Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act - 2023-24
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Institutional mandate
- Delegated authority
- Organizational structure
- Proactive publications
- Proactive publication under part 2 of the ATIA
- Performance 2023-24
- Requests received
- Informal requests
- Internal consultations
- Source of requests
- Decline to act
- Completion time
- Exemptions
- Exclusions
- Consultations
- Challenges
- Complaints
- Monitoring compliance
- Costs
- Training and awareness
- Mandatory training
- ATIP internal training
- Mentoring
- Right to Know Week
- Data Privacy Day
- Policies, guidelines, procedures
- Initiatives and projects to improve access to information
- Summary of key issues and actions taken on complaints
- Reporting on access to information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act
- Annex A — Delegation Order
- Annex B — Statistical report
Introduction
The Access to Information Act (ATIA) gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and all individuals and corporations present in Canada the right of access to records under the control of a government institution subject to the ATIA. This legislation increases the accountability and transparency of federal institutions and supports an open and democratic society.
Shared Services Canada (SSC) is pleased to submit to Parliament its 2023-24 Annual Report on the Administration of the ATIA. This report is prepared and tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the ATIA and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. It covers the period from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.
Institutional mandate
SSC was created in 2011 with a mandate to transform how the government manages and secures its information technology (IT) infrastructure.
SSC plays a key role in the government’s ability to deliver digital programs and services that improve the lives of Canadians, their families and communities.
SSC works in partnership with key public-sector and private-sector stakeholders to implement enterprise-wide approaches for managing IT infrastructure services and employ effective and efficient business management processes. Maintaining strong customer relationships and service management is essential to the successful delivery of SSC’s mandate.
Delegated authority
The Minister of Public Services and Procurement is responsible for handling requests submitted under the ATIA. Pursuant to subsection 95(1) of the ATIA, the Minister has delegated full powers, duties and functions to members of the Department’s senior management, including the Director and the Deputy Directors of the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division, hereafter referred to as the ATIP Division (refer to Annex A).
Organizational structure
The ATIP Division is part of the Corporate Secretariat, which is overseen by the Director General, Corporate Secretariat and Chief Privacy Officer, situated in the Strategy and Engagement Branch.
The Division oversees the administration of the ATIA and the Privacy Act (PA), led by a Director serving as the Department’s ATIP Coordinator. The Division’s work is performed through three units, each headed by a deputy director: the Operations Unit, the Special Projects Unit, and the Policy and Governance Unit. While an average of 24 person-years was dedicated to the ATIP program, 15.4 person-years, including 0.5 person-years located in the regions were dedicated to the administration of the ATIA. These person-years include full-time equivalents, casual employees and students.
The Operations Unit is responsible for processing requests under both acts. Its duties include, but are not limited to, the following tasks:
- Performing line-by-line reviews of records requested and conducting external consultations as required to balance the public’s right of access and the government’s need to safeguard certain information in limited and specific cases.
- Liaising with subject-matter experts within SSC.
- Making recommendations on records that are disclosed proactively by the Department.
- Providing briefings to senior management as required on matters relating to requests and institutional performance.
- Acting as the main point of contact with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) with respect to the resolution of complaints related to requests under both acts.
The Special Projects Unit oversees the creation and implementation of advanced technological solutions aimed at improving the ATIP process. Its responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Exploring and harnessing new technologies and methodologies to create efficiencies in the ATIP process through better information management and automation.
- Taking training on new technologies and methodologies to remain at the forefront of advancements in information management and automation.
- Briefing senior management on the deployment, progress and impact of new technologies within the ATIP Division to ensure informed decision-making.
- Maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base of all implemented technologies, including troubleshooting guides, best practices, and user manuals.
- Providing support and monitoring performance for technologies used in the ATIP Division.
- Engaging in strategic planning and execution of projects.
- Sharing with other departments and agencies the innovations introduced at SSC that have streamlined the ATIP processes.
The Policy and Governance Unit role is to provide strategic counsel and guidance on access to information and the protection of personal information to senior management. The scope of their responsibilities includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:
- Developing ATIP policy instruments and tools.
- Supporting program officials with privacy evaluations, which includes, Privacy Risk Checklist, Privacy Impact Assessments and drafting personal information-sharing agreements.
- Preparing and delivering training and awareness sessions throughout the Department.
- Coordinating SSC’s annual reporting requirements.
- Publishing an updated version of SSC’s Info Source chapter.
