Access to Information Act, Privacy Act, Annual Report 2020-2021

PDF version: Privacy Act, Access to Information Act, Annual Report 2020-2021 (PDF, 1.3 MB)

Table of Contents

Executive summary

Since Canada’s inception in 1867, the Canadian identity has been formed by the diverse cultures, religions, histories and languages of English, French and the Indigenous peoples. Immigration has helped to build the country that the world sees today – a diverse society with strong economic and social foundations, and with continued potential for further growth and prosperity. Millions of eligible people from around the world have chosen to reside in Canada and make it their new home. Whether seeking better economic opportunities, reuniting with family members, or seeking protection as resettled refugees or other protected persons, newcomers to Canada have been a major source of ongoing growth and prosperity. Along with those who migrate to Canada permanently, many individuals come to Canada to stay temporarily, whether as a visitor, international student or a temporary foreign worker. Regardless of their pathway into Canada, they all contribute in a meaningful way to Canada’s economy, support the success and growth of various industries and contribute to Canada’s diversity and multiculturalism.

This past year, the global pandemic has presented incredible challenges for many in Canada and around the world, while at the same time shining a bright light on the incredible contribution of newcomers to the well-being of Canada’s communities and across all sectors of the economy. It has shown Canada’s resilience and ability to step up, to adapt and to be innovative, and it has shown Canadians the key role that newcomers play in our economic recovery and in helping us build back better.

In recent years, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has experienced significant increases in some of its most important lines of business as many around the world seek to enter Canada temporarily or permanently, and as increasing numbers of eligible permanent residents seek to become Canadian citizens. The Government of Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2021-2023 aims to welcome 401,000 new permanent residents in 2021, 411,000 in 2022, and 421,000 in 2023. As volumes increase in other IRCC business lines, there is a direct link with significant increases in Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request volumes. There is an urgency for the Department to further innovate its processes and improve its technology in an effort to maintain service levels and continue to deliver on the Government of Canada and IRCC’s commitment to openness and transparency.

In 2019-2020, IRCC received 74.80% percent of all Access to Information requests and 20.30% of all Privacy requests submitted to federal government institutions. The growth in the number of ATIP requests over the past several years has been unprecedented. The need to address the root cause of the dramatic increase in access requests and complaints has further been highlighted in a report by the current Information Commissioner, Caroline Maynard. The report was issued following a systemic investigation into IRCC’s processing of requests for immigration application files from April 1, 2017, to February 26, 2020. The Commissioner provided IRCC with 5 recommendations. The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship responded to the Information Commissioner on April 15, 2021, and submitted the Department’s work plan and Management Action Plan. IRCC would like to take this opportunity to thank the Commissioner for her ongoing support and collaboration as we continue to strive for excellence.

IRCC manages a considerable volume of personal information as part of delivering its programs and services, and the Department remains committed to responsibly safeguarding, using and disclosing the personal information held by IRCC. During the reporting period, commencing April 1, 2020, and ending March 31, 2021, IRCC completed one (1) Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) exploring privacy risks in one (1) new departmental initiative. In addition, the ATIP Division provided 364 occurrences of privacy policy advice concerning information sharing, consent, surveys, contracts, privacy notices and other matters; this number also includes privacy advice on Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs), Privacy Needs Assessments (PNAs) and Privacy Compliance Evaluations (PCEs).

IRCC is unique in that most of the requests it receives under the Access to Information Act are for the personal information of its clients. This is because the majority of its requests concern IRCC clients who are foreign nationals that rely on representatives to submit an Access to Information Act request on their behalf and with their consent to seek information about their IRCC immigration file.

To manage these volumes effectively, the ATIP Division within IRCC has two teams that process ATIP requests:

The Department is committed to ensuring that its requesters receive timely access to the records they request. IRCC undertook a number of initiatives to improve its performance and to address a backlog of requests. Despite the many challenges that the Department had to face due to COVID‑19 and having to adapt quickly to this new reality, IRCC remained fully operational, processing 27.7 percent more pages as compared to last fiscal year (+2.4 million). IRCC was also able to increase the percent of requests that were closed within the legislative timelines by 6.7 percent, and all of this despite the continuous increase of volumes relative to the page count observed over the past few years. Due to global disruptions and the overall pandemic environment, the Department did observe a slight decrease of 4.3 percent of total requests received compared to last fiscal year. IRCC anticipates this number will increase substantially as the situation stabilizes and all domestic and global services resume at pre-pandemic levels.

IRCC ATIP requests at a glance

as described below
Text version: IRCC ATIP requests at a glance
  • 57% of all ATIP requests in the federal government institutions were submitted to IRCC in 2020-21
  • 31.5% average annual growth in pages reviewed over the last 5 years!
  • 27.7% over the last year.
  • 166% growth in requests (+ 79k) since 2014-2015

IRCC ATIP growth

as described below
Text version: IRCC ATIP growth
Year Percent annual growth ATIP request volumes Percent growth since 2014/2015
2014/2015 +22% 47,800 ---
2015/2016 +19% 57,800 +45%
2016/2017 +11% 63,300 +61%
2017/2018 +23% 77,600 +98%
2018/2019 +26% 98,000 +150%
2019/2020 +36% 132,900 +178%
2020/2021 -4.3% 127,200 +166%

Access to information and privacy pages processed

as described below
Text version: Access to information and privacy pages reviewed
Year Pages reviewed
2015-2016 2,923,225
2016-2017 3,579,498
2017-2018 4,548,653
2018-2019 7,255,790
2019-2020 8,772,174
2020-2021 11,201,177

As the number of requests continues to increase, the volume of pages continues to rise also. In 2020-21, IRCC processed 11,201,177 pages. This is a 27.7% increase from last fiscal year which equates to over 2.4 million more pages that the ATIP Division reviewed.

In 2020-2021, IRCC processed 11,201,177 pages, which represents an increase of 31.5 percent over the last 5 years.

Percentage of Access to information and Privacy requests closed within legislative timelines.

as described below
Text version: Percentage of Access to Information and Privacy requests closed within legislative timelines.
Requests closed within legislative timelines.
Year Access to Information Act Privacy Act
2015-2016 71 64
2016-2017 71 65
2017-2018 58 49
2018-2019 58 55
2019-2020 64 55
2020-2021 71 64

ATIP Complaint Volumes: 2015-2016 to 2020-2021

as described below
Text version: ATIP Complaint Volumes: 2015-2016 to 2020-2021
Year Complaints received Complaints closed
2015-2016 199 127
2016-2017 140 204
2017-2018 227 201
2018-2019 555 594
2019-2020 4,269 3,494
2020-2021 2,612 2,674

As evidenced in this report, numerous efforts have been made by IRCC to strengthen its ATIP program, including stabilizing and augmenting its workforce, refining procedures and tools, improved stakeholder engagement, community outreach and close collaboration with the ATIP Modernisation Office. Transformation of the ATIP program will be a continued theme in 2021-2022, and IRCC will continue to support the broader ATIP community through participation in discussions concerning reforms of the Acts, ATIP community software needs and other related Government of Canada initiatives.

Format of the report

As described in the executive summary, IRCC is unique in that most of its ATIP volumes relate to requests for personal information, which creates a stronger relationship between the two Acts at IRCC than at other departments. The ATIP Division is located within the Integrated Corporate Business Branch of the Corporate Services Sector and is responsible for administering the ATIP program at IRCC. The ATIP Division is organized such that each team supports or administers both Acts. The Department has prepared a single, integrated report that outlines IRCC’s accomplishments in carrying out its ATIP responsibilities during the 2020-2021 reporting period.

