Access to Information Act, Privacy Act

ATIP Annual Report
2014-2015

Table of Contents

• Part One - Access to Information Act
• Introduction
• About Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Access to Information and Privacy Division
• Activities and Accomplishments
  • I. Performance
  • II. Initiatives
  • III. Promotion, Awareness and Training
  • IV. External Views
• Statistical Overview
  • I. Requests Received Under the Access to Information Act
  • II. Sources of Requests
  • III. Disposition of Completed Requests
  • IV. Exemptions Invoked
  • V. Consultations
  • VI. Extensions
  • VII. Completion Time
  • VIII. Complaints
  • IX. Appeals to the Federal Court
• Appendix A: Report on the Access to Information Act
• Appendix B: Delegation Order

• Part Two - Privacy Act
• Introduction
• About Citizenship and Immigration Canada
• Access to Information and Privacy Division
• Activities and Accomplishments
  • I. Performance
  • II. Initiatives
  • III. Promotion, Awareness and Training
  • IV. External Views
• Statistical Overview
  • I. Requests Received Under the Privacy Act
  • II. Disposition of Completed Requests
  • III. Exemptions Invoked
  • IV. Disclosure of Personal Information Under Subsection 8(2)
  • V. Consultations
  • VI. Extensions
  • VII. Completion Time
  • VIII. Complaints
  • IX. Privacy Breaches
  • X. Appeals to the Federal Court
  • XI. Privacy Impact Assessments
• Express Entry
• Immigration Contribution Agreement Reporting Environment (iCARE)
• International Student Program
• Temporary Resident Biometrics Project
• Appendix C: Report on the Privacy Act
• Appendix D: Delegation Order

Part One: Access to Information Act

Introduction

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is pleased to present to Parliament its 21st annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2014 and ending March 31, 2015.

The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution. The Act maintains that government 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 the government.

Section 72 of the Act requires the head of every federal government institution to submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year. This report outlines CIC's accomplishments in carrying out its access to information responsibilities and obligations during the 2014–2015 reporting period.

About Citizenship and Immigration Canada

CIC was created in 1994 to link citizenship registration and immigration services, to promote the unique ideals all Canadians share and to help build a stronger Canada. In November 2008, the Department's portfolio was expanded to include multiculturalism. In addition, effective July 2, 2013, primary responsibility for the Passport program and the administration of the Canadian Passport Order and the Order Respecting the Issuance of Diplomatic and Special Passports were transferred from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) to CIC.

Canada has a proud tradition of welcoming immigrants. Our immigration and refugee systems and our vast network of organizations that helps newcomers settle and integrate are among the best in the world. This tradition is enhanced by the value we place on multiculturalism, which is fundamental to our belief that all citizens are equal. Multiculturalism aims to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their ethnocultural community, have equal opportunities and feel they belong in Canada. Through multiculturalism, new Canadians are encouraged to integrate into Canadian society and to take an active part in its social, cultural, economic and political affairs.

CIC's mandate comes from the shared jurisdiction of section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the Citizenship Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, the Canadian Passport Order and the Order Respecting the Issuance of Diplomatic and Special Passports.

CIC's work encompasses a broad range of activities, including the following:

• facilitating the arrival of people and their integration into Canadian life in a way that maximizes their contribution to the country while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians;
• maintaining Canada's humanitarian tradition by protecting refugees and other people in need of protection;
• enhancing the values and promoting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship;
• administering the Canadian Passport Order;
• reaching out to all Canadians and fostering increased intercultural understanding and an integrated society with equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, ethnicity and religion; and
• advancing global migration policies in a way that supports Canada's immigration and humanitarian objectives.

Access to Information and Privacy Division

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division is part of the Corporate Affairs Branch in the Corporate Services Sector. The Division administers the Access to Information Act and is led by a director, who acts as the ATIP coordinator for the Department. Three units carry out the Division's work: Operations and Fast Track; Complex Cases and Issues; and Policy, Training and Projects. Each unit's manager reports to the director.

The ATIP Division receives, coordinates and processes requests for information under the Access to Information Act, providing high-quality and timely service to requesters. The Division also coordinates requests made under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

CIC maintains a network of 34 ATIP liaison officers, who represent the branches and regions of the Department. The ATIP liaison officers provide assistance by performing searches, collecting records and presenting recommendations related to requests.

