Access to Information Act 2020-2021

CANADIAN HIGH ARCTIC RESEARCH STATION
2020-2021 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE
ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT
APRIL 1, 2020 - MARCH 31, 2021

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the Access to Information Act 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.

In accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act, this annual report is prepared and tabled in Parliament.

Established on June 1, 2015, the Canadian High Arctic Research Station has the following purpose:

• advance knowledge of the Canadian Arctic in order to improve economic opportunities, environmental stewardship and the quality of life of its residents and all other Canadians;
• promote the development and dissemination of knowledge of the other circumpolar regions, including the Antarctic;
• strengthen Canada’s leadership on Arctic issues; and
• establish a hub for scientific research in the Canadian Arctic

The Canadian High Arctic Research Station is a departmental corporation, reporting to the Minister of Northern Affairs. As a micro-organization, it has no full-time ATIP staff. All requests are dealt with by a staff member who fulfills Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator duties on an ad hoc basis, with assistance from other staff as required.

The head of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station has not delegated any of their powers and responsibilities under the Act.

PERFORMANCE 2020-21

The Canadian High Arctic Research Station received one (1) request for information under the Access to Information Act during the 2020-21 reporting period.

This is the first request for information under the Access to Information Act that the Canadian High Arctic Research Station has received in the last three years. A response was provided to the requester within 40 days. The Canadian High Arctic Research Station did not meet the legislated timelines for the request due to technical difficulties in accessing the request through the automated system.

COVID-19-related measures did not impact the institution’s ability to fulfill its Access to Information Act responsibilities. No mitigation measures were required.

REPORTING ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION 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 amount: $5.00 application fee
• Total revenue: $5.00 collected during 2020-21
• Fees waived: no fees were waived during the 2020-21 reporting year
• Cost of operating the program: $11,000

TRAINING AND AWARENESS

In 2020-2021, training was provided to new employees who directly support the institution’s Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator duties.

NEW POLICIES, GUIDELINES, AND PROCEDURES

No new policies, guidelines or procedures were implemented during the reporting period, 2020-21.

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES AND ACTIONS TAKEN ON COMPLAINTS

There have been no complaints or investigations pursuant to the Access to Information Act in 2020-2021.

MONITORING COMPLIANCE

No monitoring was conducted during the reporting period, 2020-2021.

Access to Information Act Appendix A: Statistical Report on the Access to Information

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	1
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Total	1
Closed during reporting period	1
Carried over to next reporting period	0

1.2 Sources of requests

Source	Number of Requests
Media	1
Academia	0
Business (private sector)	0
Organization	0
Public	0
Decline to Identify	0
Total	1

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
0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1

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

TBS/SCT 350-62

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

	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

Disposition of Request	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	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
No records exist	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Request transferred	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1

3.2 Exemptions

Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests
13(1)(a)	0	16(2)	0	18(a)	0	20.1	0
13(1)(b)	0	16(2)(a)	0	18(b)	0	20.2	0
13(1)(c)	0	16(2)(b)	0	18(c)	0	20.4	0
13(1)(d)	0	16(2)(c)	0	18(d)	0	21(1)(a)	0
13(1)(e)	0	16(3)	0	18.1(1)(a)	0	21(1)(b)	0
14	0	16.1(1)(a)	0	18.1(1)(b)	0	21(1)(c)	0
14(a)	0	16.1(1)(b)	0	18.1(1)(c)	0	21(1)(d)	0
14(b)	0	16.1(1)(c)	0	18.1(1)(d)	0	22	0
15(1)	0	16.1(1)(d)	0	19(1)	0	22.1	0
15(1) - I.A.*	0	16.2(1)	0	20(1)(a)	0	23	0
15(1) - Def.*	0	16.3	0	20(1)(b)	0	23.1	0
15(1) - S.A.*	0	16.31	0	20(1)(b.1)	0	24(1)	0
16(1)(a)(i)	0	16.4(1)(a)	0	20(1)(c)	0	26	0
16(1)(a)(ii)	0	16.4(1)(b)	0	20(1)(d)	0
16(1)(a)(iii)	0	16.5
16(1)(b)	0	16.6
16(1)(c)	0	17
16(1)(d)	0

3.3 Exclusions

Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests
68(a)	0	69(1)	0	69(1)(g) re (a)	0
68(b)	0	69(1)(a)	0	69(1)(g) re (b)	0
68(c)	0	69(1)(b)	0	69(1)(g) re (c)	0
68.1	0	69(1)(c)	0	69(1)(g) re (d)	0
68.2(a)	0	69(1)(d)	0	69(1)(g) re (e)	0
68.2(b)	0	69(1)(e)	0	69(1)(g) re (f)	0
		69(1)(f)	0	69(1)(1)	0

3.4 Format of information released

Paper	Electronic	Other
0	0	0

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

Disposition	Less Than 100 Pages Processed		101-500 Pages Processe		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
	Number of Requests	PagesDisclosed	Number of Requests	PagesDisclosed	Number of Requests	PagesDisclosed	Number of Requests	PagesDisclosed	Number of Requests	PagesDisclosed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

3.5.3 Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation Required	Assessment of Fees	Legal Advice Sought	Other	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0

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	0
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	0

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
1	1	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	1	0	1
16 to 30 days	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
More than 365 days	0	0	0
Total	1	0	1

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	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
		Section 69	Other
All disclosed	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

4.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
		Section 69	Other
30 days or less	0	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0	0
365 days or more	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

Section 5: Fees

Fee Type	Fee Collected		Fee Waived or Refunded Consultation
	Requests	Amount	Requests	Amount
Application	1	$5	0	$0
Other fees	0	$0	0	$0
Total	1	$5	0	$0

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	0	0	0	0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0
Closed during the reporting period	0	0	0	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0	0	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	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
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	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
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	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	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 InformationCommissioner	Section 37 Reports of finding containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 9: Court Action

9.1 Court actions on complaints received before June 21, 2019 and on-going

Section 41 (before June 21, 2019)	Section 42	Section 44
0	0	0

9.2 Court actions on complaints received after June 21, 2019

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 Costs

Expenditures		Amount
Salaries		$11,000
Overtime		$0
Goods and Services		$0
Professional services contracts	$0
Other	$0
Total		$11,000

10.2 Human Resources

Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees	0.100
Part-time and casual employees	0.000
Regional staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	0.000
Students	0.000
Total	0.100

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

Access to Information Act Appendix B: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information and Privacy Act

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests

Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to receive ATIP requests through the different channels.

	Number of Weeks
Able to receive requests by mail	0
Able to receive requests by email	0
Able to receive requests through the digital request service	52

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records

2.1 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels.

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

2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution 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 Paper Records	0	52	0	52