2022-2023 Annual Report to Parliament on the Privacy Act

Introduction

The Privy Council Office (PCO) reports directly to the Prime Minister and is headed by the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. PCO is both the Cabinet secretariat and the Prime Minister’s source of public service advice across the entire spectrum of policy questions and operational issues facing the Government. As the hub of non-partisan public service support to the Prime Minister, Cabinet and its decision-making structures, PCO ensures that the Government and Canadians are served by the highest quality public service.

PCO also provides support to the Prime Minister, as well as to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, the President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, and the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities.

PCO’s three main roles are to:

1. Provide professional non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister, portfolio ministers, Cabinet and Cabinet committees on matters of national and international importance.
2. Ensure that the Cabinet decision-making process runs smoothly and help implement the Government’s agenda.
3. Foster a high-performing and accountable Public Service.

This is the 40th Annual Report to Parliament on the administration of the Privacy Act (PA) by PCO, submitted as required by section 72 of the PA and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. This report covers the reporting period of April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.

Additional copies of this report may be obtained from:

• Access to Information and Privacy Division
  Privy Council Office
  11 Metcalfe Street
  Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A3

Highlights

1. The Privacy Act protects the privacy of personal information held by the Government of Canada. It ensures the protection of that information against unauthorized use and disclosure, and provides individuals with the right of access to, and a means to correct, their personal information. In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, eight privacy requests were received which is a decrease from the 26 requests received in 2021-2022.
2. During the reporting period, PCO worked with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) on several files across the department dealing with personal information. PCO did not complete any Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) in 2022-2023.

Access to Information and Privacy division – organizational structure

The ATIP division within PCO is responsible for managing requests for departmental or personal information, ensuring corporate understanding and compliance with the ATIA and the Privacy Act (PA), and fostering corporate awareness of access and privacy rights and responsibilities. On matters of access and privacy, the ATIP division also acts as a primary liaison with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC), the Access to Information Policy and Performance Division (AIPPD) of Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), and partner departments.

The ATIP division has a personnel complement of approximately 26.8 full-time equivalents (FTEs) that are organized into two areas of responsibility. The two areas of responsibility are as follows:

1. ATIP operations (22.8 FTEs)
   • Processes ATIP requests;
   • Oversees the collection and release of personal and/or business information;
   • Provides expertise in ATIP policy;
   • Researches trends and best practices in ATIP;
   • Develops and delivers ATIP training programs; and
   • Proactively discloses and publishes briefing note titles, transition material, Question Period cards and committee binders.
2. Client services (4 FTEs)
   • Coordinates training and prepares promotional products;
   • Processes responses to parliamentary questions and petitions on behalf of PCO; and,
   • Provides database administration.

Of the personnel complement of 22.8 FTEs in 2022-2023, approximately 21.8 FTEs were dedicated to activities related to the administration of the Access to Information Act and 1 FTE was dedicated to activities related to the administration of the Privacy Act.

Monitoring compliance

In order to meet the legislative deadlines for privacy requests, the timelines of individual requests are strictly monitored. Regular meetings and various reports are used to ensure all requests are on track to meet the deadlines. Given our delegation orders (described in the next section), the ATIP division works very closely with our Offices of Primary Interest (OPIs) to ensure tasking and signoff timelines are respected.

Privy Council Office delegation orders

The Minister heading each government institution is responsible for the implementation of the PA within his or her institution. The Prime Minister, as the Head of the Privy Council Office (PCO) and pursuant to section 73 of the PA, is responsible for the implementation of the PA within PCO. By virtue of PCO’s delegation order, the Prime Minister designated the Executive Director, ATIP, as the individual within PCO to perform the powers, duties, functions, or administrative tasks pertaining to the PA. PCO Secretariats, or OPIs, holders of the information identified in a privacy request, approve the release of information to requesters and the application of exemptions or exclusions and supporting rationales. This shared delegation of authority for the disposition of information is exercised diligently within PCO, and recorded formally at appropriate stages in the process. PCO delegation orders, which were in effect in 2022-2023, can be found at Appendix A.

Education and training activities

Within the ATIP division, meetings are held on a weekly basis to ensure all requests meet the legislated due dates, as well as to review legislated extensions and discuss any new processes. PCO provides information on ATIP requirements and best practices through learning products, special events in the branch and/or the department, as well as on the intranet.