Activities and Accomplishments

I. Performance

For another consecutive year, CIC received more Access to Information (ATI) requests than any other federal institution. A total of 34,066 ATI requests were received in the 2014–2015 fiscal year, which represents an increase of 16 percent from the previous year and breaks another record in ATIP's history. Although faced with a significant increase in volume, the Department processed 33,524 requests and maintained a high compliance rate of 87.81 percent.

II. Initiatives

In 2014–2015, CIC undertook the following initiatives to improve internal processes and client service under the Access to Information Act:

• developed a protocol document that clearly outlines and defines the roles and responsibilities of CIC employees, including senior officials, when responding to access and privacy requests;
• monitored the intake and processing of files on a weekly and monthly basis, regularly reassessed priorities and redistributed workloads in order to maintain a high compliance rate;
• improved client service delivery by automatically notifying external clients of ATIP service standards when an email enquiry is sent to the generic inbox.

In addition, through formal and informal consultations, CIC continues to collaborate and share best practices with various organizations, such as the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

These best practices in improving and modernizing ATIP operations will continue in 2015–2016 and beyond.

III. Promotion, Awareness and Training

During the fiscal year, the ATIP Division continued to promote ATIP awareness through a variety of approaches and mediums. The ATIP Division:

• distributed promotional messages throughout the Department, for example, Right to Know Week, the ATIP Bulletin and others;
• provided workshop presentations, training courses and awareness sessions to increase knowledge and understanding of ATIP and reinforce its importance across the Department;
• developed an online, narrated presentation that supported the implementation of the streamlined processing of ATIP requests for corporate records;
• worked collaboratively with the Information Management Branch to promote awareness of ATIP and information management best practices across the Department;

Overall, in 2014–2015, the ATIP Division trained (in-class and online) approximately 900 CIC employees across Canada and abroad.

IV. External Views

Treasury Board Secretariat Management Accountability Framework Assessment Extracts Related to Access to Information

CIC was not evaluated by TBS on the "Effectiveness of Information Management" stream for 2014−2015 as part of the Management Accountability Framework assessment.

Statistical Overview

I. Requests Received Under the Access to Information Act

CIC continues to be the most accessed federal institution, receiving an unprecedented 34,066 requests under the Access to Information Act between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. This total represents an increase of nearly 16 percent from the previous reporting period. The number of requests received by the Department has more than doubled in the past seven years. As noted above, CIC is addressing the increase in volume by continuing to improve efficiencies in order to respond to requests within the legislative time frame.

The majority of ATI requests received were for personal information files.

At the same time as the number of requests have increased, the volume and complexity of the information being considered has also increased. In 2014–15, CIC reviewed over 1,615,772 pages, representing an overall increase of 30 percent since last fiscal year. Using a single electronic system for the processing of all immigration and citizenship cases means that each file contains more detailed and varied information. The information is stored in multiple fields within the sole electronic repository. Therefore, when the information is retrieved, more pages are being reviewed.

II. Sources of Requests

The business sector is the largest source of requests, accounting for 52 percent of all requests. The general public accounts for 37 percent of requests. The remaining 9 percent of requests come from media, academia and other organizations. The other two percent represents requesters who declined to identify themselves.

III. Disposition of Completed Requests

In 2014–2015, CIC completed 33,524 requests. The ATIP Division put in place various measures, such as weekly briefing sessions with senior management, to monitor the intake of requests and to ensure that requests are processed within the legislative time frame.

In 9,916 cases (29 percent), CIC provided all the information requested. In 20,424 requests (61 percent), the Department invoked exemptions. Of the remaining 3,184 requests (10 percent), either no records existed or the request was transferred, abandoned or neither confirmed nor denied.

IV. Exemptions Invoked

The majority of exemptions invoked by CIC fell under three sections of the Access to Information Act:

• Subsection 19(1), which protects personal information, was used in 14,579 cases (43 percent);
• Subsection 15(1), which covers international relations, defence and subversive activities, was used in 8,929 cases (26 percent); and
• Subsection 16(1), which addresses law enforcement and criminal investigations, was used in 4,035 cases (12 percent).

It should be noted that more than one section can be applied to a specific request.

