2022–2023 Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act

Introduction

In keeping with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act, each year the head of every federal government institution prepares and submits an annual report to Parliament on how their institution has administered the Access to Information Act.

The following report is tabled in Parliament under the direction of the Minister of National Revenue. The report describes how the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administered and fulfilled its obligations under the Access to Information Act between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. The report also discusses emerging trends, program delivery, and areas of focus for the year ahead.

Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act came into force on July 1, 1983, and was significantly amended on June 21, 2019, with the coming into force of Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

The Act extends the present laws of Canada that provide access to information under the control of the Government of Canada and provide for the proactive publication of certain information.

The purpose of the Act is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions to promote an open and democratic society, as well as enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions.

The Access to Information Act is based on three main principles:

• government information should be available to the public
• exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific
• decisions about disclosures should be reviewed independently of government

The Access to Information Act’s formal processes do not replace other ways of getting federal government information. The CRA encourages individuals and their representatives to get taxpayer information informally through its online self-service channels, such as My Account and Represent a Client. The CRA encourages individuals, businesses and other groups to consider getting information through proactive disclosure online at canada.ca/en or through the CRA’s automated and toll-free phone lines.

Table of content

About the Canada Revenue Agency

Operational environment

Policies, guidelines, and procedures

Monitoring compliance

Interpretation and explanation of Appendix A  – Statistical report

Interpretation and explanation of Appendix B – Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Conclusion

Appendix A – Statistical report

Appendix B – Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Appendix C – Delegation order

About the Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency promotes and ensures compliance with Canada’s tax legislation and regulations and plays an important role in the economic and social well-being of Canadians. The CRA does this by administering tax programs for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories. It also administers various social and economic benefit and incentive programs delivered through the tax system. In addition, the CRA has the authority to partner with the provinces, territories, and other government bodies to share information, and for a fee, can administer enhanced services at the request of provinces and territories.

The minister of national revenue is accountable to Parliament for all the CRA’s activities, including administering and enforcing the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act.

The Board of Management, which was established by the Canada Revenue Agency Act, is made up of 15 directors appointed by the Governor in Council. Each province nominates one director, and the territories take turns nominating one director. The other four directors include the Chair, the commissioner, and two directors nominated by the Government of Canada. The Board is responsible for overseeing the organization and the administration of the Agency, and the management of its resources, services, property, personnel and contracts. This includes the development of the corporate business plan, as well as the approval of the CRA’s departmental results report and its audited financial statements. In fulfilling this role, the Board brings a forward-looking, strategic perspective to the CRA’s administration, fosters sound management practices, and commits to delivering efficient and effective services.

As the CRA’s chief executive officer, the commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day administration and enforcement of the program legislation that falls under the minister of national revenue’s delegated authority. The commissioner is supported by the deputy commissioner, and together they make sure that operations are guided by the CRA’s vision to be a world-class tax and benefit administration that is trusted, fair, and helpful by putting people first. The commissioner is accountable to the minister and must assist and advise that individual with respect to legislated authorities, duties, functions, and Cabinet responsibilities. The commissioner is also an ex-officio member of the Board and is accountable to it for the daily administration of the Agency, the supervision of its employees, and the implementation of management policies.

The CRA is made up of 14 functional branches and 4 regional offices across the country:

Branches

Regions

Access to Information and Privacy Directorate

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate helps the CRA meet its requirements under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. To fulfill this mandate, the ATIP Directorate:

• responds to requests and questions under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
• responds to consultations, complaints, and informal disclosure requests
• offers advice and guidance to CRA employees on how to properly manage and protect personal information under the CRA’s control
• reviews and, if applicable, publishes information to be proactively disclosed, including briefing note titles and committee material
• gives ATIP training and awareness sessions
• coordinates the privacy assessment process within the CRA, including giving expert advice to CRA employees on privacy implications and how to avoid and reduce risks
• responds to and manages privacy breaches, enquiries, and complaints
• communicates with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the offices of the information and privacy commissioners of Canada about policy and legislative requirements, complaints, and investigations
• fulfills corporate planning and reporting obligations, such as the CRA’s annual reports to Parliament on administering the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