In 2022-2023, PCO provided ATIP training or awareness sessions to approximately 253 employees through 18 training events during the reporting period. These sessions consisted of an overview of ATIP to internal secretariats to deliver insight on the ATIP process, information management, and the application of exemptions.

PCO senior officials were provided with a summary of the access and privacy statistics on performance and compliance to promote understanding of access and privacy responsibilities. The Executive Director of ATIP maintained regular contact with senior staff in the department, and ATIP senior staff met with senior officials in PCO Secretariats to clarify the roles and enhance working relationships. Throughout the 2022-2023 reporting period, ATIP analysts liaised with clients to explain the five-stage request timeline and their working role, as well as train on processes such as the search for records.

PCO personnel have access to key information on access and privacy. This information is readily available as instructional ATIP handouts, an email box for questions, takeaway learning tools, as well as comprehensive and educational electronic content on PCO’s intranet.

Other activities

a) General operations

The ATIP division provides support to requesters not captured by statistics. For example, routine inquiries about privacy and personal information matters are received which, whenever possible, are treated informally and to the satisfaction of the requesters. Further, ATIP provides advice and guidance on privacy matters and activities across the department. The ATIP division conducts Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and assists officials in various areas of the department to ensure that any activity related to personal information complies with PCO’s responsibilities under the PA.

b) Data matching and sharing

For the 2022-2023 reporting period, PCO did not establish any new systems or processes that led to data matching or sharing of personal information, either within the department or with any external sources. The department was not involved in any data matching activities.

Privacy-related policies, guidelines, and procedures

a) Transitioning to an electronic office

As part of the Beyond 2020 plan, which advocates for green government operations, PCO began the process of transforming into a paperless office in 2016-2017, by introducing electronic tasking and notification of releases. These two processes alone have proven to be very successful and have greatly reduced the number of pages printed on a daily basis. In 2018-2019, PCO was part of the first wave of institutions brought on by Treasury Board Secretariat to accept requests through the online portal.

Towards the end of 2019-2020, the ATIP division officially became a paperless office; with help from the PCO Information Technology directorate, the ATIP division initiated electronic processes for record retrieval, consultations with other institutions, internal approvals and final responses.

Interpretation of the Statistical report

The 2022-2023 Statistical Report on the Privacy Act can be found at Appendix B.

Part 1 − Number of requests received

Between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, PCO received eight requests for personal information under the PA, compared to 26 received the previous year.

Part 2 – Informal requests

PCO did not receive any informal requests under the PA in 2022-2023.

Part 3 − Requests closed during the reporting period

3.1 Disposition and completion time during the reporting period

In 2022-2023, PCO completed 21 requests for personal information under the PA. The disposition of the completed privacy requests was as follows:

• 13 (61.9%)disclosed in part;
• 6 (28.6%) abandoned;
• 1 (4.8%) where no records existed; and
• 1 (4.8%) fully disclosed.

Fourteen (14) requests remained active and were carried over into 2023-2024.

There are certain circumstances in which a privacy request may require more than 30 days to complete, such as the necessity to consult with external organizations or due to the volume of pages to review. In 2022-2023, seven requests were completed between 1 to 30-day timeframe, two requests were completed between 31 to 60 days, six requests were completed between 181 to 365 days, and six were completed beyond 365 days.

3.2 Exemptions

There are instances where information qualifies for necessary protection under the PA. In 2022-2023, exemptions were invoked for the following number of requests:

• 10 under section 26 – information about another individual;
• 7 under section 27 – information subject to solicitor-client privilege.

3.3 Exclusions

The PA does not apply to certain publicly available information described by subsection 69(1) and subsection 69(2) of the PA, nor to Confidences of the King’s Privy Council for Canada pursuant to subsection 70(1). During this reporting period, section 69 was not cited, while paragraphs 70(1)(a) and 70(1)(c) were each cited once.

3.4 Format of information released

In 2022-2023, PCO provided electronic copies of responsive records to requesters in 12 instances. Two (2) requesters elected to receive information in paper format.

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-formats

In 2022-2023, 17,262 relevant pages were processed in response to the 20 completed requests where records were found, of which 7,394 pages were disclosed.