V. Consultations

In addition to processing requests received directly under the Access to Information Act, CIC was consulted by other federal government institutions in 242 cases in which the records under the control of these institutions related to CIC activities.

VI. Extensions

Section 9 of the Access to Information Act allows the statutory time limits to be extended, if consultations are necessary or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing it within the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Department.

CIC invoked a total of 1,465 extensions during the 2014–2015 reporting period. Extensions were required in 552 instances, when CIC consulted with other federal institutions prior to responding. Extensions were required in 883 instances to search through a large volume of records and/or to respond to the influx of requests, which interfered with operations. The Department also invoked 30 extensions to conduct third party notifications.

VII. Completion Time

CIC responded to 23,241 requests (69 percent) within 30 days or fewer and a further 8,217 requests (25 percent) within 31 to 60 days. The Department completed 1,252 requests (4 percent) within 61 to 120 days, and 814 requests (2 percent) required 121 days or more to complete.

VIII. Complaints

During the 2014–2015 reporting period, the Department was notified of 243 complaints received by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). This represents less than one percent of all requests completed during this period. The majority of complaints were related to processing times and extensions.

During the reporting period, 309 complaint investigations were completed. Of these, 71 complaints were abandoned, discontinued or deemed to be unfounded, and the remaining 238 complaints were resolved to the satisfaction of the requester.

IX. Appeals to the Federal Court

One appeal to the Federal Court was filed against CIC regarding the Access to Information Act during the 2014–2015 reporting period. A decision has yet to be rendered.

Appendix A: Report on the Access to Information Act

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Reporting period: 01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015

Part 1 - Requests under the Access to Information Act

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

Part 2 - Requests closed during the reporting period

2.5 Complexity

2.6 Deemed refusals

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: Complaints and Investigations

Part 8: Court Action

Part 9 - Resources related to the Access to Information Act

Appendix B: Delegation Order

Delegation of Authority under the Access to Information Act and the Access to Information Regulations

Legend

DM

Deputy Minister

ADMCS/DGCA

ADM, Corporate Services / Director General, Corporate Affairs

ATIP/DIR

Director, Access to Information and Privacy (EX-01)

ATIP/MCCI

Manager, Complex Cases and Issues, ATIP (PM-06)

ATIP/MPM05/
SUPPM04

Managers, Operations and Fast Track, ATIP (PM-05) / Supervisor, Fast Track (PM-04)

ATIP/PM05

Senior ATIP Administrators, ATIP (PM-05)

ATIP/PM04

ATIP Administrators, ATIP (PM-04)

ATIP/PM03

ATIP Officers, ATIP (PM-03)

Part Two: Privacy Act

Introduction

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is pleased to present to Parliament its 21st annual report on the administration of the Privacy Act for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2014 and ending March 31, 2015.

The purpose of the Privacy Act is to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution. The Act maintains that government 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 the government.

Section 72 of the Act requires the head of every federal government institution to submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year. This report outlines CIC's accomplishments in carrying out its privacy responsibilities and obligations during the 2014–2015 reporting period.

About Citizenship and Immigration Canada

CIC was created in 1994 to link citizenship registration and immigration services, to promote the unique ideals all Canadians share and to help build a stronger Canada. In November 2008, the Department's portfolio was expanded to include multiculturalism. In addition, effective July 2, 2013, primary responsibility for the Passport program and the administration of the Canadian Passport Order and the Order Respecting the Issuance of Diplomatic and Special Passports were transferred from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) to CIC.

Canada has a proud tradition of welcoming immigrants. Our immigration and refugee systems and our vast network of organizations that helps newcomers settle and integrate are among the best in the world. This tradition is enhanced by the value we place on multiculturalism, which is fundamental to our belief that all citizens are equal. Multiculturalism aims to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their ethnocultural community, have equal opportunities and feel they belong in Canada. Through multiculturalism, new Canadians are encouraged to integrate into Canadian society and to take an active part in its social, cultural, economic and political affairs.

CIC's mandate comes from the shared jurisdiction of section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the Citizenship Act, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, the Canadian Passport Order and the Order Respecting the Issuance of Diplomatic and Special Passports.

