and Regulations	Privacy Act and Regulations
Deputy Minister of the Environment	Full authority	Full authority
Associate Deputy Minister of the Environment	Full authority	Full authority
Director General, Corporate Secretariat	Full authority	Full authority
Director, Access to Information and Privacy	Full authority	Full authority
Manager, Access to Information and Privacy	Full authority	Full authority
Team Leader, Access to Information and Privacy	7(a), 8, 9, 11	15

Dated, at the City of Gatineau, Quebec, this 11th day of January 2017

(signed)

Catherine McKenna
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Canada