The director general of the ATIP Directorate has the full delegated authority of the minister of national revenue under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. As well, the director general:

• manages and coordinates the ATIP program
• leads strategic planning and development initiatives
• supports the assistant commissioner of the Public Affairs Branch and chief privacy officer of the CRA in the role of ATIP governance

The ATIP Directorate supports three main functions: processing, privacy management and the overall improvement of the directorate. Directorate employees are located in Ottawa, Montréal, and Vancouver. In the 2022–2023 fiscal year, an equivalent of 196 full-time employees and 18 consultants administered the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The following chart shows the structure of the ATIP Directorate.

Delegating responsibilities under the Access to Information Act

As head of the CRA, the minister of national revenue is responsible for how the CRA administers and complies with the Access to Information Act, the Access to Information Regulations, and related Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat policies. Subsection 95(1) of the Act gives the minister the authority to designate one or more CRA officials to perform all or part of the minister’s powers, duties, and functions under the Act.

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, signed the CRA’s current delegation order for the Access to Information Act on May 15, 2020. The order identifies specific provisions of the Access to Information Act and its regulations that the Minister delegated to various positions within the CRA.

The ATIP Directorate’s director general, directors, assistant directors, managers, and reviewers approve responses to requests under the Access to Information Act. Delegations are also extended to the commissioner, the deputy commissioner and the assistant commissioner of the Public Affairs Branch and chief privacy officer.

For the delegation order and schedule, see Appendix C – Delegation order.

Operational environment

The ATIP Directorate processes one of the largest volumes of requests and pages of any federal institution. According to the latest statistics from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, in 2021–2022 the CRA processed the second largest volume of pages of any federal institution to respond to Access to Information Act requests and closed the fourth largest number of requests.

The number of requests the CRA received under the Access to Information Act in 2022–2023 (2,937) was 3% higher than in 2021–2022 (2,843). The number of requests completed (2,722) was 8% lower than in 2021–2022 (2,974).

Beyond large page and request volumes, the CRA continues to respond to very complex requests. Complaints and consultations also represent a significant workload for the ATIP Directorate.

During the fiscal year, to address the significant workload, the CRA continued to implement many Lean initiatives to modernize processes and technology with an aim to improve productivity and efficiency in the ATIP program. For more information, see the Continuous improvement initiatives section.

In 2022–2023, the CRA’s operations were not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat requires institutions to provide specific statistics related to any impact of COVID-19 on operations, see Appendix B – Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The following chart shows the trends of requests received under the Access to Information Act over the past five years.

Access to Information request trends

Continuous improvement initiatives

In 2022–2023, key changes made to enhance productivity and efficiency in the ATIP Directorate included implementing the following initiatives:

Level 1 request initiative

The ATIP Directorate routinely receives requests for tax information that do not require redactions (Level 1 requests). Although these requests are not complex, they represent a significant volume of labour for the ATIP Directorate. Throughout the fiscal year, the ATIP Directorate worked on a plan to redirect these requests to more efficient channels such as My Account and Represent a Client. The plan will be implemented in 2023–2024. By redirecting these types of requests to existing service channels outside of the ATIP program, the CRA will be able to focus on providing more timely responses to ATIP requests for information not readily available through other channels.

Backlog elimination plan

The ATIP Directorate has been working diligently to eliminate its backlog inventory while balancing the requirement to respond on time to a steadily increasing workload of requests received under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, as well as other related inventory such as consultation files and complaints. In the fall of 2021, the ATIP Directorate put a backlog elimination plan in place to address the backlog.

Key accomplishments

• The first phase involved closing all late requests that the CRA received before March 31, 2019 (186 requests). This phase was completed on September 30, 2022.
• Phase 2 focused on closing the 108 late requests received between April 2019 and March 2020. This phase was completed on March 31, 2023.

Phase 3 is in progress and focuses on closing the 189 late requests received between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. The CRA aims to complete this phase by December 31, 2023. Responding to requesters in a timely manner and eliminating the backlog remains an ongoing focus.