The document has been divided into 3 sections:

Section 1: General Information

About Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

IRCC selects and welcomes, as permanent and temporary residents, foreign nationals whose skills contribute to Canadian prosperity. It also reunites family members.

The Department maintains Canada’s humanitarian tradition by welcoming refugees and other people in need of protection, thereby upholding its international obligations and reputation.

IRCC, in collaboration with its partners, conducts the screening of potential permanent and temporary residents to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians. IRCC is also responsible for the issuance and control of Canadian passports and other documents that facilitate the travel of Canadian citizens and residents.

Lastly, the Department builds a stronger Canada by helping all newcomers settle and integrate into Canadian society and the economy, and by encouraging, granting and providing proof of Canadian citizenship.

IRCC’s mandate comes from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act. The Minister of IRCC is responsible for the Citizenship Act of 1977 and shares responsibility with the Minister of Public Safety for the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Jurisdiction over immigration is shared between the federal and the provincial and territorial governments under section 95 of the Constitution Act of 1867.

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is also responsible for the administration of the Canadian Passport Order and the Order Respecting the Issuance of Diplomatic and Special Passports.

Delegation order

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is responsible for dealing with requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The Minister delegates authority to members of departmental senior management, including the ATIP Departmental Coordinator (ATIP Director), to carry out the Minister’s powers, duties, or functions under the Acts, in relation to ATIP requests. Certain authorities are delegated to particular positions in the ATIP Division at National Headquarters as shown in Annex B and Annex C of this report.

Organizational structure

The ATIP Division is part of the Integrated Corporate Business Branch (ICB). ICB is overseen by a Director General who is the Chief Privacy Officer, and is situated in the Corporate Services Sector at IRCC. The Division administers the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act for IRCC and is led by a Director, who is the ATIP Coordinator for the Department. Three units carry out the Division’s work in addition to 45 Liaison Officers who are responsible for coordinating the ATIP activities of IRCC branches. Each unit has shared responsibilities for the administration of both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

ATIP Operations (80 Employees)

Processes immigration, citizenship and passport ATIP files, which includes complex and sensitive files; seeks clarification in relation to files being requested and deals with incoming inquiries from clients; responds to requests from investigative bodies and provincial authorities, which fall under 8(2) of the Privacy Act; responds to consultation requests from Other Government Departments (OGD’s); and provides guidance and support within IRCC and externally regarding ATIP legislation. Also, works closely with stakeholders to find efficiencies and actively review ATIP processes.

ATIP Corporate Records, Complaints and Informals (33 Employees)

Processes ATIP requests for corporate records, consultations from OGD’s and informal requests; deals with complaints from the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada; provides timely internal services for vetting of proactive disclosure documentation; and provides guidance and support within IRCC and externally regarding ATIP legislation on corporate ATIs. Also develops customized training products, coordinates, manages and delivers ATIP training and works closely with stakeholders to find efficiencies and actively review ATIP processes.

ATIP Privacy, Policy and Governance (15 Employees)

Develops privacy policies; provides advice, guidance and support within IRCC and externally regarding ATIP legislation; promotes privacy awareness; and develops privacy tools to assist the department and manages privacy breaches. Also, develops customized privacy training products, coordinates, manages and delivers privacy training.

ATIP Director’s Office (4 Employees)

Provides management oversight, support and guidance to the division; ensures ATIP deliverables are met; and manages ATIP led projects/initiatives and provides support to senior management.

ATIP Modernisation (7 employees)

Conducts data and trend analysis, produces statistical reports, leads ATIP technology projects and transition efforts to optimize and redefine the ATIP process. Coordinates the Departmental efforts to provide solutions to contain and address the growing number of requests.

ATIP Liaison Officers (45 employees)

Represents IRCC branches and regions domestically and globally within IRCC and assists by performing searches, collecting records and presenting recommendations related to ATIP requests.

ATIP Modernisation Office

In June 2020, IRCC established the ATIP Modernisation Office to lead various initiatives aimed at finding solutions to contain and address the growing number of requests. The initiatives focus on reducing the overall volume of ATIP requests and improving the management of the ATIP program across IRCC. The team also uses analytics and data mining to monitor and understand trends within the Department, as well as to provide reports for stakeholders.

It is important to highlight that IRCC is the first ATIP office in the federal government to take advantage of Robotic Process Automation (RPA). The initiative to automate routine data entry aspects of the ATIP process, leading to increased efficiency of that process, is ongoing. The ATIP Modernisation Office is working in close collaboration with the Client Experience Branch in IRCC to develop new policies and procedures intended to decrease the need for clients to submit ATIP requests. Examples include the project to review the Reason for Refusal Letter that is currently sent to IRCC clients with a view to providing more details on the reason for refusal, as well as the initiative to improve the client’s IRCC secured account to provide more detailed and easily accessible information.

A detailed list of all current and ongoing initiatives and a detailed roadmap can be located in Annex G of the present report. These initiatives will assist IRCC in finding efficiencies and innovation through new technology to better address the increase in ATIP volumes. The ATIP Modernisation Office has also been assisting other Government Departments and the ATIP Community by providing guidance and sharing best practices and tools.

Training and awareness

Through its training delivery and awareness activities, IRCC continues to work towards enhancing the institution-wide culture of respect for access to information alongside a strong commitment to increased privacy vigilance. As of March 2020, working from home became the new reality, and it became evident that ATIP training would need to shift to a virtual platform (Microsoft Teams, WebEx, etc.), which was fully launched in mid-June 2020. Moving courses online allowed for greater access as the physical location was no longer a barrier. Security and Privacy training was prioritized to inform employees of any potential security or privacy breach risks while working from home.

During the reporting period, 1,979 employees participated in ATIP Division training sessions.

Access to information and privacy training

The ATIP Division offers three core training courses that address both access to information and privacy requirements:

  1. Understanding and Managing ATIP Requests is designed to provide a greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the ATIP Division, the ATIP Liaison Officer as well as various departmental officials in the processing of an ATIP request. The course is intended primarily for ATIP Liaison Officers and anyone directly involved in the ATIP process. It is mandatory for all new ATIP Liaison Officers. A total of 197 employees attended 16 sessions.
  2. ATIP Training for Middle Managers and Executives provides an overview of key ATIP principles and practices, and a greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of managers and employees. This course is part of the Learning Roadmap for IRCC Executives and should be completed within the first year of joining IRCC or being appointed as a new executive. There is a requirement to renew this training every three years. A total of 65 managers and executives attended 4 sessions.
  3. Protecting and Giving Access to Information at IRCC is a mandatory online course for all employees. It provides a brief overview of key ATIP principles and practices and fosters a greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of all employees. During the year, 593 employees took the online training session.

The ATIP Division also provides ad hoc and tailored training sessions and workshop presentations to reinforce and increase knowledge and understanding of access to information, privacy and personal information. These sessions are independent of mandatory courses and are given by request in response to a group’s specific needs. A total of 252 employees were provided tailored ATIP training over 31 sessions last fiscal year.

Protect, Secure, and Manage Information - IRCC is working towards making this course mandatory for all new employees, with a requirement to renew every 3 years. This course is comprised of three modules from IT Security, Information Management and ATIP that intertwine and complement each other. A total of 722 employees attended 41 sessions last year.

Privacy-only training

Privacy breach training

Privacy breach training sessions are designed to provide a greater understanding of what a privacy breach is, the roles and responsibilities of employees and awareness of emerging trends in privacy breaches.

These sessions are focused not only on how to contain a breach, but also how to evaluate it, notify internal and external stakeholders, mitigate the impact and reduce the probability of a recurrence. They provide an opportunity for program areas to ask questions pertaining to real scenarios and receive practical advice from the ATIP staff.

