Parole Board of Canada — Annual Report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act — 2023-2024

About this publication

Author: Parole Board of Canada
ISSN 2564-0208

Introduction

In accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information (ATI) Act, an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the ATI Act is prepared each fiscal year and tabled in Parliament. This report covers the period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act allows Canadian citizens, permanent residents and any other individual or corporation present in Canada the right of access to information under the control of a federal government institution. This right of access is subject to limited and specific exceptions.  Decisions on the disclosure of information are reviewed independently of government. This Act complements existing procedures for obtaining government information and does not limit in any way the type of information that is normally available to the public under informal access to government records.

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC/Board) recognizes the right of access to information under the control of government institutions as an essential element of democracy, openness and transparency. The PBC respects the spirit and requirements of the Access to Information Act, Access to Information Regulations, guidelines and related policy instruments.

Mandate of the Parole Board of Canada

The Parole Board of Canada is an independent administrative tribunal. The PBC is headed by a Chairperson who reports to Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety.

The Parole Board of Canada, as part of the criminal justice system, contributes to the protection of society by facilitating, as appropriate, the timely reintegration of offenders and the sustained rehabilitation of individuals into society as law-abiding citizens. The Board makes independent, quality conditional release, record suspension and expungement decisions, as well as clemency recommendations, in a transparent and accountable manner, while respecting diversity and the rights of offenders and victims.

The PBC has exclusive authority under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) to grant, deny, cancel, terminate or revoke day parole and full parole. The Board may order certain offenders to be detained in prison until the end of their sentence. The Board makes conditional release decisions for federal offenders as well as for provincial offenders in provinces and territories that do not have their own provincial boards. The provinces of Ontario, Quebec and Alberta have their own parole boards.

The PBC is responsible for making decisions to order, refuse to order and revoke record suspensions (pardons) under the Criminal Records Act (CRA) and the Criminal Code. A record suspension is a formal attempt to remove the stigma of a criminal record for people who, having been convicted of an offence, have satisfied the sentence and remained crime-free for a prescribed number of years. The PBC also has legislated responsibility to order or refuse to order expungement of a conviction under the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act (Expungement Act). The Board also makes recommendations for the exercise of clemency through the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.

The PBC is comprised of full-time employees as well as Board members appointed by the Governor-in-Council. The PBC's National Office is located in Ottawa and there are six regional offices located in: Moncton (Atlantic), Montreal (Quebec), Kingston (Ontario), Saskatoon and Edmonton (Prairies), and Abbotsford (Pacific). The Appeal Division of the Board is located in Ottawa.

Organizational Structure of the PBC to Fulfill its Access to Information Act Responsibilities

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Unit is led by the Director of Public Affairs and Partnerships, who reports to the Deputy Chairperson of the PBC. ATIP is responsible for:

• processing and responding to all formal requests under the Access to Information Act;
• responding to interdepartmental consultations;
• handling complaints from the Office of the Information Commissioner;
• advising senior officials and employees on ATIP-related issues;
• producing the Annual Report to Parliament;
• updating Info Source;
• training employees;
• replying to informal inquiries; and
• coordinating and implementing policies, guidelines and procedures to ensure compliance with the Access to Information Act.

The Director of Public Affairs and Partnerships is responsible for administering the legislation and signing exemptions within his delegated authority. In 2023-2024, ATIP staff consisted of the Director, one ATIP Manager, one Senior ATIP Analyst, one ATIP Analyst and one ATIP Clerk. All ATIP staff are located at National Office, however most ATIP staff telework several times a week, in accordance with the PBC’s Telework Policy.

Requests are processed as follows:

• the completeness of the request is determined;
• the request is acknowledged;
• search for relevant records is conducted;
• records are analysed under the provisions of the legislation;
• other agencies/ministries are consulted, where appropriate;
• any necessary exemptions are applied; and
• the applicant is provided with non-exempted material.

A tracking system is used to log all actions taken. Consultations with other agencies/ministries take place in most cases when other institutions' information is found in the PBC’s files, and their recommendations are normally followed.

Reading rooms are available in each of the six regional offices of the Board as well as at National Office.

As part of the Parole Board of Canada’s migration to Canada.ca, our proactive disclosure reports are now available through the Open Government portal.

All Access to Information summaries, as per Part 2 of the Proactive Publications, are posted on a monthly basis on the Open Government Portal https://open.canada.ca/en/access-to-information.

Delegation Order

Some powers, duties and functions for the administration of the Access to Information Act have been delegated to the Chairperson, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Director of Public Affairs and Partnerships, and to the ATIP Manager. For a copy of the signed delegation order, please refer to Annex A.

Interpretation of the Statistical Report for the 2023-2024 Reporting Period

For a copy of the Statistical Report, please refer to Annex B.