Secure drop zone

The ATIP Directorate collaborated with the Information Technology Branch on the pilot project for the secure drop zone. The secure drop zone provides a secure, standardized, single-point of delivery for the ad-hoc transmission of documents. This project aligned with the Government of Canada’s priorities of increasing digital options for external clients and supporting their digital needs.

ATIP Case Management Modernization project

During the reporting period, the ATIP Directorate worked on the implementation of the ATIP Case Management system that will be launched in 2024–2025. The solution will maintain the CRA’s ability to process ATIP requests past the life of its current aging system, while also reducing processing time and administrative work.

ATIP Online Request System

The ATIP Directorate prepared for the early 2023–2024 onboarding to the ATIP Online Request System, which is built by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. The system provides ATIP requesters with a portal to submit their requests, track request progress, and receive responses. This solution improves two-way communication with requesters, reducing request holds, and turn-around times in receiving and sending ATIP request information.

E-fax migration project

The e-fax migration project delivered a new solution to enable the ATIP Directorate to convert incoming faxes into digital PDF documents. This Lean solution facilitates remote processing of correspondence.

ATIP quality assurance dashboard

The ATIP quality assurance dashboard was developed to identify trends in file processing and fix gaps in business processes. It also helps to determine training requirements. 

Lean Centre of Expertise

The ATIP Directorate implemented the Lean Centre of Expertise that teaches and promotes Lean principles within the ATIP Directorate. Lean workshops were conducted with multiple teams to analyze existing business processes and identify areas of improvement. As a result of these workshops, process improvements were made that contributed to:

• increased manager capacity
• improved file quality through the addition of quality check points
• identifying employee training and learning needs
• improved monitoring and reporting

These efforts, along with ongoing leadership coaching, have been crucial to building a culture of continuous improvement.

Human resources

In 2022–2023, the ATIP Directorate launched six selection processes ranging from SP-06^{Footnote 1}  to MG-06^{Footnote 2}  levels, resulting in pools of qualified candidates. The CRA also participated and recruited in the multilevel ATIP Communities Development Office selection process launched by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

The ATIP Directorate is committed to promoting the one-office model by recruiting the best qualified people regardless of where they are physically located in Canada. It also fully supports creating a respectful, inclusive, and diverse workplace.

Training

The ATIP Directorate is committed to promoting and providing ATIP training to CRA employees. This training varies depending on the needs of the employees. For instance, employees who have little or no knowledge of the subject are encouraged to take the Canada School of Public Service course called “Fundamentals of Access to Information and Privacy.”

Subject matter experts are advised to take more specific training, for example, on how to provide complete recommendations in response to requests.

The CRA’s Legal Services Branch also provides training related to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

In 2022–2023, the CRA continued to offer its suite of 10 web-based modules, which consist of specialized technical training, to ATIP Directorate employees.

The ATIP Directorate also holds regular technical review meetings. These meetings enable communication and consultation between the operations, policy, and business support teams within the directorate. The purpose of the meetings is to maintain a forum for sharing policy and process changes, Lean initiatives, and improvements to the ATIP case management system, and to provide supplementary tools.

During the reporting period, the ATIP Directorate delivered the following technical training and information sessions:

• 16 ATIP information sessions to 3,750 participants
• 4 teleconferences to 650 participants

As part of the CRA-wide privacy and access to information training and awareness strategy, mandatory ATIP training is being implemented for all CRA employees during the 2023–2024 fiscal year. This supports the new Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s policy requirements outlining that all federal government employees must receive training on their obligations related to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. As required, this training will be supported by information sessions for all CRA employees.

Raising awareness

Every year, about 40 countries and 60 non-government organizations celebrate Right to Know Week in September to raise awareness of an individual’s right to access government information. It also promotes freedom of information as essential to both democracy and good governance.

In 2022–2023, the CRA promoted Right to Know Week for the 12^th consecutive year with a theme of open by design: promoting informal and proactive disclosure. The CRA also held a virtual presentation to celebrate the week with guest speaker, Catherine Luelo, Deputy Minister at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Chief Information Officer of the Government of Canada. During her presentation, she spoke about the importance of upholding the right of access to information, the importance of sound information management practices, and new digital tools available in the access to information sphere.