- Acting as the main point of contact with the OIC and OPC with respect to various audits, reviews, systemic investigations and privacy breaches.
- Managing different levels of privacy breaches by conducting regular privacy training sessions, and promptly addressing any breaches to ensure the protection of sensitive information.
The ATIP Division's execution of the acts benefits from the collaboration with subject matter experts across the Department, as employees are vital in quickly gathering records that needs to be reviewed.
Proactive publications
SSC publishes documents on a monthly basis to the Open Government website, including:
- Titles of memorandums to the President
- Titles of memorandums to the Minister
- Monthly summaries of ATIP requests
These documents are published within 30 Days of their creation. Before publication, the ATIP Division and the Chief Information Officer must approve the documents.
Proactive publication under part 2 of the ATIA
SSC is a Government of Canada (GC) institution listed in Schedule I.1 to the Financial Administration Act.
SSC proactively discloses information on a wide range of important subjects for Canadians as per Part 2 of the ATIA, including:
- Contracts
- Travel and hospitality expenses
- Briefing materials
- Expense reports
- Mandate letters
The ATIP Division routinely monitors and reviews documentation to be proactively released. The Division had 98.3 percent compliance rate with reporting requirements on the Open Government website.
Proactive publication requirements table
| Legislative requirement | Section | Publication timeline | Compliance rate | Proactive publication link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel and hospitality expenses | 75 and 82 | Within 30 Days after the end of the month of reimbursement | 91.67% | Government Travel Expenses (canada.ca) |
| Hospitality Expenses | 76 and 83 | Within 30 Days after the end of the month of reimbursement | 91.67% | Search Government Hospitality Expenses | Open Government - Government of Canada |
| Reports Tabled in Parliament | 84 | Within 30 Days after tabling | 100% | Publications – Access to Information and Privacy |
| Legislative requirement | Section | Publication timeline | Compliance rate | Proactive publication link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contracts over $10,000 | 77 and 86 |
Q1-3: Within 30 Days after the quarter
Q4: Within 60 Days after the quarter |
100% | Search Government Contracts over $10,000 |
| Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent | 88(a) | Within 120 Days after appointment | 100% | Briefing documents: Shared Services Canada |
| Titles and reference numbers of memorandums prepared for a deputy head or equivalent, that is received by their office |
88(b)
74(b) |
Within 30 Days after the end of the month received | 100% | Open Government Portal |
| Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent appearance before a committee of Parliament | 88(c) | Within 120 Days after appearance | 100% | Open Government Portal |
| Legislative requirement | Section | Publication timeline | compliance Rate | proactive publication link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reclassification of positions | 85 | Within 30 Days after the quarter | 100% | Search Government Position Reclassifications | Open Government - Government of Canada |
| Ministers | ||||
| Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for new or incoming ministers, or for a minister’s appearance before a committee of Parliament | 74(a) 74(d) | Within 120 Days after appointment or appearance | 100% | Open Government Portal (canada.ca) |
| Package of question period notes prepared by a government institution for the minister and in use on the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December | 74(c) | Within 30 Days after the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December | 100% | Question Period Notes (canada.ca) |
Performance 2023-24
The Statistical Report (Annex B) on the administration of the ATIA provides a summary of access to information (ATI) requests and consultations processed during the 2023-24 reporting period.
SSC was not party to any service agreements under section 73.1 of the ATIA during the reporting period.
Requests received
In 2023-24, SSC received 209 ATI requests, which represents a 53 percent decrease from the previous year. Nonetheless, there was a significant increase in the average volume of records per request. Throughout the reporting period, SSC successfully closed a total of 341 requests.
A total of 52 active ATIA requests were carried over to the next reporting period:
- 49 requests received in 2022-23 were within the legislated timeline, and 3 requests were beyond the legislated timeline
- 18 active requests received in the previous reporting period of 2022-23 were within the legislated timeline
Two specific areas within SSC have been the subject of 95 percent of all ATI requests during the reporting period:
- The majority of requesters (78 percent) sought records from SSC’s Enterprise IT Procurement and Corporate Services Branch (EITP-CSB). EITP-CSB enables SSC to follow a strategic sourcing and procurement plan through the centralization of contract administration, and the acquisition of IT and other goods and services.
- In 17 percent of requests, the Networks and Security Services Branch (NSSB) was tasked with the retrieval of records. NSSB is responsible for the planning, design and operations of the GC information technology (IT) network infrastructure and the management of cyber and IT security services that protect government data and technology assets.