A total of 150 employees received privacy breach training in 2020-2021 over 17 sessions.

Tailored privacy training

Tailored privacy training sessions are designed to provide a more in-depth look at specific privacy policy issues, such as information sharing or privacy impact assessments.

In 2020-2021 there were no specific “tailored” privacy training sessions, but all training decks were revisited and adjusted to the program area to address their particular needs.

Section 2: Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act

Introduction

Section 94 of the Access to Information Act, and section 20 of the Service Fees Act require that the head of every federal government institution submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year.

IRCC is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act. The report describes the activities that support compliance with the Act for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2020, and ending March 31, 2021.

Purpose of the Act

The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions by providing a right of access to 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.

It also sets out requirements for the proactive publication of records.

Service Agreements

IRCC had no service agreements under section 96 of the Access to Information Act.

Highlights of the statistical report for 2020-2021

Requests received and completed

as described below
Text version: Requests received and completed since 2015-2016
Year Requests received Requests completed
2015-2016 41,660 40,107
2016-2017 50,728 48,733
2017-2018 64,234 59,021
2018-2019 82,387 83,895
2019-2020 116,928 111,593
2020-2021 107,845 104,547

IRCC continues to receive more Access to Information Act requests than any other federal government institution. Specifically, the Department received a total of 107,845 requests in the 2020-2021 reporting period, which represents a decrease of 7.8 percent from the previous year. The compliance rate was 71 percent for the reporting period, which shows an increase of 7 percent from the previous reporting period. The highest amount of daily requests for last fiscal year was the week of March 6-12, when 771.4 requests were received per day.

The majority of Access to Information Act requests received were for information relating to client records.

Pages processed

IRCC processed 9,486,193 pages during the 2020-2021 reporting period, an increase of 27.7 percent over the previous fiscal year.

Sources of requests under the Access to Information Act

For this reporting period the largest source of requests (50 percent) came from the business sector (mainly immigration lawyers and consultants). The general public accounted for 36 percent of requests, and media, organizations and academia comprise 7 percent of requests. The remaining 4 percent represents requesters who declined to identify themselves.

as described below
Text version: Source of requests under the Access to Information Act
Sources Requests Percentage of requests
Business 53,655 50%
Public 38,401 36%
Organization 8,091 7%
Decline to identify 4,478 4%
Academia 2,935 3%
Media 285 n/a

Informal Requests under the Access to Information Act

IRCC posts summaries of completed access to information requests pertaining to corporate records on the Open Government portal. In 2020-2021, IRCC closed 1,879 informal requests (copies of previously released requests).

Exemptions

The Department provided all information in 22,196 of its requests (21.2 percent) and invoked some exemptions on 76,605 requests (73.3 percent). The remaining 5,732 requests (5.5 percent) were transferred, abandoned, no record existed or the Department could neither confirm nor deny the existence of these records, as doing so could reveal information that is protected under the Act.

The majority of exemptions invoked by IRCC fell under four sections of the Act:

More than one section can be applied to a specific request.

Exclusions

The Access to Information Act does not apply to records that are already available to the public (section 68) and confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council (section 69). IRCC excluded records based on section 68 in 26 instances, and on section 69 in 26 instances.

Consultations

Other federal government institutions consulted IRCC for records related to IRCC in 120 cases under the Access to Information Act, and IRCC was able to respond to 64 percent of those consultations within 30 days.

Extensions

Section 9 of the Access to Information Act permits 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.

IRCC invoked a total of 8,695 extensions during the 2020-2021 reporting period. Extensions were required in 4,771 instances when IRCC consulted with other federal institutions prior to responding. Extensions were required in 3,856 instances to search through a large volume of records or to respond to the influx of requests, or both, which interfered with operations. The Department also invoked 68 extensions to conduct third-party notifications.

Access to information requests Completion Time

as described below
Text version: Completion times
Completion Time Number of requests Percentage of requests
30 days or less 61,405 59%
31 to 60 days 29,572 28%
61 to 120 days 8,502 8%
121 days or more 5,068 5%

Complaints

as described below
Text version: Requests received and completed since 2015-2016
Year Complaints received Complaints closed
2015-2016 199 127
2016-2017 140 204
2017-2018 227 201
2018-2019 555 594
2019-2020 4,220 3,450
2020-2021 2,612 2,674

During the 2020-2021 reporting period, the Department was notified of 2,612 access complaints received by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). This represents 2.4 percent of all requests completed during this period. The majority of complaints were related to extensions and delays.

During the reporting period, ATIP processed and closed 2,674 complaint investigations. Of these, 73 complaints were abandoned, discontinued or unsubstantiated, and 27 were not well founded. The remaining 2,477 complaints were resolved to the satisfaction of the requester, and 97 were well founded.

Key complaint issues

The majority of the complaints (95 percent) were related to ATIP requests for immigration client files. 61 percent of the complaints were delay or extension complaints and 85 percent of complaints were submitted by 5 requesters.

Actions taken

Throughout the year, IRCC’s ATIP office has collaborated closely with the OIC to find additional paths to manage complaints efficiently and effectively. We have also maintained open and efficient communication between our offices. Through the systemic investigation and complaints that the Department received during the year, IRCC has successfully maintained a positive working relationship with the OIC.

Systemic Investigation

This past year, the Information Commissioner of Canada completed an investigation into IRCC’s processing of Access to Information requests, in particular the requests for immigration application files. This investigation was launched to better understand and address the dramatic increase in information requests received by the OIC from April 1, 2017 to February 26, 2020, as well as the increase in complaints that were registered against IRCC. This systemic investigation confirmed that the increasing number of requests, and subsequent complaints, is the result of applicants, and/or their representatives, seeking additional information on the status of their immigration application files or the reasons for refusal of their immigration applications. This is information that applicants have not been able to obtain through other communication channels. Throughout the year, IRCC’s ATIP office provided the OIC with hundreds of pages of records about ATIP operations, as well as several sets of detailed representations to explain how the system functions, the challenges IRCC faces, as well as the jurisprudence used to influence IRCC operations. The Department would like to acknowledge the collaboration between the OIC and IRCC’s ATIP office throughout the course of this investigation. While the OIC’s investigation was mostly completed in 2020-2021, the Information Commissioner did not release the final report until May of 2021. A more detailed synopsis of the changes made due to the systemic investigation are to be included in IRCC’s 2021-2022 annual report.

The OIC’s final report and response from the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/en/resources/reports-publications/access-issue-challenging-status-quo

The Management Action Plan – OIC’s Recommendations can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/management-action-plan-oic-recommendations.html

Audits

No audits were concluded during the fiscal year.

Appeal to the Federal Court

There were no appeals to the Federal Court filed against IRCC regarding the Access to Information Act during the 2020-2021 reporting period.

Reporting on the impact of COVID-19

From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, IRCC received 107,845 access to information requests. It is important to note that out of the 19,631 active requests that were carried over into the new reporting year, 89 percent were still within the legislated time period allowed for processing. Thus, the actual files that were carried over (2,127) account for 1.7 percent of IRCC’s inventory for the past fiscal year (124,178). See annex F: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act for reference.

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled the ATIP Division to quickly adjust its processes and procedures to facilitate employee telework by equipping employees with remote capacity and accommodating ergonomic assessment requirements for employees. IRCC continued to process ATIP requests throughout the pandemic, remaining fully operational as it dealt with the impact of IRCC mission and local office closures. The ATIP Division found new ways to train and integrate new employees at a distance, enabling the Division to continue to function well in the remote environment. The ATIP Division has been successful at maintaining similar response rates on access to information requests and consultations.