The CRA also celebrated Open Government Week from May 8 to 12, a global call to action to transform the way governments respond to their citizens’ needs, alongside 76 other countries. In support of that week, the CRA held an Agency-wide event to promote the three pillars of open government: 

• open information
• open data
• open dialogue

This event and the promotional items surrounding it, furthered the awareness of proactive and informal disclosure within the Agency.

The CRA also promoted an informal disclosure quiz through an Agency News item on its intranet, to educate employees on ways taxpayers can get information from the CRA, without going through the formal ATIP program. This initiative further promoted the importance of openness and transparency to all CRA employees.

A short bilingual video about access to information and privacy from the Canada School of Public Service was also featured on the CRA’s intranet.

The CRA also raised awareness about access to information through multiple committee meetings and in regular communication with CRA employees and senior management.

Collaborating with oversight bodies and other organizations

The CRA continues to work closely with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and other organizations to strengthen access to information at the CRA. Notably, beyond many collaborations referenced earlier in this report, in 2022–2023, the CRA:

• worked with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, primarily on the resolution of investigations
• worked closely with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat on various items, including privacy breaches, privacy assessments, corporate policy instruments, processing software solutions for ATIP requests, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat policy suite updates, privacy implementation notices and implementations of requirements  
• actively participated in initiatives launched by the ATIP Communities Development Office, including training and selection processes 
• collaborated with the ATIP community by sharing best practices on the subjects of security, ID validation, and authentication of ATIP requesters seeking client-specific information 
• co-chaired the ATIP Interdepartmental Modernization Committee. This committee identifies and pilots modernization initiatives that impact the entire ATIP community and that other agencies and departments can use to improve their processes and modernization solutions
• continued to work with federal departments on an ad hoc basis to share strategies and solutions with the aim of maximizing each department’s ability to process ATIP requests and promote privacy and transparency 
• collaborated with other institutions including the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canada School of Public Service on the CRA’s corporate mandatory ATIP training approval process
• collaborated with Correctional Service of Canada to share the CRA’s internal ATIP self-paced training material

Policies, guidelines, and procedures

The Access to Information and Privacy Directorate dedicated significant time in 2022–2023 to the review of CRA corporate documents, including policy instruments.

The CRA continues to provide feedback to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat on draft corporate policy instruments and promotes compliance with the instruments.

Delivery of the proactive publication of information

In keeping with Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, government institutions, government entities, and minsters are required to proactively disclose information to enhance transparency and accountability in government. As a government entity listed in Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act, and within its responsibilities of supporting the minister of national revenue, the CRA has divided its responsibilities for the proactive publication of information among different branches across the organization.

The publication requirements, responsible branches, and legislated requirements are shown in the table below:

The CRA published all proactive disclosure publications within legislated timelines during the 2022–2023 fiscal year.

The various branches responsible for proactive disclosures are also responsible for creating their own procedures and improvements. To this end, tools and processes include guides, procedures, frequently asked questions, and regular touch points with authors of proactive publications. Lean principles are often applied to streamline the process.

Stakeholders responsible for the preparation and management of briefing notes participated in an information session offered by the ATIP Directorate. The session was aimed at increasing their awareness of the process of proactively disclosing briefing notes and tracking numbers, and the importance of consistent information management practices, including the use of our internal correspondence management system. This session was successful in reducing the number of consultations with stakeholders to obtain missing or incomplete information, hence lowering the risks of missing publication deadlines or publishing incorrect information.

Beyond the legislated proactive publication requirements that are applicable to the CRA, the Agency also publishes information that other government entities and institutions are subject to:

The entirety of the CRA’s proactive disclosure publications can be found at canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/transparency-proactive-disclosure-canada-revenue-agency/proactive-disclosures.

Updating Information about Programs and Information Holdings

Information about Programs and Information Holdings provides information about the functions, programs, activities, and related information holdings of federal government institutions subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. This resource also offers guidance to individuals on how they can access the information that government institutions hold so they can exercise their rights under these acts.