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record format by size of requests

Of the 14 requests for which records existed and were disclosed in part or in full, five had less than 100 pages to process, one had between 100-500 pages, two had between 501-1000, and one had more than 5000 pages.

3.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

PCO did not process any audio records in 2022-2023.

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

PCO did not process any audio records in 2022-2023.

3.5.5 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats

PCO did not process any records in video format during the reporting period.

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

PCO did not process any records in video format during the reporting period.

3.5.7 Other complexities

The complex interdepartmental nature of information in many records under the control of PCO often necessitates external consultations and legal advice. This requirement is the principal reason why some requests take an extended length of time to process.

Legal advice was sought for six requests.

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

In the 2022-2023 reporting period, eight requests (38.1%) were closed within legislated timelines, compared to seven requests (58.3%) in 2021-2022.

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, 13 requests were closed past the statutory deadline. Of those requests, four were closed outside the legislated timelines because of the interference on operations caused by the volume of records. The remaining nine requests were not completed within the legislated timelines due to the teleworking legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in operational challenges with processing classified documents.

3.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

Of the 13 requests closed beyond legislated timelines, one was closed within 1 to 30 days after the legislated timeline, two were closed between 121 to 180 days, seven were closed between 181 to 365 days, and three were beyond 365 days.

3.8 Requests for translation

The PA states at subsection 17(2) that “where access to personal information is to be given under this Act and the individual to whom access is to be given requests that access be given in one of the official languages of Canada, (a) access shall be given in that language, if the personal information already exists under the control of a government institution in that language; and (b) where the personal information does not exist in that language, the head of the government institution that has control of the personal information shall cause it to be translated or interpreted for the individual if the head of the institution considers a translation or interpretation to be necessary to enable the individual to understand the information.” During this reporting period, there were no translations requested.

Part 4 – Disclosure under subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

The PA sets out specific circumstances at subsection 8(2) in which government institutions may disclose personal information without the individual’s consent. Paragraph 8(2)(e) of the PA permits the disclosure of personal information “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 a province or carrying out a lawful investigation, if the request specifies the purpose and describes the information to be disclosed.” Paragraph 8(2)(m) of the PA permits the disclosure of personal information when “(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”. No disclosures were made under subsection 8(2)(e) or subsection 8(2)(m) of the PA during the 2022-2023 reporting period.

In addition, subsection 8(5) of the PA indicates that the government institution “shall notify the Privacy Commissioner in writing of any disclosure of personal information under paragraph (2)(m) prior to the disclosure where reasonably practicable or in any other case forthwith on the disclosure, and the Privacy Commissioner may, if the Commissioner deems it appropriate, notify the individual to whom the information relates of the disclosure”. During the 2022-2023 reporting period, no disclosures were made under subsection 8(5) of the PA.

Part 5 - Requests for correction of personal information and notations

The PA specifies at subsection 12(1) that “any Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada has a right to and shall, on request, be given access to any personal information about the individual found in a personal information bank and personal information under the control of a government institution. An individual should be entitled to correction of personal information where there is an error or omission, a request that a notation be attached, and assurance that any party who has requested the information within the last two years be notified of the correction and make changes to their copies”. There were no requests for correction of personal information and notations made during the reporting period.

Part 6 − Extensions

6.1 Reasons for extensions

The PA provides for extensions to the legislated 30-day time limit for consultations or if meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution. In 2022-2023, 11 extensions were taken. Ten (10) extensions were taken to accommodate operations under s. 15(a)(i), and one extension to complete consultations under s. 15(a)(ii).

6.2 Length of extensions

In 2022-2023, one extension was taken for an additional 16 to 30 days; 10 extensions were taken for an additional 16 to 30 days.

Part 7 − Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

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

PCO received two privacy consultations from other government institutions in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, totaling 31 pages. This number is a slight decrease with the quantity of consultations received the previous fiscal year, as shown in the chart below. The processing of consultation requests requires resources at a level similar to the processing of privacy requests.

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

Of the 2 consultations received or carried forward into the 2022-2023 fiscal year, one was closed in 2022-2023, and the other was carried over into the next fiscal year. The consultation closed in 2022-2023 was completed between 1 and 15 days; this request was abandoned.

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

During the 2022-2023 reporting period, no consultations were received from other organizations.