PART 1 – Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of Requests

Thirty-eight (38) requests were received under the Access to Information Act during the current reporting period. Two (2) requests were carried forward from last fiscal year (2022-2023) and eight (8) requests were carried forward into next fiscal year (2024-2025). Comparisons for the past four fiscal years are found on the following graph.

1.2 Sources of Requests

In 2023-2024, the majority of requests came from the public and media. A comparison of the source of the requester, by percentage of total requests received, can be found in the graph below.

1.3 Channels of requests

Of the thirty-eight (38) requests received, 74% were submitted online, 21% by e-mail and 5% by mail.

PART 2 – Informal Requests ¹

2.1 Number of Informal Requests

In 2023-2024, thirty-nine (39) informal requests were submitted online.

2.2 Channels of requests

The thirty-nine (39) informal requests were submitted online.

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

Thirty-four (34) informal requests were completed between 0-15 days and five (5) were completed within 16 to 30 days.

2.4 Pages released informally

A total of 65,666 pages were released for the thirty-nine (39) informal requests.

2.5 Pages re-released informally

No pages were re-released during this reporting period.

¹ Informal request: a request for records that were previously disclosed through a formal ATI request.

PART 3 – Applications to the Information Commissioner on declining to Act on Request

ATIP did not have any requests that related to this during this reporting period.

PART 4 – Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.1 Disposition and Completion Time

Forty-four percent (44%) of the requests were completed within 15 days, forty-seven percent (47%) were completed within 30 days, three percent (3%) were completed within 121-180 days and six percent (6%) were completed within
181-365 days.

A graph of the disposition of requests and completion time for 2023-2024 is shown below. Of the 32 requests processed, 22% were fully disclosed and 25% were partially disclosed.

Neither confirmed nor denied: records that the PBC can neither confirm nor deny the existence of, pursuant to Section 10(2) of the Access to Information Act (e.g., whether someone has a pardon/record suspension).

4.2 Exemptions

During fiscal year 2023-2024, 19(1) (Personal Information) was the exemption invoked the most, followed closely by
23 (Protected information — solicitors, advocates and notaries). Sections 16(1)(c) (Law enforcement and investigations), 16(2)(c) (Security), 21(1)(a) and 21(1)(b) (Operations of Government) as well as section 26 (Refusal of Access) were also used this fiscal year. The exemptions invoked varied from file-to-file.

4.3 Exclusions

There were no exclusions applied this fiscal year.

4.4 Format of Information Released

The format of information released was electronic for the majority of the requests (14), while one (1) request was disclosed in paper format.

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed for paper and e-record

Overall, 21,956 pages were processed this past fiscal year from 26 requests and of these 14,505 were disclosed in full and 7,451 were disclosed in part.

All disclosed: pages disclosed in full
Disclosed in part: pages partially disclosed (with exemptions)

4.5.2 Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed for paper and e-record by size of request

81% of requests processed this past fiscal year had less than 500 pages.

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

There were no requests for audio.

4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests

There were no requests for audio.

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

There were no requests for videos.

4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests

There were no requests for videos.

4.5.7 Other Complexities

In fiscal year 2023-2024, the complexities were all based on consultations required. 

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines

Of the thirty-one (31) requests closed in 2023-2024, 97% of the requests were closed within the legislated timeframes.

4.7 Deemed Refusals

4.7.1 Reason for not meeting legislated timeframes

In fiscal year 2023-2024, there was one (1) request that was closed beyond the statutory deadline.

4.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislation timelines (including any extension taken)

There was one (1) request closed, beyond legislative timelines, where no extension was taken.

4.8 Requests for Translation

Consistent with past fiscal years, there were no requests for translations.

PART 5 – Extensions

5.1 Reasons for Extensions and Disposition of Requests

In fiscal year 2023-2024, there were three (3) extensions taken. 

5.2 Length of extensions

One (1) extension taken was for between 121-180 days and two (2) were for between 181-365 days.  

PART 6 – Fees

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.

• Enabling authority: Access to Information Act
• Fee payable: $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATI request
• Total revenue: $190
• Fees waived: $0
  In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, the Parole Board of Canada waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.
• Cost of operating the program: $56,739

PART 7 – Consultations Received from other Institutions and Organizations

7.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

No consultations were received from other government institutions and organizations this fiscal year.

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

No consultations were received from other government institutions this fiscal year.

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside Government of Canada

No consultations were received from other organizations. This is consistent with past trends at the PBC.

PART 8 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

There was no consultation on Cabinet Confidences with Legal Services this past fiscal year.

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

There was no consultation on Cabinet Confidences with the Privy Council Office this past fiscal year.

PART 9 – Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

There were two (2) complaints received during 2023-2024.

9.2 Investigations and Reports of finding

There were two (2) initial reports received for the reporting period.

PART 10 – Court Action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

There are no active court actions on complaints.

10.2 Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

There are no active court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b).