Each institution subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act must update its chapter annually by the due date set by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. In accordance with this requirement, in June 2022, the CRA published the update of its personal information bank and class of records information. The list of reading room manuals was also reviewed and updated.

The CRA's Information about Programs and Information Holdings chapter can be found at canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/access-information-privacy-canada-revenue-agency/info-source-sources-federal-government-employee-information.

Key issues and actions taken on complaints

The CRA regularly communicates with the offices of the information and privacy commissioners of Canada to simplify processes and apply continuous improvement Lean methods to close complaint files as soon as possible. During the reporting period, the CRA worked with these offices to simplify the complaint resolution process by focusing on resolving complaints at the early resolution stage. To this end, the CRA centralized the complaint resolution process. When the CRA is required to justify its rationale for the protection of specific information, it works closely with the respective offices to specify time frames.

Monitoring compliance

The ATIP Directorate produces multiple reports that capture key statistics about the CRA’s inventory of ATIP requests. The reports show active and closed requests, the status of requests by branch and region, the carry-forward inventory, complaints, and deemed refusal volumes.

Management regularly uses the reports to ensure timely processing of ATIP requests, monitor trends of frequently requested types of information, measure the directorate’s performance, and identify any process changes needed to improve performance and opportunities to make information available by other means. Management presents the reports monthly to senior management at the commissioner-chaired Corporate Management Committee. 

During the reporting period, the ATIP Directorate:

• improved its ability to query the ATIP database by using Power Business Intelligence software, which enabled more efficient and effective retrieval of information 
• developed automated reports directly linked to source data, which significantly reduced manual intervention and potential errors, and resulted in more reliable and timely reports 
• created new dynamic and interactive dashboards to provide stakeholders with direct and real-time access to data and statistics 

These improvements aimed to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility of information within the Agency. By using advanced technology, automating processes and providing user-friendly tools, the Agency ensured that management had access to vital data and statistics in a more timely and reliable manner.

Interpretation and explanation of Appendix A – Statistical report

Appendix A provides a statistical report on the CRA’s activities under the Access to Information Act for the period of
April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. The following explains and interprets the statistical information and includes additional access to information statistics at the CRA.

Note

Some totals may be more than 100% due to rounding.

Part 1 – Requests under the Access to Information Act

During the reporting period, the CRA received 2,937 new requests under the Access to Information Act. This is an increase of 94 requests (3%) from last year’s total of 2,843. Including the 1,071 requests carried forward from the 2021–2022 reporting period, the CRA had 4,008 active requests in its inventory.

The number of pages processed during the year was the lowest since 2016–2017. There was a decrease of 917,932 (39%) pages processed compared to last year.

The following table shows the number of requests the CRA received and closed, as well as the number of pages processed over the past five fiscal years.

The following table shows the breakdown of the sources of the 2,937 requests received during the 2022–2023 reporting period.

The following table shows the channels of the 2,937 requests received during the 2022–2023 reporting period.

Other requests and workload

Beyond the 2,937 requests received under the Access to Information Act, the CRA processed a high volume of other requests. The additional volume significantly affected operations, since resources had to be diverted to manage the workload.

The additional requests included external and internal consultations, general enquiries, and complaints. During the fiscal year, the ATIP Directorate responded to 2,630 emails and 1,740 phone enquiries received through the general enquiries mailbox and toll-free phone line.

Part 2 – Informal requests

In 2022–2023, the ATIP Directorate received 526 informal requests for previously released information. Informal requests are those that are not processed under the Access to Information Act. During the same period 571 requests were closed. Of the requests, 40% were received online, while the remaining 60% were received by email or by mail.

For more details, see tables 2.1 to 2.5 of Appendix A.

Part 3 – Applications to the information commissioner of Canada on declining to act on requests

After the coming into force of Bill C-58, an act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts, the Access to Information Act was amended to add section 6.1, which allows government institutions to decline to act on a request for information deemed to be vexatious, made in bad faith or otherwise an abuse of the right of access. To invoke section 6.1, institutions must first get the approval of the information commissioner of Canada through a prescribed application process.

In 2022–2023, the CRA did not submit any decline-to-act applications to the information commissioner of Canada.