The adjustment to remote work was initially a challenging situation rooted in the differences employees experienced between the office setting and the telework environment in the form of internal communications, access to employee resources and production monitoring. However, the support provided by management, team leaders, coordinators and trainers enabled a fluid transition while maintaining operational capacity. It is also important to highlight the dedication of our employees who voluntarily accessed our offices while respecting ever evolving health and safety protocols in order to process secret classified records and ensure timely responses in a secure environment.

IRCC would like to acknowledge the immense support and outstanding collaboration the ATIP Division has received from its partners both internal and external to the organization and highlight the importance of employee well‑being while IRCC strives to continue delivering quality and timely services to its clients.

Reporting on access to information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution.

With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

Monitoring compliance

The ATIP Division has established internal procedures to help facilitate the timely and efficient processing and monitoring of ATIP requests.

It is important to note that no personal information is disclosed in these reports.

Policies, guidelines, procedures and initiatives within the ATIP Division

IRCC undertook several projects related to improving its processes for ATIA requests and operationalizing the Access to Information Act:

Section 3: Report on the Administration of the Privacy Act

Introduction

Section 72 of the Privacy Act requires that the head of every federal government institution submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year.

IRCC is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Privacy Act. The report describes the activities that support compliance with the Act for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2020, and ending March 31, 2021.

Purpose of the Act

The purpose of the Privacy Act is to extend the present laws of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a government institution and to provide individuals with a right of access to that information. The Act protects an individual’s privacy by preventing others from having unlawful access to personal information. It also permits an individual specific rights regarding the collection, use and disclosure of this information.

Service Agreements

IRCC had no service agreements under section 73.1 of the Privacy Act.

Highlights of the statistical report for 2020-2021

Requests received and completed

as described below
Text version: Access to information requests received and completed
Year Requests received Requests completed
2015-2016 15,292 15,077
2016-2017 12,605 11,808
2017-2018 13,168 12,698
2018-2019 15,655 16,846
2019-2020 15,963 15,349
2020-2021 19,357 18,687

IRCC remains one of the most accessed federal institutions, receiving a total of 19,357 requests submitted under the Privacy Act in the 2020-2021 reporting period. This represents an increase of 17.5 percent from the previous year. The percentage of requests that were closed within the legislative timeline for 2020-2021 was 64.3 percent.

The majority of Privacy Act requests received were for information relating to client records.

Pages processed

IRCC processed 1,714,984 pages during the 2020-2021 reporting period, an increase of 74.2 percent from the previous fiscal year.

Exemptions

The Department provided all information in 3,279 requests (17.5 percent) and invoked some exemptions on 11,447 requests (61.3 percent). The remaining 3,961 requests (21.2 percent) were abandoned, no record existed or the Department could neither confirm nor deny the existence of these records, as doing so could reveal information that is protected under the Act.

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

More than one section can be applied to a specific request.

Exclusions

The Privacy Act does not apply to records that are already available to the public (section 69) and confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council (section 70). IRCC did not apply any exclusions under the Privacy Act during the reporting period.

Consultations

Other federal government institutions consulted IRCC for records related to IRCC in 37 cases under the Privacy Act, and was able to respond to 76 percent of those consultations within 30 days.

Extensions

Section 15 of the Privacy Act permits 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.

IRCC invoked a total of 1,331 extensions during the 2020-2021 reporting period. Of these, 27 were deemed necessary as IRCC needed to consult with other federal institutions prior to responding. Extensions were required in a further 27 instances to search for or through a large volume of records or to respond to the influx of requests, or both, which interfered with operations. The Department did not invoke any extensions for translation purposes.

Completion times

as described below
Text version: Completion Time
Completion Time Number of requests Percentage of requests
30 days or less 10,414 56%
31 to 60 days 5,972 32%
61 to 120 days 856 5%
121 days or more 1,445 7%

Complaints

During the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the Department was notified of 21 formal privacy complaints and 17 informal complaints received by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC). Complaints of both informal and formal nature were lodged against 0.227 percent of all requests completed during this period (based on 19,357 Privacy Requests received). The majority of the OPC complaints were related to delays.

During the reporting period, ATIP processed and closed 18 formal complaint investigations and 26 informal complaint investigations. Of the informal complaints, 21 were discontinued, and 5 were settled or resolved to the satisfaction of the requester.

Key complaint issues

Due to the small sample of privacy request complaints it is impossible to pinpoint one single issue.

Audits

No audits were concluded during the fiscal year.

Appeal to the Federal Court

There were no appeals to the Federal Court filed against IRCC regarding the Privacy Act during the 2020-2021 reporting period.

Reporting on the impact of COVID-19

From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, IRCC received 19,357 privacy requests. It is important to note that out of the 3,501 active requests that were carried over into the new reporting year, 84 percent of these were within the legislated time period allowed for processing. Thus the actual files that were carried over (558) account for 2.5 percent of IRCC’s inventory for the past fiscal year (22,188). See annex G: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Privacy Act for reference.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ATIP Division quickly adjusted its processes and procedures to facilitate employee telework by equipping employees with remote capacity and accommodating ergonomic assessment requirements for employees. IRCC continued to process ATIP requests throughout the pandemic, remaining fully operational as it dealt with the impact of IRCC mission and local office closures. The ATIP Division found new ways to train and integrate new employees at a distance, enabling the Division to continue to function well in the remote environment. The ATIP Division has been successful at maintaining similar response rates on access to information requests and consultations.

The adjustment to remote work was initially a challenging situation rooted in the differences employees experienced between the office setting and the telework environment in the form of internal communications, access to employee resources and production monitoring. However, the support provided by management, team leaders, coordinators and trainers enabled a fluid transition while maintaining operational capacity. It is also important to highlight the dedication of our employees who voluntarily accessed our offices while respecting constantly evolving health and safety protocols in order to process secret classified records and ensure timely responses in a secure environment.

IRCC would like to acknowledge the immense support and outstanding collaboration the ATIP Division has received from its partners both internal and external to the organization and highlight the importance of employee well‑being while IRCC strives to continue delivering quality and timely services to its clients.

Privacy Impact Assessments

To fulfil its mandate and effectively deliver its programs and services, IRCC collects, uses and discloses personal information. In accordance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) policy, the Department undertakes Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) to ensure compliance with the Privacy Act and identify privacy risks present in new or existing departmental programs, initiatives or projects that collect and use personal information.

During 2020-21, TBS introduced an Interim Directive on Privacy Impact Assessments. The Interim Directive was updated to facilitate the assessment of privacy impacts on new initiatives that were developed urgently to respond to the COVID-19 lockdowns. These assessments are known as Privacy Compliance Evaluations (PCEs).

Descriptions of PIAs and PCEs completed during the 2020-2021 fiscal year are found below. The full PIA summaries can be found here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/transparency/access-information-privacy/privacy-impact-assessment.html.

PIA - Initial Deployment of GCMS and TEMPO as the Passport Issuance System

PIA was authored to assess the privacy risks of IRCC’s deployment of GCMS for the passport program and a supporting intake tool called TEMPO. The privacy risk analysis performed in this PIA and the historical draft PIAs can be separated into two parts. Those two parts represent a significant shift in the severity and number of risks from 2015, when GCMS was first deployed for the Passport Program (and later halted), to 2020, when the privacy mitigation measures were nearly all completed and the overall risk to personal information is generally low.

Employment and Social Development Canada and IRCC have worked collaboratively to address the issues and develop a solution that led to the deployment of TEMPO and GCMS as the passport issuance system in February 2020, as well as the use of TEMPO and GCMS by Service Canada beginning with Pre-Pilots in 2020. 

