2017 to 2018 Annual Report on the Access to Information Act

From: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

Introduction

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC - Agency) is pleased to submit to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act (the Act) for the reporting period commencing on April 1, 2017, and ending on March 31, 2018. This report was prepared and tabled in accordance with section 72 of the Act.

The Access to Information Act, which took effect on July 1, 1983, gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or any person and corporation present in Canada, a right to access information contained in government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada derives its mandate from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act (FCAC Act). The FCAC Act outlines the Agency’s functions and administration and enforcement powers, and lists the sections of federal laws and regulations under its supervision.

Section 3(2) of the FCAC Act states the following objectives:

(a) supervise financial institutions and external complaints bodies to determine whether the institution or body is in compliance with

(i) the consumer provisions applicable to them, and

(ii) the terms and conditions or undertakings with respect to the protection of customers of financial institutions that the Minister imposes or requires, as the case may be, under an Act listed in Schedule 1 and the directions that the Minister imposes under this Act;

(b) promote the adoption by financial institutions and external complaints bodies of policies and procedures designed to implement the provisions, terms and conditions, undertakings or directions referred to in paragraph (a);

(b.1) promote the adoption by financial institutions of policies and procedures designed to implement

(i) voluntary codes of conduct that are designed to protect the interests of their customers, that are adopted by financial institutions and that are publicly available, and

(ii) any public commitments made by them that are designed to protect the interests of their customers;

(c) monitor the implementation of voluntary codes of conduct that are designed to protect the interests of customers of financial institutions, that have been adopted by financial institutions and that are publicly available, and to monitor any public commitments made by financial institutions that are designed to protect the interests of their customers;

(d) promote consumer awareness about the obligations of financial institutions and of external complaints bodies under consumer provisions applicable to them and about all matters connected with the protection of consumers of financial products and services;

(e) foster, in co-operation with any department, agency or agent corporation of the Government of Canada or of a province, financial institutions and consumers and other organizations, an understanding of financial services and issues relating to financial services;

(f) monitor and evaluate trends and emerging issues that may have an impact on consumers of financial products and services; and

(g) collaborate and coordinate its activities with stakeholders to contribute to and support initiatives to strengthen the financial literacy of Canadians.

Section 3(3) of the FCAC Act states the following objectives:

(a) supervise payment card network operators to determine whether they are in compliance with the provisions of the Payment Card Networks Act and its regulations;

(b) promote the adoption by payment card network operators of policies and procedures designed to implement the provisions of the Payment Card Networks Act and its regulations;

(c) monitor the implementation of voluntary codes of conduct that have been adopted by payment card network operators and that are publicly available, and to monitor any public commitments made by them regarding their commercial practices in relation to payment card networks; and

(d) promote public awareness about the obligations of payment card network operators under a voluntary code of conduct or under the Payment Card Networks Act.

The Agency has one strategic outcome:

The rights of financial consumers are protected and the financial literacy of Canadians is strengthened.

This strategic outcome contributes to the Government of Canada’s outcome of a fair and secure marketplace.

Organization of activities

The Agency’s Commissioner is the designated head of FCAC for the purpose of the Access to Information Act. The Commissioner has approved internal designation to the positions of Deputy Commissioner; Managing Director, Corporate Services; Senior ATIP Officer; and Information Management Officer. This serves to oversee the administration of the Access to Information Act within the Agency and ensures compliance with the legislation.

Four employees currently fulfill the Agency’s access to information and privacy (ATIP) obligations under the legislation which one is on a full time basis.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective Agency policies, guidelines, systems and procedures relevant to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. This ensures that the Agency’s responsibilities under both Acts are met and that there is appropriate processing and proper protection and disclosure of information.

The main activities of the ATIP Coordinator (Managing Director, Corporate Services) include:

processing requests under the Access to Information Act;
developing and maintaining policies, procedures and guidelines to ensure the Act is respected by FCAC;
promoting awareness of the Act to ensure FCAC’s responsiveness to the obligations imposed on the government;
monitoring FCAC’s compliance with the Act, regulations and relevant procedures and policies;
preparing annual reports to Parliament and other statutory reports, as well as other material that may be required by central agencies;
representing FCAC in dealings with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and other government departments and agencies regarding the application of the Act as it relates to the Agency; and,
supporting FCAC in meeting its commitments in relation to greater openness and transparency through proactive disclosure of information and the disclosure of information through informal avenues.

Reading Room

The Agency has provided space for a reading room where the public may consult documents, at the following address:

Enterprise Building
427 Laurier Avenue West
6th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario

Delegation Order

The Delegation Order sets out the powers, duties and functions for the administration of the Access to Information Act that have been delegated by the Agency’s Commissioner as the head of the institution. The Delegation Order is attached as Appendix A.

