Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2020-2021
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act
April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021
Table of Contents
A copy of the Report can be obtained from, and enquiries can be directed to, the Senior Director, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer at:
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board
Standard Life Centre
Box L40
333 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 1400
Ottawa, Ontario - K1P 1C1
E-mail: PMPRB.ATIP-AIPRB.CEPMB@pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca
Introduction
The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB, Board) became subject to the Access to Information Act (ATIA) on June 14, 1990. Pursuant to sections 87 and 88 of the Patent Act and the Patented Medicines Regulations, certain information filed by patentees is privileged and may not be made public except in the course of a public hearing before the Board. This information is also exempt from disclosure under section 24 of the ATIA.
The purpose of the ATIA is to extend the present laws of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution in accordance with the principles 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 government.
Pursuant to section 74 of the ATIA, this document contains the Annual Report to Parliament on the administration of the ATIA for 2020-2021 by the PMPRB as submitted to the Minister of Health.
About PMPRB and Mandate
The PMPRB is an independent quasi-judicial body established by Parliament in 1987 under the Patent Act (Act). The Minister of Health is responsible for the pharmaceutical provisions of the Act as set out in sections 79 to 103. Although part of the Health Portfolio, the PMPRB carries out its mandate at arm’s length from the Minister of Health. It also operates independently of other bodies such as Health Canada, which approves drugs for safety and efficacy; federal, provincial, and territorial public drug plans, which have responsibility for approving the listing of drugs on their respective formularies and determining price levels for the purpose of reimbursement; and the Common Drug Review, which provides listing recommendations based on cost-effectiveness to participating public drug plans.
The PMPRB has a dual regulatory and reporting role. The mandate of the PMPRB is to ensure that prices at which patentees sell their patented medicines in Canada to hospitals, wholesalers and pharmacies are not excessive; and, to report on pharmaceutical trends and on research and development spending by patentees.
Delegation of Authority
The acting Chairperson of the Board has delegated the responsibilities associated with the administration of the ATIA to the Senior Director, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. As a result, Access to Information requests are part of the Information Services Division, Corporate Services, and operational responsibility for the application of the Act has been delegated to Devon Menard, Senior Director, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, to act as the Access to Information Coordinator (Coordinator). Please refer to Annex A for the signed Delegation Order.
Organizational Structure
The PMPRB is a micro agency of approximately 80 FTEs. Access to Information (ATI) requests are received and processed by the Access to Information and Privacy Analyst (ATIP Analyst), who is responsible for reporting to the Coordinator, who in turn reports to the acting Chairperson of the Board on the disposition of the requests. The ATIP Analyst is responsible for consultations with the applicants, other government institutions, third parties and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
A processing structure for the receipt, review and retrieval of requests is established to ensure that incoming requests are registered with the ATIP Analyst, distributed to the appropriate Branch for action and receipt is acknowledged to the applicant. The documents relevant to the request are retrieved by the Branch and forwarded on to the ATIP Analyst who reviews and recommends severances to the Coordinator for final approval. Once approval is received the ATIP Analyst prepares the documents and processes the information for disposition within the prescribed timeframe.
The ATIP Analyst liaises and coordinates with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), the Office of the Information Commissioner, and any other government department or agency. As well, the ATIP analyst works with the Coordinator in developing the corporate policies and practices related to access to information.
Statistical Report
The PMPRB received 47 new access to information requests under the ATIA between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
Annex B provides the statistical report on Access to Information processed by the PMPRB between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
Informal Requests
The PMPRB receives very few informal requests for information and responds to them in accordance with the spirit of the ATIA. The PMPRB responds to informal public inquiries either through its Communication Branch or the ATIP Analyst directly via telephone, mail, or email. A request is considered to be "formal" if it is presented to the Coordinator or ATIP Analyst in writing or through the Online request form, refers to the ATIA and provides sufficient information to identify the records.
Interpretation of Statistical Report
Over the past ten (10) years, the number of new access to information requests filed with the PMPRB has widely varied. The PMPRB received 47 new requests in 2020- 2021.
Table 1 Statistics on Access to Information Requests
| Fiscal Year | Total | Source of new requests | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Media | Academia | Business | Organization | Public/Decline to identify | ||
2011-2012 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
2012-2013 |
13 |
|
|
1 |
6 |
6 |
2013-2014 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
2014-2015 |
6 |
|
|
5 |
|
1 |
2015-2016 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
2016-2017 |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
2017-2018 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
3 |
2018-2019 |
17 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
11 |
2 |
2019-2020 |
27 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
23 |
1 |
2020-2021 |
47 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
47 |
The PMPRB has a statutory obligation to protect pricing information as filed by patentees. Pursuant to sections 87 and 88 of the Patent Act and the Patented Medicines Regulations, certain information filed by patentees is privileged and may not be made public except in the course of a public hearing before the Board. This information is also exempt from disclosure under section 24 of the ATIA.
Summaries of these completed ATI requests are posted on the PMPRB website at www.pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca, under Access to Information and Privacy.
The PMPRB is committed to ensuring transparency and as such endeavors to publish all publicly available information on its website.
Responses to requests processed
47 new requests were received in 2020-2021
Exemptions and Exclusions and Completion time
Exemptions were applied to 23 requests and completion time is broken down as follow:
| Number of Days | Number of ATIs completed |
|---|---|
30 days |
26 |
31 to 120 days |
9 |
121 to 365 days |
2 |
More than 365 days |
11 |
The PMPRB also had one request outstanding from the previous fiscal year; this request has been addressed and completed.
Fees & Costs
During the reporting period, $85 was collected in fees. The PMPRB incurred an estimated $116,377 in salary and goods and services to meet the requirements of the ATIA.
Access-related Training and Education
For the 2020-2021 reporting period, the PMPRB participated in no Access to Information and Privacy courses.
Access to Information Complaints or Investigations
Throughout the reporting period of FY 2020-2021, the PMPRB received two complaints with regards to access to information and is subject of one investigation from the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Appeals
Throughout the reporting period of FY 2020-2021, no applications/appeals were filed with the Federal Court or the Federal Court of Appeal.
Delegation Order
Pursuant to Section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act (AIA), R.S.C.C. A-1 and Section 73(1) of the Privacy Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. P-21, as amended
I, Mélanie Bourassa Forcier, acting Chairperson of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, a government institution as listed in Schedule 1 (Section 3) of the Act, do hereby authorize Devon Menard, Senior Director, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to exercise, perform and to carry out the duties, functions and powers of the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator, as pursuant to Section 73 of the Act.
Dated in OTTAWA, on the Province of Ontario, this November 19, 2021.
Mélanie Bourassa Forcier
Acting Chairperson of the Board
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board