PART 11 – Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

Total salary costs associated with the Access to Information Act activities were $56,736 for 2023-2024. Goods and services costs were $4. The associated full-time equivalency (FTE) human resources were 0.50. Salary costs attributable to ATIP are the costs accountable for the administration of the Act. These are the salary costs of individuals working on ATIP activities such as processing ATIP requests, assisting the Office of the Information Commissioner in complaint investigations, processing consultation requests from other government institutions, preparing reports, maintaining statistics and training employees on the Access to Information Act. Similar to previous fiscal years, the vast majority of salary costs in the ATIP office were associated with Privacy Act activities. A chart of the costs associated with the Access to Information Act is shown as a percentage of expenditures in the chart below.

Formal/Informal Interface

As reported in previous annual reports, the PBC continues to handle a large number of requests informally through its Public Affairs and Partnerships Division and regional offices. The availability of corporate publications and the PBC website on Canada.ca greatly facilitate access to information about the PBC and its programs. As well, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) directs the PBC to maintain a registry of its written decisions, which are available to members of the public upon written request. This allows Canadian citizens greater access to information about specific decisions related to the conditional release of offenders. The CCRA provides for:

1. A Decision Registry containing all conditional release decisions made by the Board since November 1992, and which is accessible by written request to anyone who demonstrates an interest in a specific case or group of cases;
2. Access by victims to some offender-related information, and;
3. Members of the public to attend PBC hearings.

This law has an important impact on the disclosure of offender-related information to third parties.

Training Activities

The PBC requires all of its public service staff to complete the online course “Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals” as part of their Collective Learning Roadmap. One (1) training session on the Access to Information and Privacy Act was also delivered at the Regional Communication Officers annual training session by the Senior ATIP Analyst. Some examples of the types of information provided to employees this past fiscal year include information regarding the collection, correction, use and disclosure of personal information; and handling privacy breaches. This training session was given to approximately thirty-five (35) employees.

Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the ATIA

The PBC is a government institution listed under Schedule I.1 and 4 of the Financial Administration Act, for the purposes of Part 2 of the ATIA. In line with its obligations under Part 2 of the ATIA, the PBC proactively publishes the following information:

• Travel and hospitality expenses;
• Contracts over $10,000;
• Publications and Reports;
• Reclassification of positions;
• Grants and contributions over $25,000 (Note: The PBC does not award any grants or contributions),
• Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head;
• Packages of briefing materials prepared for a new or incoming deputy head;
• Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head for appearance before a committee of Parliament.

All mandated proactive disclosure requirements were met. Information that would normally be withheld under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act is redacted from these materials.

Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

In order to improve the access to information held within the Parole Board of Canada, we have been working on implementing the following activities:

• Looking at improvements to modernize the delivery of services by promoting the ATIP Online to requesters.
• Updating our current ATIP digital software.
• Instituting improvements for responding to requests for copies of previously released ATI requests.

Revised PBC-related Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

In keeping with Treasury Board’s policies, guidelines and procedures regarding the Access to Information Act, the PBC has an ATIP procedural manual to ensure consistency while processing requests under the Access to Information Act. In addition, updated information geared towards assisting applicants in obtaining information from the PBC was posted on the external website. This included information on how to make an access to information request, the timeframe for responding to access requests, the principles for assisting applicants, completed access to information requests, Info source, Access to Information and Privacy Annual Reports, Frequently Asked Questions and related links.

Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

Two (2) complaints were received for this reporting period, and we are actively in communication with the Office of the Information Commissioner to resolve them.

Monitoring the Time to Process Access to Information Requests

The PBC monitors the time to process all Access to Information requests through the use of a computerized tracking system. Monitoring is done by the Manager, ATIP. As the PBC is 97% compliant with the legislated timelines set out in the Act, no additional monitoring is required.

ANNEX A: Delegation - Access to Information Act

Access to Information Act Delegation Order

By this order made pursuant to section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act, I hereby authorize those officers and employees of the Parole Board of Canada occupying, on an acting basis or otherwise, the positions identified within the attached schedule to perform on my behalf any of the powers, duties or functions specified therein.

This delegation replaces and repeals all previous orders.

Dated at the City of Ottawa,
this 27 day of Feb, 2024

Dominic LeBlanc, M.P.
Minister of Public Safety Canada Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs

ANNEX B:  Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of Institution: Parole Board of Canada

Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-03-31

Part 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

Part 2: Informal requests

Part 3: Decline to act on vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of rights requests

Part 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.5 Complexity

4.6 Closed requests

4.7 Deemed refusals

Part 5 – Extensions

Part 6 – Fees

Part 7 – Consultations received from other Institutions and Organizations

Part 8 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Part 9: Complaints and Investigations

Part 10: Court Action

Part 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

ANNEX C: Supplemental Statistical Report 2023-2024

Section 1: Open Requests and Complaints under the Access to Information Act

Section 2: Open Requests and Complaints under the Privacy Act