PCE - Use of epost Connect for correspondence for Certificate of Identity and Refugee Travel Documents

PCE assesses the adoption of new process for certain Certificate of Identity (CofI) and Refugee Travel Document (RTD) application intake from paper- to electronic-based via the epost Connect service offered by Canada Post Corporation (CPC). In the current environment, clients will either mail, courier or come in person to submit their travel document application. There is only one CofI/RTD office in Canada, located in Gatineau that serves all of the Canada travel documents needs. Pre-COVID, all clients requiring urgent travel document services were required to travel to Gatineau for in-person service (this service is currently unavailable due to office closure). Upon receipt of the application by mail, IRCC officers would assess for completeness, and if something was missing they would respond back to the client by mail and wait to receive client’s response back - again by the use of the mail services.

By moving to the epost Connect service offered by CPC, it will allow CofI/RTD to electronically receive applications for travel documents, decrease the time in which the application is received, eliminate the potential of lost mail and at the same time allow for back and forth interaction with clients through epost Connect for the applications that were not fully complete, thus providing better service to clients.

Disclosure of personal information under paragraphs 8(2)(e) and 8(2)(m)

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.

Paragraph 8(2)(e) provides that personal information may be disclosed to an investigative body specified in the regulations on the written request of the body for the purpose of enforcing any law of Canada or any province or carrying out a lawful investigation. The request must specify the purpose and describe the information to be disclosed.

During this reporting period, IRCC disclosed personal information under subsection 8(2) in responding to 1,819 requests from investigative bodies under paragraph 8(2)(e).

Paragraph 8(2)(m) provides that personal information may be disclosed for any purpose where, in the opinion of the head of an institution, (i) the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result from the disclosure, or (ii) disclosure would clearly benefit the individual to whom the information relates.

During this reporting period, IRCC disclosed personal information in 173 instances under paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act:

Reason for disclosure Requests processed where at least one individual's personal information was disclosed Individuals affected OPC notification in accordance with subsection 8(5)
Disclosure of contact information to the Public Health Agency of Canada of individuals who had been in close proximity to a person with COVID-19. 162 429 The OPC was notified after disclosure in all cases because of their urgent nature, and due to the volume of requests received.
Disclosure of contact information to the Public Health Agency of Canada of individuals who had been in close proximity to a person with tuberculosis. 7 205 The OPC was notified at the same time as disclosure in all cases because of their urgent nature.
Disclosure of contact information to notify next of kin of a deceased individual. 3 5 The OPC was notified before disclosure in all cases.
Disclosure of personal information to a provincial organization for reasons related to a legal proceeding. 1 1 The OPC was notified before disclosure.

Material privacy breaches

A privacy breach refers to the improper or unauthorized collection, use, disclosure, retention or disposition of personal information. A material privacy breach is a privacy breach that involves sensitive personal information and could reasonably be expected to cause injury or harm to the individual.

The ATIP Division provided advice and guidance to departmental staff 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.

The ATIP Division monitors all privacy breaches reported at IRCC. The Division also reviews how and where they are occurring within the Department. ATIP addresses trends and provides tailored privacy breach training sessions to raise awareness and increase privacy breach prevention.

In 2020-2021, IRCC notified the OPC and TBS of six material privacy breaches. IRCC monitors all privacy breaches closely and has established notifications and remedial measures to address each situation. The majority of material breaches were of small scale and affected a limited number of individuals.

Monitoring compliance

The ATIP Division has established internal procedures to help facilitate the timely and efficient processing and monitoring of ATIP requests.

In addition, senior management is provided with a status update on material breaches twice per year.

It is important to note that no personal information is disclosed in these reports.

Policies, guidelines, procedures and initiatives with the ATIP Division

IRCC undertook several projects related to improving its processes for Privacy requests and operationalizing the Privacy Act:

Annex A: Signed Delegation

as described below
Text version: Signed Delegation

Official Document

Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada

Delegation of Authority

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

I, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of the Privacy Act, hereby authorize the officer and employee of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship whose position or classification is set out in the attached Schedule to carry out those of my power, duties or functions under the Acts that are set in the Schedule in relation to that officer and employee.

Dated at Ottawa

This 30 day of August 2019

Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Annex B: Delegation Order under the Access to Information Act

Official Document

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

The delegation includes acting appointments and assignments to these positions made pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act and regulations.

Full delegation

Position Delegation
Deputy Minister / Associate Deputy Minister Full Authority
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Management Sector Full Authority
Director General, ATIP & Accountability Branch Full Authority, except the following sections of the Access to Information Act:
  • 41(2) – seek review of an order of the Information Commissioner by Federal Court
  • Sections 82 to 88 concerning proactive publication of information
Director, ATIP Division Full Authority, except the following sections of the Access to Information Act:
  • 41(2) – seek review of an order of the Information Commissioner by Federal Court
  • Sections 82 to 88 concerning proactive publication of information
Assistant Directors, ATIP CRCI and OPS Full Authority, except the following sections of the Access to Information Act:
  • 6.1 – decline to act on a request
  • 20(6) – disclose third party information in the public interest
  • 41(2) – seek review of an order of the Information Commissioner by Federal Court
  • Sections 82 to 88 concerning proactive publication of information
  • 94 – responsibility to prepare an annual report to Parliament

Partial delegation

Access to Information Act – Part 2 only

Proactive Disclosures
Position Delegation
All Assistant Deputy Ministers Full Authority for sections 82 to 88
Director General, Corporate Secretariat Full Authority for sections 82 to 88
Access to Information Act
Description Section ATIP / PM-05 OPS ATIP / PM-05 CRCI ATIP / PM-04 OPS ATIP / PM-04 CRCI ATIP / PM-03 OPS ATIP / PM-03 CRCI
Duty to assist 4(2.1) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Decline to act on request 6.1 No No No No No No
Notice where access requested 7 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Transfer of request 8(1) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Extension of time limits 9(1) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Notice of extension to Commissioner 9(2) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Payment of additional fees 11(2) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Payment of fees for EDP record 11(3) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Deposit 11(4) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Notice of fee payment 11(5) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Waiver or refund of fees 11(6) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Translation 12(2) (b) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Conversion to alternate format 12(3) (b) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Information obtained in confidence 13 Yes No Yes No No No
Refuse access: federal-provincial affairs 14 Yes No No No No No
Refuse access: international affairs, defence, subversive activities 15(1) Yes No Yes No No No
Refuse access: law enforcement and investigation 16(1) Yes No Yes No Yes No
Refuse access: security information 16(2) Yes No Yes No Yes No
Refuse access: policing services for provinces or municipalities 16(3) Yes No Yes No Yes No
Refuse access: safety of individuals 17 Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Refuse access: economic interests of Canada 18 Yes No No No No No
Refuse access: economic interests of certain institutions 18.1 No Yes No No No No
Refuse access: another person’s information 19(1) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Disclose personal information 19(2) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Refuse access: third party information 20(1) Yes No No No No No
Disclose testing methods 20(2) and (3) Yes No No No No No
Disclose third party information 20(5) Yes No No No No No
Disclose in public interest 20(6) Yes No No No No No
Refuse access: advice, etc. 21 Yes No No No No No
Refuse access: tests and audits 22 Yes No No No No No
Refuse access: Audit working papers and draft audit reports 22.1 Yes No No No No No
Refuse access: solicitor-client privilege 23 Yes No Yes No No No
Refuse access: patent or trademark privilege 23.1 No No No No No No
Refuse access: prohibited information 24(1) Yes No No No No No
Severability 25 Yes Yes Yes No No No
Refuse access: information to be published 26 Yes Yes No No No No
Notice to third parties 27(1) Yes Yes No No No No
Extension of time limit 27(4) Yes Yes No No No No
Notice of third party disclosure 28(1)(b) Yes Yes No No No No
Representation to be made in writing 28(2) Yes Yes No No No No
Disclosure of record 28(4) Yes No No No No No
Disclosure on Commissioner’s recommendation 29(1) Yes No No Yes No No
Notice of ceasing to investigate 30(5)(b) No No No No No No
Notice of intention to investigate 32 Yes No No Yes No No
Notice to third party 33 Yes No No No No No
Right to make representations 35(2)(b) Yes Yes No Yes No No
Finding and recommendations of the Information Commissioner 37(1)(b) Yes No No Yes No No
Access given to complainant 37(4) Yes No No No No No
Seek review of order by Federal Court 41(2) No No No No No No
Notice to third party of court action 43(1) Yes No No No No No
Notice of court action 43(2) No No No No No No
Notice to person who requested record 44(2) Yes No No No No No
Special rules for hearings 52(2)(b) No No No No No No
Ex parte representations 52(3) Yes No No No No No
Facilities for inspection of manuals 71(1) No No No No No No
Exempt information may be excluded 71(2) Yes No No No No No
Proactive publication of information: travel expenses 82 No No No No No No
Proactive publication of information: hospitality expenses 83 No No No No No No
Proactive publication of information: reports tabled in Parliament 84 No No No No No No
Proactive publication of information: reclassification of positions 85 No No No No No No
Proactive publication of information: contracts 86 No No No No No No
Proactive publication of information: grants and contributions 87 No No No No No No
Proactive publication of information: Briefing materials 88 No No No No No No
Annual Report to Parliament 94 No No No No No No
Access to Information Regulations
Description Section ATIP / PM-05 OPS ATIP / PM-05 CRCI ATIP / PM-04 OPS ATIP / PM-04 CRCI ATIP / PM-03 OPS ATIP / PM-03 CRCI
Transfer of requests 6(1) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Search and preparation fees 7(2) Yes Yes No No No No
Production and programming fees 7(3) Yes Yes No No No No
Examination of records 8 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Limitations in respect of format 8.1 No No No No No No