Although frivolous, vexatious, or otherwise abusive requests are rare, dealing with them can place a strain on public resources, delay delivery of other services and have a negative impact on the rights of other requesters. Where warranted, the Access to Information and Privacy Directorate will exercise the ability to refuse to process a request that has any of these qualities.

Part 4 – Requests closed during the reporting period

Disposition and completion time

The disposition of the 2,722 requests closed under the Access to Information Act is as follows:

• 591 were fully disclosed (22%)
• 890 were disclosed in part (33%)
• 13 were exempted in their entirety (0.5%)
• 3 were excluded in their entirety (0.1%)
• 85 resulted in no existing records (3%)
• 18 were transferred to another institution (1%)
• 1,119 were abandoned by requesters (41%)
• 3 were neither confirmed nor denied (0.1%)

The following chart shows the completion time for the 2,722 requests closed in 2022–2023.

Completion Time

For more details, see Table 4.1 of Appendix A.

Exemptions

The Access to Information Act allows an institution to refuse access to specific information when necessary. For example, the CRA can refuse to give a requester information about another individual if that individual has not given consent. For detailed information on each of the exemptions that may be applied, see section 18 of the Access to Information Act.

In 2022–2023, the CRA applied the following exemptions, in full or in part, to the 2,722 requests closed:

• section 13 – Information obtained in confidence (45 times)
• section 14 – Federal provincial affairs (10 times)
• section 15 – International affairs and defence (11 times)
• section 16 – Law enforcement, investigation and security (786 times)
• section 17 – Safety of individuals (17 times)
• section 18 – Economic interests of Canada (8 times)
• section 19 – Personal information (605 times)
• section 20 – Third-party information (46 times)
• section 21 – Operations of government (316 times)
• section 22 – Testing procedures, tests and audits (7 times)
• section 23 – Solicitor-client privilege (169 times)
• section 24 – Statutory prohibitions (709 times)

Exclusions

The Access to Information Act does not apply to information that is publicly available, such as information in government publications, libraries, and museums. Also, the Act does not apply to Cabinet confidences. In 2022–2023, the CRA applied exclusions 62 times: 53 times for information that was publicly available and 9 times for Cabinet confidences.

Format of information released

To respond to the 2,617 requests the CRA closed in 2022–2023 (excluding the dispositions of no records exist and request transferred), the CRA processed 1,460,337 pages. A significant number of requests involved a large volume of pages: 

• 1,892 involved processing less than 100 pages
• 322 involved processing between 100 and 500 pages
• 114 involved processing between 501 and 1,000 pages
• 228 involved processing between 1,001 and 5,000 pages
• 61 involved processing more than 5,000 pages

Of note, 5 of those requests involved processing more than 50,000 pages

In addition to paper records, the CRA processed 6 requests for records in audio format, for a total of 954 minutes processed. There were no requests for records in video format.

In addition to requests with a large volume of pages, the CRA processed many sensitive requests, such as those involving tax litigation and consultation with third parties, including provincial, federal, and international bodies. Other requests were considered complex because of the nature and sensitivity of the subject matter. For more details, see tables 4.5.1 to 4.5.7 of Appendix A.

In 2022–2023, the CRA processed 593 complex requests. This represents a 9% decrease compared to the previous reporting period.

The following chart shows the volume of complex files processed over the past three years.

Complex requests

Closed requests

The ATIP Directorate closed 2,074 (76%) requests within the timelines required by law. This means that it provided responses within 30 calendar days or within an extended deadline. This is a 6% increase compared to 2021–2022.

Deemed refusals

A deemed refusal is a request closed after the deadline of 30 calendar days, or after the extended deadline if a time extension was taken.

Of the 2,722 requests closed during the reporting period, 648 were closed after the deadline. This resulted in a deemed refusal rate of 24%.

Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

The Access to Information Act sets the timelines for responding to access to information requests and allows time extensions when there is a large volume of records to be processed or a need to complete consultations (for example, with a government institution or third party).

Of the 2,722 requests closed during the reporting period, 196 requests were closed past the legislated timeline when no extension was taken. A further 452 requests were closed after the legislated timeline when an extension was taken.