CIC's work encompasses a broad range of activities, including the following:

• facilitating the arrival of people and their integration into Canadian life in a way that maximizes their contribution to the country while protecting the health, safety and security of Canadians;
• maintaining Canada's humanitarian tradition by protecting refugees and other people in need of protection;
• enhancing the values and promoting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship;
• administering the Canadian Passport Order;
• reaching out to all Canadians and fostering increased intercultural understanding and an integrated society with equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, ethnicity and religion; and
• advancing global migration policies in a way that supports Canada's immigration and humanitarian objectives.

Access to Information and Privacy Division

CIC is stepping up the pace of modernizing the way it works by continuing to streamline its programs and operations. In 2012−2013, as part of the restructuring of CIC's presence across the country, CIC centralized the processing of Privacy requests, including requests from investigative bodies at National Headquarters in Ottawa, to improve service to the public. The Division also coordinates requests made under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division is part of the Corporate Affairs Branch in the Corporate Services Sector. The Division administers the Privacy Act and is led by a director, who acts as the ATIP coordinator for the Department. Three units carry out the Division's work: Operations and Fast Track; Complex Cases and Issues; and Policy, Training and Projects. Each unit's manager reports to the director.

CIC maintains a network of 34 ATIP liaison officers, who represent the branches and regions of the Department. The ATIP liaison officers provide assistance by performing searches, collecting records and presenting recommendations related to requests.

Activities and Accomplishments

I. Performance

In the 2014−2015 fiscal year, CIC received 13,778 privacy requests, representing a 38 percent increase from the previous reporting period.

II. Initiatives

In 2014–2015, CIC undertook the following initiatives to improve internal processes and client service under the Privacy Act:

• developed a protocol document that clearly outlines and defines the roles and responsibilities of CIC employees, including senior officials, when responding to access and privacy requests;
• monitored the intake and processing of files on a weekly and monthly basis, regularly reassessed priorities and redistributed workloads in order to maintain a high compliance rate;
• improved client service delivery by automatically notifying external clients of ATIP service standards when an email enquiry is sent to the generic inbox;
• improved the privacy breach policy suite to further strengthen the protection of personal information and reinforce the roles and responsibilities of all CIC employees in the reporting of breaches;
• initiated steps to develop a Privacy Framework that will strengthen the privacy program and policies across the Department. The expected benefits for CIC are to ensure better privacy practices and increased accountability as well as to mitigate privacy breaches and increase compliance with TBS policies.

In addition, through formal and informal consultations, CIC continues to collaborate and share best practices with various organizations, such as the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

These best practices in improving and modernizing ATIP operations will continue in 2015–2016 and beyond.

III. Promotion, Awareness and Training

During the fiscal year, the ATIP Division continued to promote ATIP awareness through a variety of approaches and mediums. The ATIP Division:

• distributed promotional messages throughout the Department, for example, privacy breach guidelines and tools, Privacy Matters, the ATIP Bulletin and others;
• provided workshop presentations, training courses and awareness sessions to increase knowledge and understanding of ATIP and reinforce its importance across the Department;
• developed an online, narrated presentation that supported the implementation of the streamlined processing of ATIP requests for corporate records;
• worked collaboratively with the Information Management Branch to promote awareness of ATIP and information management best practices across the Department.

Overall, in 2014–2015, the ATIP Division trained (in-class and online) approximately 900 CIC employees across Canada and abroad.

IV. External Views

Treasury Board Secretariat Management Accountability Framework Assessment Extracts Related to Access to Information

CIC was not evaluated by TBS on the "Effectiveness of Information Management" stream for 2014−2015 as part of the Management Accountability Framework assessment.

Statistical Overview

I. Requests Received Under the Privacy Act

Between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, CIC received 13,778 requests under the Privacy Act. This represents an increase of 38 percent from the previous reporting period.

II. Disposition of Completed Requests

The number of requests received and completed has increased significant–almost tripling over the past five years. In 2014–2015, CIC completed 13,082 requests. The ATIP Division put in place various measures, such as weekly briefing sessions with senior management, to monitor the intake of requests and to ensure that requests are processed within the legislative time frame.

The number of requests received and completed has increased significant–almost tripling over the past five years. In 2014–2015, CIC completed 13,082 requests. The ATIP Division put in place various measures, such as weekly briefing sessions with senior management, to monitor the intake of requests and to ensure that requests are processed within the legislative time frame.