The ATIP Division processed 442,508 pages of records in 2023-24. These achievements are reflected in SSC’s 98.8 percent compliance rate, which is well above the community average.
Alongside the 209 requests that were submitted, SSC carried forward 184 requests from the previous fiscal year for a total of 393 requests for this reporting period. The ATIP Division remains vigilant in regularly monitoring its response times in processing requests and keeping a close watch on the timeliness of their completion.
Access to Information requests – Text Version
| Fiscal year | Received | Processed |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 209 | 341 |
| 2022-23 | 441 | 375 |
| 2021-22 | 406 | 345 |
| 2020-21 | 191 | 161 |
Informal requests
SSC publishes summaries of completed ATI requests pertaining to corporate records on the Open Government Portal. Within the reporting timeframe, the ATIP Division received 406 informal requests for previously released documents, marking a 58 percent increase compared to the previous reporting period.
Internal consultations
Branches within SSC forward documents to the ATIP Division for review in accordance with the principles of the ATIA. SSC completed 39 internal consultations and reviewed a total of 5,353 pages. This represents an increase of 11 percent for completed requests and a substantial increase of 159 percent in pages reviewed. Furthermore, SSC was tasked to provide records to parliamentary committees which resulted in an increase in review required by the ATIP Division.
Source of requests
The public constitutes the largest source, accounting for 73 percent of all ATI requests. The private sector represented 19 percent of the requests received, while those from the media sector represented 4 percent. Sources that declined to identify themselves accounted for 3 percent and academia accounted for 1 percent. Notably, there were no requests received from organizations.
Source of requests – Text version
| Sources of requests | Requests received |
|---|---|
| Media | 8 |
| Academia | 4 |
| Private sector | 39 |
| Organisation | 0 |
| Public | 151 |
| Decline to identify | 7 |
Decline to act
Bill C-58, which received Royal Assent June 17, 2019, introduced Section 6.1 of the ATIA which states that the head of a government institution may call upon the OIC to investigate a request deemed vexatious, made in bad faith, or an abuse of the right of access. The Information Commissioner of Canada’s approval is needed to refuse the request for access to records.
During 2023-24, SSC submitted 6 applications to the OIC pursuant to section 6.1. These applications were all withdrawn following their abandonment by the requester.
Completion time
Section 9 of the ATIA allows the statutory time limits to be extended if consultations are required, or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing within the original timeframe would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the department.
In 37 instances (20 percent), extensions were necessary when SSC consulted with its Legal Services Unit and other departments prior to responding to the requester. The Division also invoked 37 extensions (20 percent) for the purpose of consulting third parties. Additionally, to mitigate disruption to daily operations due to a large volume of records, extensions were utilized in 114 instances, which constituted 60 percent of the time. Some areas within SSC tasked with government contracting faced significant challenges due to the high volume of requests. Balancing daily operations while responding to a growing number of complex requests resulted in delayed responses.
Throughout the reporting period, SSC fully disclosed records in 8 percent of cases. The Division applied exemptions to 158 requests, which accounts for 46 percent of all requests. This year, there were no instances where responsive records were entirely exempted or excluded. For 126 requests, equivalent to 37 percent, there were no existing records. Requesters abandoned 29 requests, making up 8.5 percent, and SSC transferred to other institutions 2 requests representing 0.5 percent. SSC did not have any request where the disposition was neither confirmed nor denied by SSC.
SSC responded to:
- 202 requests (59 percent) within 30 Days
- 39 requests (12 percent) within 31 to 60 Days
- 38 requests (11 percent) within 61 to 120 Days
- 17 requests (5 percent) within 121 to 180 Days
- 31 requests (9 percent) within 181 to 365 Days
- 14 requests (4 percent) requiring more than 365 Days
Completion time – Text version
| Completion time | 30 days or fewer | 31 to 60 days | 61 to 120 days | 121 to 180 days | 181 to 365 days | More than 365 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of request completed | 59% | 12% | 11% | 5% | 9% | 4% |
Exemptions
Whenever SSC invoked exempting provisions, the principle of severability, as described in section 25 of the ATIA, was applied to release as much information as possible. No requests were exempted in their entirety.
While most of the operations at SSC, and subsequent records created within the Department, revolve around operations of government, it is important to note that the ATIP Division tries to limit the use of section 21 of the ATIA to a minimum.
