Health Canada Access to Information Act Annual Report 2013-2014

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  1. Access to Information Act
  2. About Health Canada
• Access to Information Infrastructure
  1. The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division
  2. Reading Room
• Delegation of Authority
• Requests under the Access to Information Act - Statistical Figures, Interpretation and Explanation
  1. Statistical Report
  2. Number of Access Requests and Case Load
  3. Disposition of Requests Completed
  4. Exemptions Invoked
  5. Exclusions Cited
  6. Disposition and Completion Time
  7. Extensions
  8. Translations
  9. Format of Information Released
  10. Fees
  11. Costs
• Training and Awareness
• New and/or Revised Institution Specific Access to Information Related Policies, Guidelines and Procedures
  1. ATIP Division
• Complaints and Court Applications for Reviews
  1. Complaints to the Information Commissioner
  2. Types of Complaints and their Disposition Completed in 2013-2014
  3. Applications/Appeals Submitted to the Federal Court / Federal Court of Appeal
  4. Responses to Recommendations raised by other Agents of Parliament
• Appendix A: Access to Information Act and Privacy Act - Delegation Order
• Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Introduction

I. Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act (the Act) gives the Canadian public a right to access information contained in federal government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions.

The Act requires the head of every federal government institution to submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act following the close of each fiscal year. This annual report is prepared and is being tabled before each House of Parliament in accordance with section 72 of the Act. This report summarizes how Health Canada has fulfilled its access to information responsibilities during the fiscal year 2013-2014.

II. About Health Canada

Health Canada (HC) is the federal department responsible for helping the people of Canada maintain and improve their health.

HC is committed to improving the lives of all of Canada's people and to making this country's population among the healthiest in the world as measured by longevity, lifestyle and effective use of the public health care system.

By working with others in a manner that fosters the trust of Canadians, HC strives to:

• Prevent and reduce risks to individual health and the overall environment;
• Promote healthier lifestyles;
• Ensure high quality health services that are efficient and accessible;
• Integrate renewal of the health care system with longer term plans in the areas of prevention, health promotion and protection;
• Reduce health inequalities in Canadian society; and
• Provide health information to help Canadians make informed decisions.

HC has regional offices in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic and Northern Regions.

For more information about Health Canada, please visit our website.

Access to Information Infrastructure

I. The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division is housed in the Planning, Integration and Management Services Directorate of the Corporate Services Branch at Health Canada.

In June 2012, under the terms of the HC and the Public Health Agency of Canada (the Agency) Shared Services Partnership Agreement, a shared service was established for the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act in the two institutions. 2013-2014 was the first full fiscal year under this new arrangement, and saw the implementation of a single ATIP Coordinator model for HC and the Agency.

The ATIP Coordinator is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures in order to enable efficient processing of requests under the Act. The Coordinator is also responsible for related policies, systems and procedures stemming from the Act. The division is responsible for all Access to Information (ATI) legislative requirements pursuant to the Act such as:

• Responding to access to information requests within the statutory time frame as well as meeting the duty to assist requesters;
• Providing advice and guidance to departmental employees on the application of the Act and Treasury Board of Canada policies and directives;
• Developing corporate-wide access to information protocols and practices to guide the ATI process;
• Promoting staff awareness and providing training on the Act;
• Ensuring that a comprehensive description of institutional responsibilities is published in Info Source, including for programs and functions, classes of records and all manuals;
• Preparing the annual report to Parliament and other statutory reports;

  and

• Liaising with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), other federal departments and agencies, provincial ministries of health and other key stakeholders.

In 2013-2014, the Act was administered at HC by 23.15 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees with the support of consultant services (16.45 FTE) and some part-time and casual employees for a total complement of 40.20 FTEs.

II. Reading Room

Section 71 of the Act requires government institutions to provide facilities where members of the public may inspect any manuals used by employees of the institution in administering or carrying out programs or activities of the institution that affect the public. HC has a reading room available where members of the public may make arrangements to review materials.