III. Exemptions Invoked

The majority of exemptions invoked by CIC fell under three sections of the Privacy Act:

• Section 26, which protects personal information, was used in 5,013 cases (38 percent);
• Section 21, which covers international relations, defence and subversive activities, was used in 5,273 cases (40 percent); and
• paragraph 22(1)(b), which addresses law enforcement and criminal investigations, was used in 1,911 cases (15 percent).

It should be noted that more than one section can be applied to a specific request.

IV. Disclosure of Personal Information Under Subsection 8(2)

In accordance with subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act, under certain circumstances, a government institution may disclose personal information under its control without the consent of the individual to whom the information relates.

During this reporting period, CIC disclosed personal information under subsection 8(2) in responding to 1,866 requests from investigative bodies under paragraph 8(2)(e). CIC also disclosed information under paragraphs 8(2)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (f). No disclosures were made under paragraphs 8(2)(g), (h), (i), (k) and (l).

In addition, 12 requests were received under paragraph 8(2)(m)(ii) of the Privacy Act, with 11 of these resulting in the disclosure of personal information:

• A total of 11 requests were received from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The Agency requested the contact information (such as address, phone number or any other method of contact) of passengers on a commercial aircraft who were sitting in close proximity to a person with a communicable disease for longer than eight hours. The information released by CIC was limited to name and contact information. In all cases, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) was notified of the release at the same time as the disclosure to PHAC, due to the urgency of the requests.
• The remaining one request did not meet the criteria of paragraph 8(2)(m).

V. Consultations

In addition to processing requests received directly under the Privacy Act, CIC was consulted by other federal government institutions in 38 in which the records under their control related to CIC activities.

VI. Extensions

Section 15 of the Privacy Act allows the statutory time limits to be extended, if consultations are necessary, if translation is required or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing it within the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Department.

CIC invoked a total of 170 extensions during the 2014–2015 reporting period. Of these, 37 were deemed necessary because CIC needed to consult with other federal institutions prior to responding. Extensions were required in a further 133 instances to search for or through a large volume of records and/or to respond to the influx of requests, which interfered with operations. The Department did not invoke any extensions for translation purposes.

VII. Completion Time

While managing a significant increase in requests, CIC completed a majority of requests within 30 days. CIC responded to 9,174 requests (70 percent) within 30 days or fewer and a further 3,409 requests (26 percent) within 31 to 60 days. The Department completed 284 requests (2 percent) within 61 to 120 days, and 215 requests (2 percent) required 121 days or more to complete.

VIII. Complaints

During the 2014–2015 reporting period, the Department was notified of 22 privacy complaints received by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC). This represents less than half a percent of all requests completed during this period. The majority of complaints were related to processing times.

During the reporting period, 24complaint investigations were completed. Of these, 11 were deemed not well-founded or discontinued, while 13 were resolved to the satisfaction of the requester.

IX. Privacy Breaches

In 2014–2015, CIC notified the OPC and the TBS of 75 material privacy breaches. Many of these breaches involved misdirected mail. CIC monitors these privacy breaches closely and puts in place notification and remedial measures as information about an individual's case file could be used improperly including the potential identity theft.

The program area notified and sent apology letters to the affected individuals. The Division provided advice and guidance on containment and mitigation strategies to improve the protection of personal information. In addition, senior officials were notified of all material breaches to facilitate communication within the Department and raise awareness of issues that could hinder the public's right to privacy.

X. Appeals to the Federal Court

No appeals to the Federal Court were filed against CIC regarding Privacy Act complaints during the 2014–2015 reporting period.

XI. Privacy Impact Assessments

To fulfil its mandate and effectively deliver its programs and services, CIC collects, uses and discloses personal information. In accordance with the TBS policy, the Department regularly undertakes privacy impact assessments (PIAs) to determine whether privacy risks are present in new or existing departmental programs, initiatives or projects that collect and retain personal information.

During the 2014–2015 fiscal year, CIC completed four PIAs. Their executive summaries are provided below.