Part 8 − Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

8.1 Requests with legal services

Note that in regard to ATIP, PCO consults only with the PCO Legal Services Sector (PCO LSS). Therefore, no data appears in the table entitled “Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences - Requests with Legal Services.”

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

During this reporting period, one consultation was sent to PCO LSS.

Part 9 – Complaints and investigations notices received

In 2022-2023, seven complaints were submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Part 10 − Privacy Impact Assessments and Personal information Banks

10.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

PCO did not complete any PIAs in 2022-2023.

10.2 Personal Information Banks

PCO currently has 51 active Personal Information Banks (PIBs) in 2022-2023.

Part 11 – Material privacy breaches

In the 2022-2023 reporting period, no material privacy breaches occurred and one non-material privacy breach was reported to TBS and the OPC.

Part 12 – Resources related to the Privacy Act

12.1 Allocated costs

In the 2022-2023 reporting period, the total salary costs associated with administering the PA was $92,412, consistent with 2021-2022. There were no overtime or specific goods and services costs attributed to the application of the PA.

12.2 Human resources

In 2022-2023, ATIP had a personnel complement of 22.8 FTEs. Of those, approximately 1 FTE was dedicated to activities related to the administration of the Privacy Act.

Corporate Services Branch created a new role of Director General, Data and Information Services, and Chief Data Officer. This new role amalgamates data-related functions and expands the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence to draw greater value from data resources. It will enable a data first approach in ATIP to find efficiencies, make decisions on where to dedicate resources to create the biggest impact, and help collaborators better understand their current and upcoming workloads for better planning.

Part 13 - Impact of COVID-19

Since mid-March 2020, COVID-19 has affected ATIP’s ability to receive relevant information from secretariats and to respond to requests in a timely manner, resulting in a backlog of access to information requests. As described in the Supplemental Statistical Report (Appendix C), while PCO maintained its ability to receive requests throughout 2022-2023, PCO operated at a partial capacity when it comes to processing ATIP requests as PCO’s transition to a hybrid work model began in September 2022 and evolved to the equivalent of three days per week approach on March 31, 2023. Like most other institutions, a percentage of PCO employees were working from home since the beginning of the pandemic and one of the main challenges with working remotely is dealing with classified information at the Secret level or above as most employees working from home do not have access to secure networks.

Appendices

Appendix A: Delegation orders

Privacy Act

The Prime Minister, as head of the Privy Council Office and pursuant to section 73(1) of the Privacy Act^a, hereby designates the officers or employees holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, and any persons acting in those positions, to exercise or perform the powers, duties and functions of the Prime Minister as the head of a government institution under the sections of the Act and the regulations opposite each position in the schedule.

This delegation order supercedes all previous delegation orders.

Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau

October 2, 2020

^a R.S. 1985, c. P-21

Schedule

Appendix B: 2022-2023 Statistical report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Privy Council Office

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1 - Requests under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of requests received

1.2 Channels of requests

Section 2 - Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

2.4 Pages released informally

Section 3 - Requests closed during the reporting period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

3.2 Exemptions

3.3 Exclusions

3.4 Format of information released

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and electronic record formats

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and electronic record formats by size of request

3.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

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

3.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

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

3.5.7 Other complexities

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

3.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

3.8 Requests for translation

Section 4 - Disclosures under subsection 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 5 - Requests for correction of personal information and notations

Section 6 - Extensions

6.1 Reasons for extensions

6.2 Length of extensions

Section 7 - Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

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

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

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

Section 8 - Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 9 - Complaints and investigations notices reveived

Section 10 - Privacy Impact Assesments (PIA) and Personal Information Banks (PIB)

10.1 Privacy Impact Assesments

10.2 Institution-specific and central personal information banks

Section 11 - Privacy breaches

11.1 Material privacy breaches reported

11.2 Non-material privacy breaches

Section 12 - Human resources related to the Privacy Act

12.1 Allocated costs

12.2 Human resources

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

Name of institution: Privy Council Office

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Capacity to receive requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

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

Section 2: Capacity to process records under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

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

2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels

Section 3: Open requests and complaints under the Access to Information Act

3.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

3.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

Section 4: Open requests and complaints under the Privacy Act

4.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

4.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

Section 5: Social insurance number

Section 6: Universal access under the Privacy Act