The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board’s 2024-2025 Annual Report to Parliament: Privacy Act
PDF version (582 KB)Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Organizational Structure
- Delegation Order
- Performance for 2024-2025
- Training and Awareness
- Policies, Guidelines and Procedures
- Initiatives and Projects to Improve Privacy
- Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints and Audits
- Material Privacy Breaches
- Privacy Impact Assessments
- Public Interest Disclosures
- Monitoring Compliance
- Appendix A: Access to Information Act and Privacy Act - Delegation Order
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
Email: pmprb.atip-aiprb.cepmb@pmprb-cepmb.gc.ca
Introduction
The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB, The Board) is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Privacy Act services, in accordance with section 72 of the Privacy Act. The report describes activities that support compliance with this law for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2024, and ending March 31, 2025.
The PMPRB did not have any non-operational (“paper”) subsidiaries during this reporting period.
Purpose of the Privacy Act
The Privacy Act protects an individual’s privacy by setting out provisions related to the collection, retention, accuracy, disposal, use and disclosure of personal information. It also gives Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada the right to access information about themselves held by the federal government, with certain specific and limited exceptions.
About the PMPRB and its Mandate
The PMPRB is an independent quasi-judicial body established by Parliament in 1987 under the Patent Act (the 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 from the Minister of Health at arm's length. It also operated independently of other bodies, such as Health Canada, which approves drugs for safety and efficacy; federal, provincial, and territorial public drug plans, which have the 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.
Through its price review mandate, the PMPRB ensures that the prices of patented medicines sold in Canada are not excessive. Through its reporting mandate, the PMPRB issues an Annual Report with information on trends in pharmaceutical sales and pricing and on research and development (R&D) spending by Rights Holders.
Organizational Structure
Information Management (IM) and Access to Information and Privacy Group
Privacy requests are received and processed by the Access to Information and Privacy Analyst (ATIP Analyst), reporting to the Team Leader, Information Management and ATIP, who is responsible for reporting to the ATIP Coordinator, who in turn reports to the 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, legal services, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
A processing structure for the receipt, review and retrieval of requests is established to ensure incoming requests are registered with the ATIP Analyst, tasked to the appropriate Branch for action, and receipt of acknowledgement is sent to the applicant. The documents relevant to the request are retrieved by the Branch and forwarded to the ATIP Analyst, who reviews and recommends severances, consults with Legal Services on accuracy and any potential issues, and forwards all documents to the Team Leader, IM and ATIP for approval, then to the ATIP Coordinator for final approval. Once approval is received, the ATIP Analyst prepares the documents and processes the information for dissemination within the prescribed timeframe.
The ATIP Analyst liaises and coordinates with the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, and any other government department or agency. The Team Leader, Information Management and ATIP develops and maintains the corporate policies and practices related to access to information and privacy.
The PMPRB was not party to any new or pre-existing service agreements under section 73.1 of the Privacy Act during the reporting period.
Delegation Order
The Chairperson of the Board has delegated the responsibilities associated with the administration of the Privacy Act to the Senior Director, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. As a result, Privacy duties are part of the Information Services Division, Corporate Services, and operational responsibility for the application of the Act has been delegated to the Senior Director, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, to act as the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator (Coordinator); see Appendix A for the signed Delegation Order in effect at the end of the reporting period.
Performance for 2024-2025
Caseload and Carry Forward
In 2024-2025, the PMPRB did not receive any privacy request, and no privacy requests were outstanding from the previous fiscal year. Due to the nature of the PMPRB’s work, privacy requests are quite rare. In the past five years, the PMPRB has received a total of five privacy requests.
Performance for 2024-2025
| Type of Requests | Carried over | Received | Closed | Carry Forward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Privacy |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Total |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
The following section of the report includes an interpretation and explanation of the data in the PMPRB’s Statistical Report, which summarizes Privacy-related activity between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, and previous fiscal years.
Key statistics by fiscal year
| Fiscal Year | Number of Requests Received | Number of Requests Carried Over | Total Caseload | Number of requests Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-2020 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2020-2021 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2021-2022 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2022-2023 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2023-2024 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2024-2025 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Training and Awareness
All existing and new PMPRB employees are mandated to complete the Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals (COR502) course administered by the Canada school of Public Service (CSPS) to be aware of policies, procedures, and legal responsibilities under the Privacy Act.
No formal Privacy training for staff was done for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
PMPRB employees who have functional or delegated responsibility for the administration of the Privacy Act and Privacy Regulations continue to take the additional in-depth training that is required for them under the Directive on Personal Information Requests and Correction of Personal Information
The ATIP Analyst attended quarterly ATIP community meetings hosted by TBS. Several topics were addressed, such as how to apply various sections of the Act, the complaint process, and the principles of the PA.
Policies, Guidelines and Procedures
No institution-specific policies, guidelines, or procedures were implemented during the reporting period.
The ATIP Group continues working in collaboration with other government institutions on mapping out workflows, and procedure manuals and optimizing approval and review processes.
Initiatives and Projects to Improve Privacy
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve Privacy, our organization has recently begun the onboarding process for AMANDA, joining other federal institutions in adopting an enterprise solution designed to digitize and streamline the management of Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests. This modernized platform will support more efficient request processing, enhanced record tracking, and improved reporting capabilities. Once fully implemented, it is expected to reduce response times, strengthen consistency in service delivery, and contribute to a more transparent and responsive government.
Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints and Audits
No complaints were filed with the Privacy Commissioner in 2024-2025.
Material Privacy Breaches
No material privacy breaches were reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (Privacy and Responsible Data Division) during the reporting period.
Privacy Impact Assessments
The PMPRB did not complete any PIAs during the 2024-2025 reporting period.
Public Interest Disclosures
No disclosures were made under paragraph 8 (2)(m) of the Privacy Act during the 2024-2025 reporting period.
Monitoring Compliance
The current monitoring process is done regularly through the ATIP Analyst and the Team Leader, Information Management and ATIP. They report on daily activities and request statuses are provided on an as-needed (ad hoc) basis.
Appendix A: Access to Information Act and Privacy Act – Delegation Order
Delegation Order
Pursuant to subsection 95 (1) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA), R.S.C.C. A-1 and subsection 73 (1) of the Privacy Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. P-21, as amended:
I, Thomas J. Digby, Chairperson of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, a government institution as listed in Schedule 1 (Section 3) of the Act, do herby authorize the 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.
Dated in OTTAWA, in the Province of Ontario, this 25th day of November 2024.
Thomas J. Digby
Chairperson of the Board
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board