Requests for translation

Records are normally released in their original language. However, an institution may translate records to an official language if requested, or if the institution considers a translation to be necessary so the individual can understand the information.

The CRA did not receive any requests to translate records in response to access to information requests in 2022–2023.

Part 5 – Extensions

The Access to Information Act sets required timelines for responding to access to information requests. The Act allows time extensions when there is a large volume of records to be processed or a need to complete consultations (for example, with a government institution or other third party).

Of the 2,722 requests closed in 2022–2023, the CRA applied extensions to 938 (34%) of them. It applied those extensions 97% of the time because of workload and because meeting the original 30-day time limit would have resulted in unreasonable interference with CRA operations. The CRA applied the remaining extensions because of the need for internal and external consultations.

Part 6 – Fees and the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by an institution.

With respect to the 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 payable: $5 application fee is the only fee charged for an Access to Information Act request
• Total revenue: A total of $13,130 in fees was collected during the reporting period
• Fees waived: In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, the CRA waives all fees prescribed by the Act and the Access to Information regulations other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations. In the 2022–2023 fiscal period, the CRA waived a total of $1,470 for 294 requests
• Cost of operating the program: $5,326,321

Part 7 – Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

Internal consultations

In 2022–2023, the ATIP Directorate received 8 internal consultation requests and completed 11. These requests are informal reviews and do not fall under the Access to Information Act.

Part 8 – Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

Although Cabinet confidences are excluded from the application of the Access to Information Act (section 69), Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat policies require agencies and departments to consult with their legal services office to determine if they should exclude requested information. If any doubt exists or if the records contain discussion papers, legal counsel must consult the Office of the Counsel to the Clerk of the Privy Council Office.

In 2022–2023, the ATIP Directorate had to consult with the Legal Services Branch three times, regarding Cabinet confidence exclusions. The Privy Council Office did not need to be consulted.

Part 9 – Investigations and reports of findings

Investigations

In 2022–2023, the CRA received 194 complaints under the Access to Information Act, a 24% increase compared to the previous year. The complaints the CRA received related to the following:

• time delay (59)
• fees (2)
• non-disclosure (35)
• refusal due to exemption (55)
• refusal due to general reasons (12)
• time extensions (31)

In 2022–2023, 222 complaints were closed. At the end of the fiscal year there were 197 active complaints.

The following chart shows the number of complaints received and closed since 2022–2023.

Complaints

The following chart shows the disposition of the complaints closed during the fiscal year.

Complaint disposition

For definitions of the complaint disposition categories, go to: oic-ci.gc.ca/en/how-oic-can-help#types-of-complaints.

Reports of findings

In 2022–2023, the CRA received 20 initial reports under section 37(1) of the Access to Information Act, 3 of which contained recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner of Canada and 17 contained orders for the provision of records. The CRA also received eight final reports under section 37(2), two of which included recommendations, and six contained orders to disclose the records.

Part 10 – Court action

In 2022–2023, there were no complaints pursued to the Federal Court.

Part 11 – Resources related to the Access to Information Act

Costs

During the 2022–2023 fiscal year, the ATIP Directorate’s direct cost to administer the Access to Information Act was $5,326,321. This does not include significant support and resources from CRA branches and regions. For more details, see Table 11.1 of Appendix A.

Human resources

In 2022–2023, the CRA dedicated an equivalent of 35 full-time employees, in addition to 13 consultants and Agency personnel and 1 student, to administering the Access to Information Act. Many of these employees simultaneously administer the Privacy Act.