The ATIP Division has opted to highlight the following three provisions of the ATIA, as they are the most relied upon:
- Paragraph 16(2)(c), concerning security and the vulnerability of buildings, structures, or systems: 90 instances
- Subsection 19(1), protecting personal information: 138 instances
- Paragraph 20(1)(c), protecting information that could lead to financial loss or gain to a third party: 118 instances.
Paragraph 16(2)(c) is a discretionary exemption, while subsection 19(1) and paragraph 20(1)(c) are mandatory exemptions.
Exclusions
The ATIA does not apply to information that is already publicly available, such as government publications and material in libraries and museums (section 68). It also excludes material such as Cabinet Confidences (section 69). During 2023-24, SSC excluded records based on section 68 on 8 occasions, and section 69 on 25 occasions.
Consultations
To limit inter-institutional consultations, the ATIP Division consults other institutions only when SSC does not have the contextual information it needs to decide on the release of the information. Whenever possible, the Division will conduct courtesy consultations to inform other institutions of the release of their information.
This reporting period, SSC received 52 consultations from other government institutions. The Department carried over to the next year 4 consultations that were within the negotiated timeline.
Challenges
The ATIP Division was able to effectively provide services to Canadians despite facing numerous challenges. Listed below are some of the obstacles faced by the Division, and how they were overcome:
- Secret records must flow through the secure network, which is only accessible at certain areas in the office. Therefore, SSC is working on upgrading its infrastructure to handle records with a secret security classification easily.
- The Division is facing issues recruiting employees. To address this, ATIP is exploring various innovative approaches, including participating in the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) recruitment campaigns specifically tailored for the ATIP community.
- The high volume of requests pertaining to the same two branches makes it challenging to provide records within the allotted time frame.
- Like many in the ATIP community, SSC began the year with a backlog of requests. By adopting new technologies and innovative approaches, the ATIP Division reallocated resources to reduce the backlog, thus ensuring that requesters received timely responses.
- The Division has encountered certain challenges with the rollout and utilization of the new ATIP processing software and is working closely with the company to address these issues.
- Due to new technologies with far-reaching privacy implications, increasingly complex privacy evaluations required the reassignment of resources to assess the privacy implications of these emerging technologies and initiatives.
Complaints
SSC received 3 complaints for this reporting period and 3 files were affected by complaint investigations under the ATIA. SSC received no reports of well-founded complaints from the OIC.
No audits involving SSC were completed by the OIC.
Monitoring compliance
The Division supplies weekly reports on forthcoming files. When a group proactively releases information under Part 2, the ATIP Division is consulted before publishing.
The Division implemented various internal procedures to ensure that ATI requests are processed in a timely and efficient manner. The ATIP Division has a five-business-day service standard for records retrieval and tracks branch performance. In addition, the Division holds a meeting every quarter with branch liaison officers to identify any common issues and concerns, to help improve the retrieval and recommendations. This reporting period, only 4 requests were closed late due to the following exceptional circumstances:
- The extensions taken were based on estimates provided by stakeholders that underestimated the amount of responsive records (2 files).
- The level of effort required due to consultations was underestimated; however, an interim release was provided to the requester by the due date (1 file).
- The level of effort required for the volume of pages was greater than anticipated by the ATIP Division because of additional complexities in the content (1 file).
Costs
For this reporting period, the ATIP Division spent a total of $1,704,332 for the administration of the ATIA, of which $1,594,913 was spent on salaries and $109,419 was spent on goods and services.
The expenses outlined do not reflect the full cost of administering the ATIA at SSC. Beyond the ATIP Division staff, a significant number of SSC employees are responsible for identifying and reviewing documents to fulfill information requests, all in support of the administration of the ATIA.
Training and awareness
The Division is dedicated to fostering a culture of ATIP excellence across SSC. As a result, the Division continues to develop and deliver training and awareness activities aimed at more openness and transparency throughout the Department. ATIP employees participated in many training sessions and conferences to broaden the knowledge of the entire Division. This year, the OPC met with all of the ATIP employees to provide insight into the Privacy Impact Assessments process and implications.
Mandatory training
In order to ensure that all SSC employees, regardless of their position or level, are made aware of their responsibilities related to ATIP and that they gain an in-depth understanding of the related best practices and principles, SSC launched, in collaboration with the Canada School of Public Service, the online Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals course (I015) on July 14, 2016. While this course is optional for all federal public service employees through the Canada School of Public Service website, its completion has been made mandatory for all SSC employees. For this reporting period, 1,590 employees successfully completed the course. This represents a 16 percent increase from the previous reporting period where 1 367 employees completed the course.