The following HC location in Ottawa has been designated as a public reading room:

Access to Information and Privacy Division
1600 Scott Street, Holland Cross,
Tower B, 7th Floor, Suite 700
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

Delegation of Authority

On July 11, 2013, a new delegation order for the Access to Information Act was signed by the Minister of Health. The new delegation order extends the delegation of authorities beyond the Coordinator to the Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General levels within HC's Corporate Services Branch. Select authorities have also been delegated to ATIP managers and analysts in order to more effectively manage the volume of access to information requests received. This revised approach was adopted to maximize operational efficiency while continuing to minimize risks.

The Delegation Order is attached as Appendix A.

Requests under the Access to Information Act - Statistical Figures, Interpretation and Explanation

I. Statistical Report

This section of the report includes an interpretation and explanation of the data contained in HC's statistical report which summarizes ATI-related activity for the period between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014 (Appendix B).

II. Number of Access Requests and Case Load

Number of Access Requests
Although there was a decrease in the number of requests received in 2013-2014 (1,563 as compared with 1,765 in 2012-2013), since 2008-2009, HC has seen an overall increase of 35% in the number of requests received.

Source of Requests: Trends
Of the 1,563 ATI requests received by HC in 2013-2014, 811 were from the business sector, representing 52% of all new requests.

As with past years, the majority of the requests received by HC are from businesses seeking information related to pharmaceuticals, medical devices and natural health products. As a result, HC must conduct a large number of complex third party consultations involving confidential business information. These records often involve large volumes of technical and scientific information, which can take additional time to review.

Requests from the academic, public, and media sectors saw significant increases in fiscal year 2013-2014 as compared with 2012-2013, and is depicted in the table below:

While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for this shift, it may point to a greater awareness of the Access to Information Act and an increased interest in health-related issues. It is also possible that HC's participation in the Access to Information and Privacy Online Request tool has simplified access for certain requestors.

Informal Requests
Whenever feasible to do so, HC processes requests informally as "access informal". The department has seen an increase in the use of this processing method which includes previously released ATI packages. In 2013-2014, HC processed 395 requests as "access informal" compared to 524 requests in 2012-2013. The decrease can be explained by the fact that requestors will often ask for multiple previously released packages in one request. HC is looking at ways to modify the process around "access informal" requests in order to attain more reliable data for future reports. This will also allow the department to adequately assess performance associated with these requests.

In addition to "access informal" requests, where possible, HC provides information informally. This includes information that is publically available, where a link to a website will be forwarded to the requester. Requests treated in this manner are classified as "treated informally" for the purpose of statistical reporting. In 2013-2014, HC processed 28 requests that were "treated informally".

Case Load
During the 2013-2014 fiscal year, HC completed the processing of 1,446 of 2,148 (67%) active requests. Active requests included 1,563 new requests and 585 requests carried over from previous years.

While 2013-2014 saw a significant decrease from the previous year in the number of pages reviewed, there are a number of factors that contributed to this result. First, HC has attempted to be more strategic in the manner with which it deals with its requests, and has dedicated more resources to front-end processes. For example, requests are more closely analyzed and discussed with the requestor from the outset, in an attempt to retrieve records that respond to their needs. In a similar vein, ATIP has worked with departmental officials to help ensure that documents retrieved are relevant to the request. Finally, it is worth noting that the number of pages reviewed relate only to files closed during 2013-2014, and do not account for large active requests still under review at the end of the fiscal year.

Posting of Completed ATI Requests
HC proactively posts on its web site monthly summaries of completed access to information requests to facilitate Canadians' right of access to departmental records.

Consultations Completed from Other Institutions
In 2013-2014, HC completed 164 consultations (10,113 pages) from other federal institutions, and completed 14 consultations from other jurisdictions. This represented a marginally lower number of cases (10), while the amount of pages increased from the previous year by 967.

III. Disposition of Requests Completed

Completed requests were classified as follows:

IV. Exemptions Invoked

Sections 13 through 24 of the Act set out the exemptions intended to protect information pertaining to a particular public or private interest, and section 26 of the Act is a discretionary exception relating to information to be published.