Legend

ATIP / PM-05 OPS
Senior ATIP Administrators, ATIP Operations (OPS)
ATIP / PM-05 CRCI
Senior ATIP Administrators, Corporate Records, Complaints and Informals (CRCI)
ATIP / PM-04 OPS
ATIP Administrators, ATIP Operations (OPS)
ATIP / PM-04 CRCI
ATIP Administrators, Corporate Records, Complaints and Informals (CRCI)
ATIP / PM-03 OPS
ATIP Officers, ATIP Operations (OPS)
ATIP / PM–03 CRCI
ATIP Officers, Corporate Records, Complaints and Informals (CRCI)

Annex C: Delegation Order under the Privacy Act

Official Document

The delegation includes acting appointments and assignments to these positions made pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act and regulations.

Full delegation

Position Delegation
Deputy Minister / Associate Deputy Minister Full Authority
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Management Sector Full Authority
Director General, ATIP & Accountability Branch Full Authority, except the following sections of the Privacy Act:
  • 8(2)(m) – disclosure of personal information in the public interest or to the benefit of the individual
Director, ATIP Division Full Authority, except the following sections of the Privacy Act:
  • 8(2)(j) - disclosure of personal information for research and statistics
  • 8(2)(m) – disclosure of personal information in the public interest or to the benefit of the individual
Assistant Director, ATIP CRCI Full Authority, except the following sections of the Privacy Act:
  • 8(2)(e) - disclosure to investigative bodies
  • 8(2)(j) - disclosure of personal information for research and statistics
  • 8(2)(m) – disclosure of personal information in the public interest or to the benefit of the individual
  • 8(4) – record of disclosures for investigations
  • 8(5) - notify Privacy Commissioner of 8(2)(m)
  • 9(1) – record of consistent uses
  • 9(4) – Notify Privacy Commissioner of consistent uses
  • 10 – Personal Information Banks
  • 22.3 – Refusal of access under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act
  • 36(3)(b) - Response to review of exempt banks
  • 37(3) - Response to review of compliance
  • 72 – Prepare annual report to Parliament
Assistant Director, ATIP OPS Same as Assistant Director for ATIP CRCI, except the position does have 8(4) – record of consistent uses and 8(2)(e) - disclosure to investigative bodies

Partial delegation

Position Delegation
Assistant Deputy Minister / Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy Sector Only 8(2)(j) of the Privacy Act– disclosure of personal information for research and statistics
Director General, Research and Evaluation Branch Only 8(2)(j) of the Privacy Act– disclosure of personal information for research and statistics
Privacy Act
Descriptions Section ATIP / PM-05 OPS ATIP / PM-05 CRCI ATIP / PM-04 OPS ATIP / PM-04 CRCI ATIP / PM-03 OPS ATIP / PM-3 CRCI
Disclosure for research to investigative bodies 8(2)(e) Yes No Yes No Yes No
Disclosure for research and statistics 8(2)(j) No No No No No No
Disclosure in public interest clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy 8(2)(m)(i) No No No No No No
Disclosure in public interest, benefit of individual 8(2)(m)(ii) No No No No No No
Record of disclosure for investigations 8(4) Yes No No No No No
Notify Privacy Commissioner of 8(2)(m) 8(5) No No No No No No
Record of consistent uses 9(1) No No No No No No
Notify Privacy Commissioner of consistent uses 9(4) No No No No No No
Personal information in banks 10 No No No No No No
Notice where access requested 14 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Extension of time limits 15 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Decision regarding translation 17(2)(b) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Conversion to alternate format 17(3)(b) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Refuse access: exempt bank 18(2) Yes Yes No No No No
Refuse access: confidential information 19(1) Yes No Yes No No No
Disclose confidential information 19(2) Yes No Yes No No No
Refuse access: federal-provincial affairs 20 Yes No   No No No
Refuse access: international affairs, defence, subversive activities 21 Yes No Yes No No No
Refuse access: law enforcement and investigation 22 Yes No Yes No Yes No
Refuse access: Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act 22.3 No No No No No No
Refuse access: security clearance 23 Yes No Yes No Yes No
Refuse access: person under sentence 24 Yes No No No No No
Refuse access: safety of individuals 25 Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Refuse access: another person’s information 26 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Refuse access: solicitor-client privilege 27 Yes No Yes No No No
Refuse access: patent or trademark privilege 27.1 No No No No No No
Refuse access: medical record 28 Yes No Yes No No No
Receive notice of investigation 31 Yes No No Yes No No
Representation to Privacy Commissioner 33(2) Yes Yes No Yes No No
Response to findings and recommendations of the Privacy Commissioner within a specified time 35(1) Yes No No Yes No No
Access given to complainant 35(4) Yes No No No No No
Response to review of exempt banks 36(3)(b) No No No No No No
Response to review of compliance 37(3) Yes No No No No No
Request of court hearing in the National Capital Region 51(2)(b) No No No No No No
Ex parte representation to court 51(3) Yes No No No No No
Annual Report to Parliament 72 No No No No No No
Privacy Regulations
Descriptions Section ATIP / PM-05 OPS ATIP / PM-05 CRCI ATIP / PM-04 OPS ATIP / PM-04 CRCI ATIP / PM-03 OPS ATIP / PM-3 CRCI
Examination of records 9 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Correction of personal information 11(2) Yes Yes No No No No
Notification of refusal to correct personal information 11(4) Yes Yes No No No No
Disclosure: medical information 13(1) No No No No No No
Disclosure: medical information – examine in person, in the presence of a duly qualified medical practitioner 14 No No No No No No

Legend:

ATIP / PM-05 OPS
Senior ATIP Administrator, ATIP Operations (OPS)
ATIP / PM-05 CRCI
Senior ATIP Administrators, Corporate Records, Complaints and Informals (CRCI)
ATIP / PM-04 OPS
ATIP Administrators, ATIP Operations (OPS)
ATIP / PM-04 CRCI
ATIP Administrators, Corporate Records, Complaints and Informals (CRCI)
ATIP / PM-03 OPS
ATIP Officers, ATIP Operations (OPS)
ATIP / PM-03 CRCI
ATIP Officers, Corporate Records, Complaints and Informals (CRCI)

Annex D: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

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

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

Requests under the Access to Information Act Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 107,845
Outstanding from previous reporting period 16,333
Total 124,178
Closed during reporting period 104,547
Carried over to next reporting period 19,631

1.2 Sources of requests

Source Number of Requests
Media 285
Academia 2,935
Business (private sector) 53,655
Organization 4,478
Public 38,401
Decline to Identify 8,091
Total 107,845

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
375 179 242 480 261 322 20 1,879

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

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

Types of requests made 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

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 2,062 11,260 5,598 2,334 253 621 68 22,196
Disclosed in part 5,993 37,531 23,403 5,719 968 2,290 686 76,590
All exempted 2 3 8 2 0 0 0 15
All excluded 3 6 5 0 0 0 0 14
No records exist 376 625 327 284 29 71 3 1,715
Request transferred 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 5
Request abandoned 1,791 1,749 230 161 30 31 18 4,010
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 10,230 51,175 29,572 8,502 1,280 3,013 775 104,547

3.2 Exemptions

Section Number of Requests
13(1)(a) 4,451
13(1)(b) 50
13(1)(c) 39
13(1)(d) 17
13(1)(e) 1
14 2
14(a) 94
14(b) 17
15(1) 20,057
15(1) - I.A. Footnote a 7
15(1) - Def. Footnote b 62
15(1) - S.A. Footnote c 215
16(1)(a)(i) 3
16(1)(a)(ii) 0
16(1)(a)(iii) 0
16(1)(b) 133
16(1)(c) 16,415
16(1)(d) 0
16(2) 472
16(2)(a) 1
16(2)(b) 3
16(2)(c) 15,804
16(3) 0
16.1(1)(a) 0
16.1(1)(b) 1
16.1(1)(c) 6
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 1
17 28,170
18(a) 0
18(b) 0
18(c) 0
18(d) 1
18.1(1)(a) 0
18.1(1)(b) 0
18.1(1)(c) 0
18.1(1)(d) 0
19(1) 42,519
20(1)(a) 2
20(1)(b) 78
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 312
20(1)(d) 9
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 186
21(1)(b) 336
21(1)c) 50
21(1)(d) 47
22 61
22.1(1) 0
23 108
23.1 0
24(1) 0
26 60

3.3 Exclusions

Section Number of Requests
68(a) 26
68(b) 0
68(c) 0
68.1 0
68.2(a) 0
68.2(b) 0
69(1) 0
69(1)(a) 3
69(1)(b) 0
69(1)(c) 0
69(1)(d) 0
69(1)(e) 2
69(1)(f) 0
69(1)(g) re (a) 12
69(1)(g) re (b) 0
69(1)(g) re (c) 0
69(1)(g) re (d) 5
69(1)(g) re (e) 2
69(1)(g) re (f) 2
69.1(1) 0

3.4 Format of information released

Paper Electronic Other
0 98,786 0

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Number of Pages Processed Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
9,486,193 7,826,303 102,827
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 18,512 722,239 3,660 598,101 21 13,824 3 4,243 0 0
Disclosed in part 56,184 2,605,378 19,884 3,455,730 428 283,742 92 131,571 2 11,475
All exempted 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 4,010 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 78,737 3,327,617 23,544 4,053,831 449 297,566 95 135,814 2 11,475
3.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation Required Assessment of Fees Legal Advice Sought Other Total
All disclosed 14 0 0 0 14
Disclosed in part 127 0 0 0 127
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 3 0 0 0 3
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 144 0 0 0 144

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines
Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines 74,184
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) 71

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

30,363

30,363

0

0

0

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 19,929 1,018

20,947

16 to 30 days 2,445 251

2,696

31 to 60 days 1,647 326

1,973

61 to 120 days 749 241

990

121 to 180 days 351 170

521

181 to 365 days 2,330 321

2,651

More than 365 days 545 40

585

Total 27,996 2,367

30,363

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 Consultation 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
All disclosed 1,235 0 1,180 28
Disclosed in part 2,564 2 3,198 39
All exempted 1 0 2 0
All excluded 0 0 2 0
No records exist 18 0 290 0
Request abandoned 0 1 0 1
Total 3,856 3 4,768 68

4.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions 9(1)(a) Interference With Operations Consultation 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
30 days or less 37 0 94 1
31 to 60 days 779 2 4,108 5
61 to 120 days 3,000 0 343 61
121 to 180 days 40 1 11 1
181 to 365 days 0 0 210 0
365 days or more 0 0 2 0
Total 3,856 3 4,768 68

Section 5: Fees

Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
Number of Requests Amount Number of Requests Amount
Application 104,010 $520,050 467 $2,335
Other fees 0 $0 0 $0
Total 10,4010 $520,050 467 $2,335

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 120 4,457 7 202
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 29 3,882 0 0
Total 149 8,339 7 202
Closed during the reporting period 114 4,534 7 202
Pending at the end of the reporting period 35 3,805 0 0

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 23 11 8 6 1 0 0 49
Disclose in part 19 18 12 10 1 0 0 60
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 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 4
Total 44 29 21 18 2 0 0 114

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 1 0 0 0 0 0 5
Disclose in part 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
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 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 7

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 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

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

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate Subsection 30(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
2,612 47 1 94 1 0

Section 9: Court action

9.1 Court actions on complaints received before the coming into force of Bill C-58 and on-going

Section 41 (before C-58) Section 42 Section 44
0 0 0

9.2 Court actions on complaints received after the coming into force of Bill C-58

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 Cost

Expenditures Amount
Salaries $10,347,655
Overtime $473,328
Goods and Services $387,998
Professional services contracts $80,500
Other $307,498
Total $11,208,981

10.2 Human Resources

Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees 112.230
Part-time and casual employees 14.320
Regional staff 0.000
Consultants and agency personnel 0.000
Students 0.000
Total 126.55

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

Annex E: Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Reporting period: 2018-04-01 to 2019-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Privacy Act

Requests under the Privacy Act Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 19,357
Outstanding from previous reporting period 2,831
Total 22,188
Closed during reporting period 18,687
Carried over to next reporting period 3,501

Section 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 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

127 1,491 1,231 205 38 167 20 3,279

Disclosed in part

462 5,312 3,995 522 122 795 235 11,443

All exempted

0 0 0 3 0 1 0 4

All excluded

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

No records exist

97 145 87 46 6 22 1 404

Request abandoned

1,307 1,473 658 80 14 19 5 3,556

Neither confirmed nor denied

0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Total

1,993 8,421 5,972 856 180 1,004 261 18,687

2.2 Exemptions

Section Number of Requests
18(2) 0
19(1)(a) 559
19(1)(b) 4
19(1)(c) 7
19(1)(d) 7
19(1)(e) 0
19(1)(f) 0
20 1
21 6,474
22(1)(a)(i) 0
22(1)(a)(ii) 0
22(1)(a)(iii) 0
22(1)(b) 2,553
22(1)(c) 0
22(2) 0
22.1 0
22.2 0
22.3 0
22.4 0
23(a) 0
23(b) 0
24(a) 0
24(b) 0
25 688
26 7,689
27 18
27.1 0
28 0