ATIP internal training
The ATIP 101 training saw a decrease in participation, which could potentially be tied to some branches' reliance on pre-recorded sessions to onboard new employees. The Division promotes training in several ways internally and delivers it when participants sign up for specific sessions. The ATIP Division endeavours to find ways to increase participation as training is an important contributor to the continued success of ATIP management at SSC.
The ATIP Division also developed tasking request training, with the purpose of educating SSC employees on their roles and responsibilities as office of primary interest. One session was delivered in 2023-24.
Mentoring
The ATIP Division takes innovation very seriously and focuses on the personal development of its employees. Experienced employees in the ATIP Division provide guidance and support to new employees by helping them navigate the culture, answering any questions and helping them learn the necessary skills to succeed. By investing in mentoring and coaching, SSC can improve employee retention and foster a culture of continuous learning and development.
Right to Know Week
Right to Know Week took place from September 26, 2023, to October 1, 2023, and has been celebrated for the past 19 years around the world. It is intended to raise awareness of an individual’s right to access government information, to promote freedom of information as an essential feature of democracy and good governance. The ATIP Division has engaged internal and external stakeholders by developing communiqués, publishing articles in SSC's internal newsletter, promoting ATIP training through internal communication channels, and sharing corporate messages on SSC's official social media accounts.
Data Privacy Day
On January 28, 2023, SSC celebrated Data Privacy Day to raise awareness and demonstrate the importance of privacy and the protection of personal information in day-to-day activities. The ATIP Division developed communiqués, published content on SSC social media accounts and promoted privacy training through SSC’s internal communication network.
Policies, guidelines, procedures
To enhance policy alignment with TBS and eliminate duplication of information and ensure accuracy, ATIP implemented several measures to update its policy suite. This included rescinding, amending and consolidating the information. The updated policy suite is now in the approval stages of the process and will be made available to SSC employees through MySSC+ the departmental intranet site.
Initiatives and projects to improve access to information
- The ATIP Division is working to automate tasking processes and response sheets. This new process will improve the retrieval experience for both ATIP and subject matter experts.
- Since January 2022, SSC continued to improve and refine the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bots that have been running in production. The RPA can import records in the ATIP redaction software on a 24/7 basis and remove duplicate records, which require significant effort and time when processing large volume files. This allowed the ATIP Division to reallocate resources to more complex tasks to better serve Canadians.
- The implementation of Business Intelligence (BI) tools for enhanced data visualization will enable SSC to aggregate, analyze, and visualize large datasets to identify trends that inform decision-making related to the management of ATIP processes.
- The ATIP Division is exploring an AI-powered public information identifier to automate the identification of publicly available information. This technology would expedite the process of responding to requests by reducing the manual review of public data, leading to faster and more consistent responses to requesters.
- The Division is implementing automated Open Government submissions to improve public access to government information. This involves using technology to provide automatic publication of ATI summaries, thus upholding transparency and accountability. The system is designed to protect privacy by filtering out sensitive data before publication.
- SSC is exploring the use of a Large Language Model (LLM) Co-Pilot to assist in processing ATIP requests more efficiently. This advanced tool aid analysts by rapidly identifying content that may be exempt from disclosure under ATIP legislation. It leverages an extensive understanding of related laws to pinpoint sensitive information needing redactions, increasing the pace of the review process, ensuring compliance with legal standards, and serving as a valuable support for analysts.
- SSC is transitioning to a next-generation ATIP case management software. This new tool should provide enhanced capabilities, such as improved user interfaces, better integration with other digital tools, and more sophisticated features to facilitate the processing of requests.
Summary of key issues and actions taken on complaints
The ATIP Division continues to work diligently to resolve complaints. As soon as a request is received, the Division works with requesters to fully understand the request to reduce the processing time and ensure the relevancy of the records provided. In addition, the Department has taken diverse actions to limit the number of complaints. For example, the Division regularly reviews its procedures to improve performance and reduce the response time to improve services to Canadians.