The vast majority of the 1,730 exemptions invoked by HC focussed on three sections of the Act - section 19 (personal information), section 20 (third party information), and section 21 (operations of government).  Together, these accounted for 1,509 or 87%, of the exemptions applied in 2013-2014.  It is worth noting that the invocation of section 20 on 458 occasions necessitated numerous consultations with third parties, many of which were large multi-national corporations.  This has a significant impact on resources, within the ATIP division as well as the Legal Services Unit, due to the possibility of legal proceedings.  The need to conduct extensive consultations that are often very technical in nature has also, in some instances, had an impact on the department's ability to meet legislative timeframes.

V. Exclusions Cited

The Act does not apply to published material, material available to the public for purchase or for public reference (section 68); nor does it apply to confidences of the Queen's Privy Council (section 69). Requests containing proposed exclusions under section 69 require consultation with the Department of Justice, and potentially the Privy Council Office. During 2013-2014, HC applied 20 exclusions pursuant to section 68 of the Act, and 44 exclusions for section 69 of the Act.

VI. Disposition and Completion Time

HC tracks the disposition of closed requests and the length of time taken to process them. Of the total caseload of 2,148 requests, HC completed 1,446 cases and carried over 702 active requests to fiscal year 2014-2015.

HC was able to respond within 30 days or less in 701 (49%) of completed cases. The remaining requests can be categorized into 31 to 60 days, 61 to 120 days, and 121 days or more, and are depicted in the table below. It is important to note that the deadlines for many of these requests were legally extended under the Act.

VII. Extensions

Legal extensions were most frequently invoked to provide time to complete third party consultations and notifications, and to process voluminous records.  In 2013-2014, HC invoked 719 extensions under section 9(1) of the Act, a decrease from 757 in 2012-2013.

VIII. Translations

One English to French translation was required to respond to a request made under the Access to Information Act in 2013-2014.

IX. Format of Information Released

Of requests that were fully or partially disclosed, 732 were sent out in paper format. This number, however, represents only 14% of the total pages released. Comparatively, 246 requests were released electronically, representing 86% of pages released.

HC's imaging software allows the department to respond to formal ATI requests using Portable Document Format (PDF) which provides more delivery options to the public. Released documents can be mailed on CD-ROM which eliminates the need for photocopying. It is anticipated that the use of electronic formats for the release of information will continue to grow in future years.

X. Fees

The Act authorizes fees for certain aspects of processing formal requests and the fee structure is prescribed in the ATI Regulations. Accordingly, HC cannot charge fees for reviewing records, overhead or shipping, nor can it charge for the first five hours needed to search for a record or prepare any part of it for disclosure.

Based on requests completed in 2013-2014, HC collected $5,950 in application fees and $523 in search fees for a total of $6,473 submitted to the Receiver General for Canada. In addition, HC waived $7,722 in fees for 1,167 requests in accordance with its duty to assist applicants.

XI. Costs

HC spent a total of $4,814,319 on ATI functions in 2013-2014. Of this total, salaries accounted for $1,644,721 and administration for $3,169,598, most of which was used to retain temporary help to address the volume and complexity of requests. Staffing for the fiscal year amounted to 40.20 full-time employees dedicated to ATI activities. These figures do not include administrative support, management, reporting, monitoring and policy resources nor do they include their overhead cost which contributed to overall support of the operations of the application of the Act. It is important to note that these amounts relate only to the costs associated within the ATIP division, and do not account for additional costs that other divisions within HC bear for responding to ATI requests.

Training and Awareness

Training for HC Employees

Within the ATIP division, there is one employee designated as a full time training coordinator. Training sessions regarding the Act and related processes are delivered to HC employees on a regular basis. Twenty-seven (27) "ATI 101" training sessions, with 349 attendees, took place during 2013-2014. The basic objectives of the course are to impart an understanding of the Act, roles and responsibilities, the handling of formal and informal requests, basic grounds to withhold information and how to process an ATI request. Additionally, four other sessions were customized for specific teams, attended by 44 attendees.

Orientation and Awareness

HC continued to increase awareness among employees of their responsibilities under the Act by advertising sessions open to all employees through Broadcast News messages (a daily electronic newsletter sent to every HC employee). In 2013-2014, the ATIP division also established a working group with representatives from all parts of the department to discuss issues related to ATI processes and policies. This group has helped to foster a broader understanding of the Act and has yielded excellent feedback that helped in improving efficiencies and processes.