Express Entry

Launched January 1, 2015, Express Entry marks a key milestone in the Government of Canada's immigration system modernization agenda. Express Entry will facilitate faster and more flexible management of permanent economic immigration, and it will position Canada to target candidates with the skills and experience that result in positive labour market outcomes. The objective of the PIA report was to determine whether there are privacy risks associated with Express Entry and, if so, to provide recommendations on the mitigation or elimination of the risks. The report identified some privacy risks and made recommendations related to information sharing and the retention and disposition of personal information, all of which have been addressed by CIC.

Immigration Contribution Agreement Reporting Environment (iCARE)

CIC is responsible for promoting the integration of individuals into Canadian society in order to help build a stronger and more cohesive Canada. CIC's Settlement Program contributes to this objective by helping newcomers participate more fully in Canadian life.

Settlement outcomes are presently captured in CIC's Immigration Contribution Accountability Measurement System (iCAMS). This system is expected to be phased out with the introduction of iCARE, a new platform designed to support the delivery of settlement services and the measurement of service activities and outcomes. iCARE is expected to allow for the expansion of CIC's reporting capabilities and the refinement of statistical reporting measures.

The PIA report on iCARE examined CIC's introduction of a new web-based platform to capture settlement program data from its service providers. The PIA served to proactively manage and mitigate potential risks to newcomers' personal information related to settlement programming activities. Critical recommendations resulting from the PIA process were evaluated and addressed by management during the development and implementation of this initiative.

International Student Program

The PIA report pertains to the regulations to improve the integrity of the International Student Program under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The report addresses CIC's collection, use, disclosure, retention, disposition and safeguarding of the personal information of foreign nationals (i.e., not Canadian citizens or permanent residents) related to these new program requirements and authorities within CIC's mandate.

As part of the International Student Program, the holder of the study permit may be required to provide evidence to an officer of their compliance with study permit conditions. More specifically, an officer may request evidence in instances where there is reason to believe that the permit holder is not compliant with the study permit conditions, or evidence may be requested as part of a random assessment of the overall level of compliance with study permit conditions. The report identified some privacy risks, and mitigation strategies were implemented prior to the coming into force of the regulatory provisions.

Temporary Resident Biometrics Project

The PIA report is an update to the Interdepartmental Privacy Impact Assessment conducted in 2012 on the Temporary Resident Biometrics Project, which is a joint CIC, CBSA and RCMP project. The objectives of the PIA are to provide an update on the privacy risks and mitigation measures identified in the 2012 Temporary Resident Biometrics Project Privacy Impact Assessment and to identify and provide recommendations on any new risks associated with the Temporary Resident Biometrics Project since completion of the previous report.

The goal of the Temporary Resident Biometrics Project is to improve the quality of information provided to CIC and CBSA officers to allow them to make more informed decisions relating to an applicant's admissibility. Through biometrics, the identity of a Temporary Resident Visa, study permit or work permit applicant will be established at the time of application, authenticated through checks with Canadian criminal and immigration databases and verified by CBSA Border Services Officers when the individual arrives at a Port of Entry.

The PIA report describes all of the privacy risks identified during the development and implementation of the Temporary Resident Biometrics Project and the robust measures taken to mitigate these risks.

Appendix C: Report on the Privacy Act

Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Reporting period: 01/04/2014 to 31/03/2015

Part 1 - Requests under the Privacy Act

Part 2 - Requests closed during the reporting period

2.5 Complexity

2.6 Deemed refusals

Part 3 - Disclosures Under Subsection 8(2) and 8(5)

Part 4 - Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Part 5 - Extensions

Part 6 – Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

Part 7 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Part 8 - Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Part 9 - Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

Part 10 - Resources related to the Access to Information Act

Appendix D: Delegation Order

Delegation of Authority under the Privacy Act and the Privacy Regulations

Legend

DM

Deputy Minister

ADMCS/DGCA

ADM, Corporate Services / Director General, Corporate Affairs

ATIP/DIR

Director, Access to Information and Privacy (EX-01)

ATIP/MCCI

Manager, Complex Cases and Issues, ATIP (PM-06)

ATIP/MPM05/
SUPPM04

Managers, Operations and Fast Track, ATIP (PM-05) / Supervisor, Fast Track (PM-04)

ATIP/PM05

Senior ATIP Administrators, ATIP (PM-05)

ATIP/PM04

ATIP Administrators, ATIP (PM-04)

ATIP/PM03

ATIP Officers, ATIP (PM-03)