ATIP analysts receive ongoing training on the complaints process and the handling of complaints received from the OIC. The Division has established a streamlined process for handling complaints where the Deputy Director, Operations Unit, is responsible for providing representations to the OIC. The Director and Deputy Director, Operations Unit, continue to work closely with the OIC in resolving complaints. Quarterly meetings between the OIC and SSC ATIP management are held to monitor and manage ongoing complaints.
During this reporting period, SSC ATIP only received 3 complaints that had been assigned to investigators at the OIC. Regarding the specifics of these complaints, one case advanced through an initial reporting stage, concluded with a final finding by the OIC commissioner that included the issuance of an order, to fully complied. The other three complaints were concluded with final reports that did not elicit specific recommendations from the OIC. To resolve complaint issues, when possible, SSC ATIP provided rolling interim releases to start providing requesters with information more rapidly.
Reporting on access to information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act
The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the ATIA, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act. The $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATI request.
During the reporting period, SSC collected $895 and waived $150 in application fees. In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, SSC waived all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.
Annex A — Delegation Order
Shared Services Canada
Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order
The Minister Public Services and Procurement, pursuant to subsection 95(1) of the Access to Information Act and subsection 73(1) of the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Minister as the head of Shared Services Canada, under the provisions of the acts and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.
| Position | Access to Information Act and Regulations | Privacy Act and Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| President | Full authority | Full authority |
| Executive Vice President | Full authority | Full authority |
| Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategy and Engagement Branch | Full authority | Full authority |
| Corporate Secretary and Chief Privacy Officer | Full authority | Full authority |
| Director, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division | Full authority | Full authority |
| Deputy Directors, Operations and Policy and Governance, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division | Full authority | Full authority |
Dated, at Ottawa,
this ___ day of ___
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Head of Shared Services Canada
Annex B — Statistical report
Statistical report on the Access to Information Act
Name of institution: Shared Services Canada
Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-03-31
Section 1: Request under the Access to Information Act
1.1 Number of requests
| Number of requests | |
|---|---|
| Received during reporting period | 209 |
|
Outstanding from previous reporting periods
|
184 |
| Total | 393 |
| Closed during reporting period | 341 |
|
Carried over to the next reporting period
|
52 |
1.2 Sources of Requests
| Source | Number of requests |
|---|---|
| Media | 8 |
| Academia | 4 |
| Business (private sector) | 39 |
| Organization | 0 |
| Public | 151 |
| Decline to identify | 7 |
| Total | 209 |
1.3 Channels of Requests
| Source | Number of requests |
|---|---|
| Online | 205 |
| 1 | |
| 3 | |
| In person | 0 |
| Phone | 0 |
| Fax | 0 |
| Total | 209 |
Section 2: Informal requests
2.1 Number of informal requests
| Number of requests | |
|---|---|
| Received during reporting period | 406 |
|
Outstanding from previous reporting periods
|
4 |
| Total | 410 |
| Closed during reporting period | 410 |
| Carried over to the next reporting period | 0 |
2.2 Channels of informal requests
| Source | Number of requests |
|---|---|
| Online | 105 |
| 301 | |
| 0 | |
| In person | 0 |
| Phone | 0 |
| Fax | 0 |
| Total | 406 |
2.3 Completion time of informal requests
| Completion time | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 15 days | 16 to 30 days | 31 to 60 days | 61 to 120 days | 121 to 180 days | 181 to 365 days | More than 365 days | Total |
| 409 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 410 |
2.4 Pages released informally
| Fewer than 100 pages released | 100-500 pages released | 501-1,000 pages released | 1,001-5,000 pages released | More than 5,000 pages released | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released |
| 203 | 2,206 | 31 | 7,406 | 5 | 3,296 | 7 | 10,866 | 2 | 32,448 |
2.5 Pages re-released informally
| Fewer than 100 pages released | 100-500 pages released | 501-1,000 pages released | 1,001-5,000 pages released | More than 5,000 pages released | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released |
| 113 | 2,251 | 23 | 6,283 | 15 | 11,011 | 11 | 20,753 | 0 | 0 |
Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on declining to act on requests