New and/or Revised Institution-Specific Access to Information Related Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

I. ATIP Division

The HC-PHAC Shared Services Partnership, launched on June 29, 2012, enabled the streamlining and simplification of HC and Agency ATIP operations which included treatment of ATI and privacy requests, as well as privacy policy and other key functions. 2013-2014 was the first complete year under the new shared services model and work continued on activities to integrate and optimize service delivery.

ATI Delegation Order
As noted earlier, on July 11, 2013, a new delegation order was signed by the Minister of Health. The new delegation order extends the delegation of authorities beyond the Coordinator to the Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General levels and, in select cases, to ATIP managers and analysts. The revised approach was adopted to maximize operational efficiency while continuing to minimize risks.

Organizational Renewal
Work continued to enhance resources to strengthen and stabilize the ATIP function at HC and the Agency. This included a strategy to move away from temporary help consultants to full-time employees. Competitive staffing processes were completed in the fourth quarter of 2013-2014 in order to position ATIP to fill vacancies in 2014-2015 to support the revised structure. It is anticipated that staffing activities will continue through 2014-2015 in order to build internal capacity.

Business Processes
In 2013-2014, work continued on harmonizing institutional processes between HC and the Agency. A major milestone was the implementation of a single ATIP Coordinator model for both HC and the Agency. This approach, believed to be the first of its kind in the federal government, was adopted following extensive departmental consultations with the Legal Services unit and human resources section. The model is fully compliant with legislative requirements, and involves the cross-appointment of select delegated authorities to both institutions.

HC and the Agency also addressed the 'care and custody' of records that are owned by one department, yet used by the other. For example, HC has 'care and custody' of the Agency's Human Resources records which can now be accessed through a harmonized institutional process.

The management team and staff members continue to be engaged in the implementation of strengthened processes around ATIP requests.

IT Systems Modernization
A case management and imaging system has been procured to improve the ability to track and respond to requests, enhance efficiencies, streamline ATIP processes, and enhance reporting capacity. Much of the work performed in 2013-2014 consisted of system modification and testing, in collaboration with internal and external partners.

Governance and Outreach
There is an ongoing focus on employee engagement within the division and on stakeholder engagement through meetings with branches, central agencies and other government departments. An Office of Primary Interest (OPI) - ATI working group has been established which has led to increased awareness and engagement on issues related to ATI.

Complaints and Court Applications for Reviews

I. Complaints to the Information Commissioner

During 2013-2014, 50 complaints under the Act were filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) related to requests completed by HC.

The department reviews the outcomes of all OIC investigations, and where appropriate, incorporates lessons learned into business processes.

II. Types of Complaints and their Disposition Completed in 2013-2014

III. Applications/Appeals Submitted to the Federal Court / Federal Court of Appeal

At the beginning of 2013-2014, four applications, made pursuant to subsection 44(1) of the Access to Information Act for review of Health Canada's decision to disclose information, were before the Federal Court. Five additional applications were filed pursuant to subsection 44(1) of the Act during the fiscal year. Of these nine applications, three were dismissed, three were discontinued, and three are still ongoing.

In addition, one application was filed in Federal Court by the Information Commissioner pursuant to subsection 42(1) of the Act. This application relates to the use of section 23 of the Act (solicitor-client privilege) with the hearing scheduled for Fall 2014.

IV. Responses to Recommendations raised by other Agents of Parliament

There were no recommendations raised by other Agents of Parliament during fiscal year 2013-2014.

Appendix A: Access to Information Act and Privacy Act - Delegation Order

Delegation of Authority

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

I, the Minister of Health, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of the Privacy Act, hereby designate the persons holding the positions set out in the Delegation of Authority Schedule attached 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 Health Canada, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation supersedes all previous delegation orders.

The Honorable Leona Aglukkaq, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Health
July 11, 2013

Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

TBS/SCT 350-62
Name of institution: Health Canada
Reporting period: 2013-04-01 to 2014-03-31

Part 1 - Requests under the Access to Information Act

Part 2 - Requests closed during the reporting period

Part 3 - Extensions

Part 4 - Fees

Part 5 - Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

Part 6 - Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

Part 7 - Resources related to the Access to Information Act