Statistical Report

The Statistical Report is attached as Appendix B.

Requests

During this reporting period, the Agency received 13 formal requests under the Act - seven more than the 2016-2017 fiscal year (an increase of 117%). Within this reporting period, six requests were processed and the remaining seven were carried over to the next reporting year. The Agency did not receive any informal requests.

Three of the formal requests processed were completed within the 30-day set time frame, two within 60 days and the sixth one within 73 days. Although, 67% of the requests were responded to within the established timelines, the Agency did not meet the set time frame for two requests due to workload and an extension taken past the 30-day set time frame.

Of the six requests closed during this reporting period, the Agency disclosed one in its entirety, had no records for two and excluded one request due to cabinet confidence as per section 69(1)(e) of the Act. The remaining two requests were partially disclosed invoking sections 16(1)(c), 20(1)(b) and (c) of the Act and required multiple consultations. Of the three requests which documents were released, two were provided electronically and one on paper. These six requests required the processing of 218 pages.

Consultations

During this reporting period, the Agency did not receive any consultations from other organizations. Consultation from other government institutions increased by 11%. Of the ten consultations received, seven were processed within 30 days of their receipt and three within 60 days. The Agency recommended full disclosure of seven of these and the partial disclosure of the remaining three consultations.

Multi-Year Trends

Number of Requests	2014–2015	2015–2016	2016–2017	2017–2018
Received	3	5	6	13
Carried over from the previous period	2	0	1	0
Carried over to the next period	0	1	0	7
Processed	5	4	7	6
Fully disclosed	4	0	3	1
Partially disclosed	1	3	3	2
No records	0	1	0	2
All excluded	0	0	1	1
Exemptions invoked	20(1)(b) 21(1)(b) 23	16(1)(a) 19(1) 20(1)(c) 21(1)(a)	14 19(1) 20(1)(b) 21(1)(b) 26	16(1)(c) 20(1)(b)(c)
Exclusions invoked	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	69(1)(e)
Consultations	8	7	9	10

As a result of the significant increase in ATIP volume, the Agency reviewed its ATIP business process and dedicated one resource completely to the support and processing of ATI and Privacy requests.

Awareness and training activities

During this reporting period, no formal training sessions on the Act took place at the Agency, however a coaching approach was applied with employees involved with the access to information process. As such, an individual’s responsibilities were explained and the retrieval obligations and workflow were described and their application monitored.

Agency policies and procedures

During this reporting period, the Agency applied its institution-specific policies and procedures for the processing of requests. FCAC monitors processing times by entering all actions and activities in an electronic database. A timeline for processing is established according to permissible legislation time frames. This timeline and accompanying workflow were reviewed and adjusted. As the ATIP Coordinator, the Managing Director, Corporate Services, monitors Agency compliance with these timelines.

Access to Information Act complaints

During this reporting period, seven complaints were filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) and no appeals to the courts were raised by OIC. Six of the complaints pertaining to extension are pending resolution of an OIC investigation. The Agency is awaiting feedback from the OIC in relation to two complaints (one from 2017/18 and the other from 2015/16).

Costs

During this reporting period, the costs directly related to the application of the Access to Information Act totalled $105,500.

Personnel…………………………………………………………$105,500

The person-years dedicated to the Access to Information Act activities during this reporting period are estimated at 1 FTEs.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

Access to Information Act Designation Order

The Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the following persons to exercise or perform the powers, duties or functions of the head of the institution set out in the sections of the act indicated next to beside each position.

Original signed by

Lucie Tedesco
Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Date October 9, 2013

Section of the Access to Information Act	Powers, duties or functions	Position
7	Notice when access requested and Giving access to record	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
8	Transfer of request to another government institution	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services Manager, Administrative Services Information Management Officer
9	Extension of time limits	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services Manager, Administrative Services Information Management Officer
11	Additional fees	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services Manager, Administrative Services Information Management Officer
12	Language of access and Access in an alternative format	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
13	Exemption – Information obtained in confidence	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
14	Exemption – Federal-Provincial affairs	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
15	Exemption – International affairs and defense	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
16	Exemption- Law enforcement and investigation and Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
17	Exemption – Safety of individuals	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
18	Exemption – Economic interests of Canada and Economic interests of Canada Post, Export Development Canada, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and VIA Rail Canada Inc.	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
19	Exemption – Personal information	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services Manager, Administrative Services Information Management Officer
20	Exemption – Third-party Information	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
21	Exemption – Operations of government	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
22	Exemption – Testing procedures, tests and audits and Audit working papers and draft audit reports	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
23	Exemption – Solicitor-client privilege	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
24	Exemption – Statutory prohibitions	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
25	Severability	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
26	Exception – Information to be published	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
27	Third-party notification	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
28	Third-party notification	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
29	Where the Information Commissioner recommends disclosure	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
33	Advising Information Commissioner of third-party involvement	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
35	Right to make representations	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
37	Notice of actions to implement recommendations of the Information Commissioner and Access to be given to complainant	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
43	Notice to third party (application to Federal Court for review)	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
44	Notice to applicant (application to Federal Court by third party)	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
52	Special rules for hearings	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services
71	Facilities for inspection of manuals	Deputy Commissioner Director of Corporate Services

Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

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

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests
	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	13
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Total	13
Closed during reporting period	6
Carried over to next reporting period	7

1.2 Sources of requests
Source	Number of Requests
Media	7
Academia	0
Business (private sector)	3
Organization	0
Public	3
Decline to Identify	0
Total	13

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
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Part 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 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	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Disclosed in part	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
No records exist	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
Request transferred	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	3	2	1	0	0	0	6

2.2 Exemptions
Section	Number of Requests
13(1)(a)	0
13(1)(b)	0
13(1)(c)	0
13(1)(d)	0
13(1)(e)	0
14	0
14(a)	0
14(b)	0
15(1)	0
15(1) - I.A.*	0
15(1) - Def.*	0
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)	1
16(1)(d)	0
16(2)	0
16(2)(a)	0
16(2)(b)	0
16(2)(c)	0
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
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)	0
20(1)(a)	0
20(1)(b)	2
20(1)(b.1)	0
20(1)(c)	1
20(1)(d)	0
20.1	0
20.2	0
20.4	0
21(1)(a)	0
21(1)(b)	0
21(1)(c)	0
21(1)(d)	0
22	0
22.1(1)	0
23	0
24(1)	0
26	0

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

2.3 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)	1
69(1)(f)	0
69(1)(g) re (a)	0
69(1)(g) re (b)	0
69(1)(g) re (c)	0
69(1)(g) re (d)	0
69(1)(g) re (e)	0
69(1)(g) re (f)	0
69.1(1)	0

2.4 Format of information released
Disposition	Paper	Electronic
All disclosed	1	0
Disclosed in part	0	2
Total	1	2

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition of Requests	Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests
All disclosed	114	114	1
Disclosed in part	55	40	2
All exempted	0	0	0
All excluded	49	0	1
Request abandoned	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0

2.5.2 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
Disposition	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	0	0	1	114	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	2	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	3	40	1	114	0	0	0	0	0	0

2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition	Consultation Required	Legal Advice Sought	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	2	0	2
All exempted	0	0	0
All excluded	0	1	1
Request abandoned	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0
Total	2	1	3

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Number of Requests Closed Past the Statutory Deadline	Principal Reason
Number of Requests Closed Past the Statutory Deadline	Workload	External Consultation	Internal Consultation	Other
2	1	0	0	1

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline
Number of Days Past Deadline	Number of Requests Past Deadline Where No Extension Was Taken	Total
1 to 15 days	1	1
16 to 30 days	0	0
31 to 60 days	1	1
61 to 120 days	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0
More than 365 days	0	0
Total	2	2

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

Part 3: Extensions

3.1 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
Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations	Section 69	Other	9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
All disclosed	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	1	1
All exempted	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	1	1

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

Part 4: Fees

Fee Type	Fee Collected		Fee Waived or Refunded
Fee Type	Number of Requests	Amount	Number of Requests	Amount
Application	11	$55	2	$10
Search	0	$0	0	$0
Production	0	$0	0	$0
Programming	0	$0	0	$0
Preparation	0	$0	0	$0
Alternative format	0	$0	0	$0
Reproduction	0	$0	0	$0
Total	11	$55	2	$10

Part 5: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations
Consultations	Other Government of Canada Institutions	Number of Pages to Review
Received during reporting period	10	282
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	0	0
Total	10	282
Closed during the reporting period	10	282
Pending at the end of the reporting period	0	0

5.2 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	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	7
Disclose in part	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	3
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	5	2	3	0	0	0	0	10

5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations
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	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Part 6: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

6.1 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 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	1	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	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

6.2 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 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

Part 7: Complaints and Investigations

Section 32	Section 35	Section 37	Total
7	0	7

Part 8: Court Action

Section 41	Section 42	Section 44	Total
0	0	0	0

Part 9: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

9.1 Costs
Expenditures	Amount
Salaries	$105,500
Overtime	$0
Goods and Services	$0
Professional services contracts	$0
Other	$0
Total	$105,500

9.2 Human Resources
Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees	1.00
Part-time and casual employees	0.00
Regional staff	0.00
Consultants and agency personnel	0.00
Students	0.00
Total	1.00

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Date modified:: 2023-10-12