Interpretation and explanation of Appendix B – Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

The following is a brief overview of the tables included in Appendix B:

• Table 1: The CRA had full capacity to receive access to information and privacy requests during 2022–2023.
• Table 2.1 and 2.2: The CRA had full capacity to process unclassified, Protected B, Secret, and Top-Secret paper and electronic records throughout the 2022–2023 reporting period.
• Table 3.1: At the end of the fiscal year, the CRA had 1,286 Access to Information Act requests outstanding: 705 of these were within legislated timelines, while 581 were beyond legislated timelines. The CRA received 302 of these requests before 2022–2023, and it will address many of these through its backlog elimination plan.
• Table 3.2: At the end of the fiscal year, the CRA had 197 open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada.
• Table 4.1: At the end of the fiscal year, the CRA had 1,782 Privacy Act requests outstanding: 1,453 of these were within legislated timelines, while 329 were beyond legislated timelines. The CRA received 92 of these requests before 2022–2023, and it will address many of these through its backlog elimination plan.
• Table 4.2: At the end of the fiscal year, the CRA had 51 open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
• Table 5: The CRA reported that it received authority for a new collection of social insurance numbers in 2022–2023.
• Table 6: During the 2022–2023 reporting period, the CRA received 40 requests from confirmed foreign nationals under the Privacy Act.

Conclusion

The CRA is committed to improving the administration of the Access to Information Act in Canada.

Despite the growing demands on the ATIP program, the CRA continued to make significant progress in addressing backlog challenges by:

• processing ATIP requests using Lean methodology
• addressing the backlog through the CRA backlog elimination plan
• developing the Quality Assurance Review Plan
• implementing the Privacy and Access to Information Training and Awareness Strategy 

In 2023–2024, the ATIP Directorate will continue to implement the backlog elimination plan with a focus on completing phase 3, which has a planned completion date of December 31, 2023. In support of this, a key priority during the fiscal year will be to continue to develop and implement innovative solutions to address requests for taxpayer information that can be provided by more efficient channels, such as My Account, My Business Account, and Represent a Client, rather than through the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act.

Appendix A – Statistical report

Statistical report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Canada Revenue Agency

Reporting period: April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023

Part 1 – Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

1.2   Sources of requests

1.3   Channels of requests

Part 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

2.5   Pages re-released informally

Part 3 – Applications to the information commissioner on declining to act on requests

Part 4 – Requests closed during the reporting period

4.1       Disposition and completion time

4.2   Exemptions

* I.A.: International Affairs
   Def.: Defense of Canada
   S.A.: Subversive Activities

4.3   Exclusions

4.4   Format of information released

4.5    Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats

4.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of request

4.5.3  Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

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

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

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

4.5.7   Other complexities

4.6   Closed requests

4.6.1   Requests closed within legislated timelines

4.7  Deemed refusals

4.7.1    Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

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

4.8  Requests for translation

Part 5 - Extensions

5.1  Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.2    Length of extensions

Part 6 - Fees

Part 7 - Consultations received from institutions and organizations

7.1   Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

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

7.3   Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada organizations

Part 8 – Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

8.1   Requests with Legal Services

8.2   Requests with Privy Council Office

Part 9 ‑ Investigations and reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

9.2 Investigations and reports of finding

Part 10 - Court action

10.1   Court actions on complaints 

10.2   Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

Part 11 - Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1   Costs

11.2   Human resources

Appendix B – Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Part 1 – Capacity to receive requests

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

Table 2.1 Capacity to process paper records

Table 2.2 Capacity to process electronic records

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

Table 3.1 Open requests outstanding from previous reporting periods

Table 3.2 Open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada outstanding from previous reporting periods

Part 4 : Open requests and complaints under the Privacy Act

Table 4.1 Open requests outstanding from previous reporting periods

Table 4.2 Open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada outstanding from previous reporting periods

Part 5 : Authority received for a new collection of the social insurance number (SIN)

Part 6 : Universal Access under the Privacy Act

Appendix C – Delegation order

The CRA positions that are authorized to perform the powers, duties, and functions given to the minister of national revenue under the provisions of the Access to Information Act and its regulations are:

Commissioner

• Full authority

Deputy Commissioner

• Full authority

Assistant Commissioner, Public Affairs Branch, and Chief Privacy Officer

• Full authority

Director General, Access to Information and Privacy Directorate, Public Affairs Branch

• Full authority

Directors in the Access to Information and Privacy Directorate of the Public Affairs Branch

• Full authority

Assistant directors, managers, technical reviewers/advisors in the Access to Information and Privacy Directorate of the Public Affairs Branch

• Full authority