2020-2021 Annual Report to Parliament on the Privacy Act

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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 Queen’s Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Special Representative for the Prairies.

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 38th 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, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

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. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, 20 privacy requests were received, which is comparable to the 21 requests received in 2019-2020.
2. PCO completed two Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) in 2020-2021 and worked with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) on several files across the department dealing with personal information.

Access to Information and Privacy division – organizational structure

The PA 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.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) division within PCO is responsible for managing requests for departmental or personal information, ensuring corporate understanding and compliance with the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the 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 OPC , the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), and partner departments. 

The ATIP division has a personnel complement of approximately 27.5 full-time equivalents (FTEs) that are organized into two areas of responsibility. The two areas of responsibility are as follows:

1. ATIP operations (21.5 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 (6 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 27.5 FTEs in 2020-2021, approximately 26.5 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), ATIP 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 2020-2021, can be found in 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 2020-2021, PCO provided ATIP training or awareness sessions to approximately 88 employees through 10 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 2020-2021 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 PIAs 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 2020-2021 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 TBS 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 2020-2021 Statistical Report on the Privacy Act can be found at Appendix B.

Part 1− Requests under the Privacy Act

Between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 PCO received 20 requests for personal information under the PA, compared to 21 received the previous year.

Part 2 − Requests closed during the reporting period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

In 2020-2021, PCO completed nine requests for personal information under the PA. The disposition of the completed privacy requests was as follows:

• 5 (56%) disclosed in part;
• 2 (22%) where no records existed; and
• 2 (22%) fully disclosed.

Thirteen (13) requests remained active and were carried over into 2021-2022.

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 2020-2021, one request was completed between 16 to 30-day timeframe, four requests completed between 61 to 120 days, two requests were completed between 121-180 days and two requests took between 181 and 365 days to complete.

2.2 Exemptions

There are instances where information qualifies for necessary protection under the PA. In 2020-2021, exemptions were invoked for the following number of requests:

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

2.3 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 Queen’s Privy Council for Canada pursuant to subsection 70(1). During this reporting period, no exclusions were cited.

2.4 Format of information released

In 2020-2021, PCO provided electronic copies of responsive records to requesters in six instances. One requester elected to receive information in paper format.

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

In 2020-2021, 974 relevant pages were processed in response to the seven completed requests where records were found, of which 723 pages were disclosed.

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

Of the seven requests for which records existed and were disclosed in part or in full, four had less than 100 pages to process, and three requests contained between 101-500 pages to process.

2.5.3 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.

During the reporting period, four completed requests involved personal information about another individual that was blended or interwoven with the personal information of the requester. Legal advice was sought for one request, and no requests required consultations.

2.6 Closed requests

2.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

In the 2020-2021 reporting period, one request (11.1%) was closed within legislated timelines.

2.7 Deemed refusals

2.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

During the 2020-2021 fiscal year, eight requests were closed past the statutory deadline, primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Of the eight requests closed beyond legislated timelines, three requests were closed between 31 to 60 days past the legislated timeline. Two requests were closed between 61 to 120 days past the legislated timeline. One request was closed between 121 to 180 days past the legislated timeline and two requests were closed between 181 and 365 days past the legislated timeline. No extensions were taken on any of the requests closed beyond the legislated timelines.

2.8 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 3 – 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 2020-2021 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 2020-2021 reporting period, no disclosures were made under subsection 8(5) of the PA.

Part 4 - 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 5 − Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

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. No extensions were taken on any of the requests under the PA closed in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

5.2 Length of extensions

No extensions were taken on any of the requests under the PA closed in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

Part 6 − Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

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

PCO received two privacy consultations from other government institutions in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, totaling 22 pages. This number is in line with the quantity of consultations received the previous two fiscal years, as shown in the chart below. Additionally, one privacy consultation totaling 232 pages was carried forward from the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The processing of consultation requests requires resources at a level similar to the processing of privacy requests. No consultations were received from other organizations.

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

All three consultations received or carried forward into the 2020-2021 fiscal year were closed in 2020-2021. One consultation was completed between 16 and 30 days and PCO recommended disclosing the documents in full. PCO recommended the other two consultations be disclosed in part. One of those consultations was completed between 31 to 60 days and the other was completed between 121 to 180 days.

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

During the 2020-2021 reporting period, no consultations were received from other organizations.

Part 7 − Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

7.1 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.”

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

During this reporting period, no consultations were sent to PCO LSS.

Part 8 – Complaints and investigations notices received

In 2020-2021, two complaints were submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Part 9 − Privacy Impact Assessments and Personal information Banks

9.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

PCO completed two PIAs during the 2020-2021 reporting period on Microsoft 365 and a social listening contract.

9.2 Personal Information Banks

PCO currently has 51 active Personal Information Banks (PIBs).

Part 10 – Material privacy breaches

In the 2020-2021 reporting period, no material privacy breaches occurred or were reported to TBS or the OPC .

Part 11 – Resources related to the Privacy Act

11.1 Costs

In the 2020-2021 reporting period, the total salary costs associated with administering the PA was $92,412, consistent with 2019-2020. There were no overtime or specific goods and services costs attributed to the application of the PA.

11.2 Human resources

In 2020-2021, ATIP had a personnel complement of 27.5 FTEs. Of those, approximately 1 FTE was dedicated to activities related to the administration of the Privacy Act, as shown in the chart below. This is consistent with previous years.

Part 12 - Impact of COVID-19

Since mid-March 2020, COVID-19 has affected ATIP ’s ability to task secretariats for relevant information and to respond to requests in a timely manner. As described in the Supplemental Statistical Report (Appendix C), while PCO maintained its ability to receive requests throughout 2020-2021, PCO operated at a partial capacity when it comes to processing ATIP requests. Like most other institutions, a large percentage of PCO employees have been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic. While the majority of privacy requests can continue to be processed without access to secure networks, some challenges remain with accessing the network remotely, and obtaining the relevant approvals efficiently. In addition, if consultations with other institutions are required, only a limited number of them have been able to process consultation requests quickly.

In order to mitigate possible delays in processing privacy requests, the ATIP division has adapted new procedures to transform into a more paperless office in order to function remotely. PCO implemented GCdocs in 2019 and we have used this repository to transfer and submit information electronically. Since PCO does not receive a high volume of privacy requests, these measures have allowed us to continue with approvals as efficiently as possible.

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: 2020-2021 Statistical report on the Privacy Act

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1 - Requests under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of requests

Section 2 - Requests closed during the reporting period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

2.2 Exemptions

2.3 Exclusions

2.4 Format of information released

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.3 Other complexities

2.6 Closed requests

2.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

2.7 Deemed refusals

2.7.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

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

2.8 Requests for translation

Section 3 - Disclosures under subsection 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 4 - Requests for correction of personal information and notations

Section 5 - Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of request

5.2 Length of extensions

Section 6 - Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other government of Canada institutions and organizations

6.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other government institutions

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Section 7 - Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 8 - Complaints and investigations notices reveived

Section 9 - Privacy Impact Assesments (PIA) and Personal Information Banks (PIB)

9.1 Privacy Impact Assesments

9.2 Personal Information Banks

Section 10 - Material privacy breaches

Section 11 - Resources related to the Privacy Act

11.1 Costs

11.2 Human resources

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

Name of institution: Privy Council Office

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Capacity to receive requests

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

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