2.3 Exclusions

Section Number of Requests
69(1)(a) 0
69(1)(b) 0
69.1 0
70(1) 0
70(1)(a) 0
70(1)(b) 0
70(1)(c) 0
70(1)(d) 0
70(1)(e) 0
70(1)(f) 0
70.1 0

2.4 Format of information released

Paper Electronic Other
0 14,722 0

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Number of Pages Processed Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
1,714,984 1,561,495 18,283
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
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 2,206 87,220 1,065 161,202 8 3,764 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 5,846 290,423 5,413 884,443 145 85,895 39 48,548 0 0
All exempted 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 3,535 0 16 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 11,591 377,643 6,494 1,045,645 159 89,659 39 48,548 0 0
2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation Required Legal Advice Sought Interwoven Information Other Total
All disclosed 0 0 28 0 28
Disclosed in part 43 0 7,611 0 7,654
All exempted 0 0 3 0 3
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 37 0 38
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 44 0 7,679 0 7,723

2.6 Closed requests

2.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines
Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines 12,025
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) 64.3

2.7 Deemed refusals

2.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines
Principal Reason
Number of Requests Closed Past the Legislated Timelines Interference with Operations / Workload External Consultation Internal Consultation Other
6,662 6,662 0 0 0
2.7.2 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 Timelines Where an Extension Was Taken Total
1 to 15 days 3,814 275 4,089
16 to 30 days 97 100 197
31 to 60 days 638 79 717
61 to 120 days 822 78 900
121 to 180 days 235 97 332
181 to 365 days 122 99 221
More than 365 days 200 6 206
Total 5,928 734 6,662

2.8 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 3: Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Paragraph 8(2)(e) Paragraph 8(2)(m) Subsection 8(5) Total
1,819 173 173 2,165

Section 4: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Disposition for Correction Requests Received Number
Notations attached 0
Requests for correction accepted 0
Total 0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

  15(a)(i) Interference with operations 15 (a)(ii) Consultation  
Number of requests where an extension was taken Further review required to determine exemptions Large volume of pages Large volume of requests Documents are difficult to obtain Cabinet Confidence Section (Section 70) External Internal 15(b) Translation purposes or conversion
Total 0 0 27 0 0 27 1,277 0

5.2 Length of extensions

  15(a)(i) Interference with operations 15 (a)(ii) Consultation 15(b) Translation purposes or conversion
Length of Extensions Further review required to determine exemptions Large volume of pages Large volume of requests Documents are difficult to obtain Cabinet Confidence Section (Section 70) External Internal
1 to 15 days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 days 0 0 27 0 0 27 1,277 0
31 days or greater 0
Total 0 0 27 0 0 27 1,277 0

Section 6: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

Consultations Other Government of Canada Institutions Number of Pages to Review Other Organizations Number of Pages to Review
Received during the reporting period 37 994 0 0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 3 42 0 0
Total 40 1,036 0 0
Closed during the reporting period 35 862 0 0
Pending at the end of the reporting period 5 174 0 0

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
All disclosed 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 7
Disclosed in part 17 6 4 1 0 0 0 28
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 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 21 7 5 2 0 0 0 35

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
All disclosed 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 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

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 8 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

7.2 Request 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 Notices Received

Section 31 Section 33 Section 35 Court action Total
29 0 0 0 29

Section 9: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

9.1 Number of PIA(s) completed

Number of PIA(s) completed 1

9.2 Personal Information Banks

Personal Information Banks Active Created Terminated Modified
Section 10: Material Privacy Breaches 0 0 0 0
Number of material privacy breaches reported to TBS

6

Number of material privacy breaches reported to OPC 6

Section 11: Resources Related to the Privacy Act

11.1 Costs

Expenditures Amount
Salaries $1,275,664
Overtime $4,319
Goods and Services $367,673

Professional services contracts

$360,563

Other

$7,110
Total $1,647,656

11.2 Human Resources

Resources Person Years Dedicated to Privacy Activities
Full-time employees 11.590
Part-time and casual employees 0.530
Regional staff 0.000
Consultants and agency personnel 0.000
Students 0.610
Total 12.730

Annex F: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

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

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Records

Number of weeks IRCC was able to receive requests through different channels.
Number of Weeks
Able to receive requests by mail 52
Able to receive requests by email 52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service 52

Section 2: Capactity to Process Records

2.1 Number of weeks IRCC was able to process paper records in different classification levels.

No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Protected B Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret Electronic Records 0 52 0 52

2.2 Number of weeks IRCC was able to process electronic records in different classification levels.

No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Protected B Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret Electronic Records 0 52 0 52

Annex G: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

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

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Records

Number of weeks IRCC was able to receive requests through different channels.
Number of Weeks
Able to receive requests by mail 52
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 Number of weeks IRCC was able to process paper records in different classification levels.

No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Protected B Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret Electronic Records 0 52 0 52

2.2 Number of weeks IRCC was able to process electronic records in different classification levels.

No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Protected B Paper Records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret Electronic Records 0 52 0 52

Annex H: ATIP Modernisation Initiatives

  1. Analytics
    1. IRCC ATIP has incorporated the use of analytics and data mining to get a better understanding of the root causes as to why people are requesting the information they are seeking, as well as to understand the impacts that IRCC programs may have on increasing the demand on the ATIP Division
    2. Gaining a better understanding of why clients are making requests will allow the Department to pinpoint specific program areas that need to make improvements in its correspondence with clients
    3. Understanding the impacts from IRCC programs allows the Division to pinpoint ‘butterfly effects’ that result in changes in the Department. Being able to forecast when changes in a program results in an increase in ATIP requests will allow the Division to prepare in advance for these increases and staff accordingly to compensate for the surge in requests
    4. Use of data mining also helps to identify performance trends within IRCC, allowing more precise training exercises and highlighting areas where performance needs to be improved to increase compliance
  2. Technology
    1. The Modernisation team is exploring different technological tools that could be used to improve performance and compliance within the department
    2. There is currently a procurement project in place to update the current ATIP software suite, which has become archaic and does not take advantage of ‘modern’ technology. It is anticipated that a new software solution will be in place within the next 2 years
    3. In the interim, development is ongoing in programming bots to automate data entry aspects of the ATIP process with the goal of increasing the efficiency of the process. IRCC is the first ATIP office in the federal government to take advantage of RPA’s
  3. Transition efforts
    1. With help from Analytics, ATIP has been able to identify key areas within IRCC programs that are drivers for clients to submit requests to the department
    2. With that information, the Modernisation team is working with specific program areas to identify ways to provide clients with the information they are seeking, without the need of submitting an ATIP request
    3. Initiatives include real time status indicators on client files as to where in the process their application stands, located within their IRCC secured account, as well as a newly worded ‘Reason for Refusal’ letter that will allow for better understanding as to why a client may not have been successful with their application
    4. A new process was created for Treasury Board Submissions, to include provisions for new programs to take into account the amount of resources it will need in relation to ATIP requests and any privacy related matters that it may touch upon
  4. Other Government Department efforts
    1. Along with the internal work being done, ATIP Modernisation also works with the rest of the ATIP community by providing guidance and sharing best practices and tools with departments that are looking for help to improve their efficiencies and compliance
    2. ATIP Modernisation has provided various information sessions to other departments in order to highlight the potential that RPAs have for ATIP, as well as providing documentation on how to integrate RPAs into their Division
    3. Tutorials and demonstrations have been provided that shows the various ATIP practices that are being done at IRCC, how to optimize the current software to help increase compliance and how to use analytics and data to improve performance for a Department
    4. ATIP Modernisation is also taking the lead with the ATIP Development Community Office, an initiative to improve the availability and accessibility of resources throughout the federal government

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