| Number of requests | |
|---|---|
| Outstanding from the previous reporting period | 0 |
| Sent during reporting period | 6 |
| Total | 6 |
| Approval by the Information Commissioner during the reporting period | 0 |
| Declined by the Information Commissioner during the reporting period | 0 |
| Withdrawn during reporting period | 6 |
| Carried over to the next reporting period | 0 |
Section 4: Request closed during the reporting period
4.1 Disposition and completion time
| Disposition of requests | Completion time | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 15 days | 16 to 30 days | 31 to 60 days | 61 to 120 days | 121 to 180 days | 181 to 365 days | More than 365 days | Total | |
| All disclosed | 1 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 26 |
| Disclosed in part | 24 | 28 | 33 | 32 | 14 | 18 | 9 | 158 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No records exist | 110 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126 |
| Request transferred | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Request abandoned | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 29 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 146 | 56 | 39 | 38 | 17 | 31 | 14 | 341 |
4.2 Exemptions
| Section | Number of requests | Section | Number of requests | Section | Number of requests | Section | Number of requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13(1)(a) | 2 | 16(2) | 2 | 18(a) | 1 | 20.1 | 0 |
| 13(1)(b) | 1 | 16(2)(a) | 0 | 18(b) | 10 | 20.2 | 0 |
| 13(1)(c) | 1 | 16(2)(b) | 2 | 18(c) | 0 | 20.4 | 0 |
| 13(1)(d) | 0 | 16(2)(c) | 93 | 18(d) | 0 | 21(1)(a) | 3 |
| 13(1)(e) | 0 | 16(3) | 0 | 18.1(1)(a) | 0 | 21(1)(b) | 12 |
| 14 | 0 | 16.1(1)(a) | 0 | 18.1(1)(b) | 0 | 21(1)(c) | 4 |
| 14(a) | 0 | 16.1(1)(b) | 0 | 18.1(1)(c) | 0 | 21(1)(d) | 2 |
| 14(b) | 0 | 16.1(1)(c) | 0 | 18.1(1)(d) | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 15(1) | 5 | 16.1(1)(d) | 0 | 19(1) | 140 | 22.1(1) | 0 |
| 15(1) —I.A* | 5 | 16.2(1) | 0 | 20(1)(a) | 1 | 23 | 12 |
| 15(1)—Def.* | 0 | 16.3 | 0 | 20(1)(b) | 100 | 23.1 | 0 |
| 15(1)—S.A.* | 13 | 16.4(1)(a) | 0 | 20(1)(b.1) | 0 | 24(1) | 1 |
| 16(1)(a)(i) | 0 | 16.4(1)(b) | 0 | 20(1)(c) | 118 | 26 | 0 |
| 16(1)(a)(ii) | 0 | 16.5 | 0 | 20(1)(d) | 6 | - | - |
| 16(1)(a)(iii) | 0 | 16.6 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 16(1)(b) | 0 | 17 | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 16(1)(c) | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 16(1)(d) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
4.3 Exclusions
| Section | Number of requests | Section | Number of requests | Section | Number of requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68(a) | 7 | 69(1) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (a) | 16 |
| 68(b) | 0 | 69(1)(a) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (b) | 0 |
| 68(c) | 0 | 69(1)(b) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (c) | 4 |
| 68.1 | 0 | 69(1)(c) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (d) | 1 |
| 68.2(a) | 0 | 69(1)(d) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (e) | 4 |
| 68.2(b) | 0 | 69(1)(e) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (f) | 0 |
| - | - | 69(1)(f) | 0 | 69.1(1) | 0 |
4.4 Format of Information Released
| Paper | Electronic | Other | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-record | Data set | Video | Audio | ||
| 3 | 182 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4.5 Complexity
4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by paper and e-record formats
| Number of pages processed | Number of pages processed | Number of requests |
|---|---|---|
| 442,508 | 93,981 | 213 |
4.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of request
| Disposition | Fewer than 100 pages released | 100-500 pages released | 501-1,000 pages released | 1,001-5,000 pages released | More than 5,000 pages released | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Pages processed | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | Number of requests | Pages released | |
| All disclosed | 24 | 402 | 2 | 359 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Disclosed in part | 65 | 1,994 | 44 | 9,514 | 14 | 11,177 | 21 | 46,000 | 14 | 283,989 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 17 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 915 | 7 | 23,424 | 4 | 64,668 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 106 | 2,462 | 46 | 9,873 | 15 | 12,092 | 28 | 69,424 | 18 | 348,657 |
4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats
| Number of minutes processed | Number of minutes disclosed | Number of requests |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests
| Disposition | Fewer than 60 minutes processed | 60-120 minutes processed | More than 120 minutes processed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Minutes processed | Number of requests | Minutes processed | Number of requests | Minutes processed | |
| All disclosed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| disclosed in Part | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats
| Number of minutes processed | Number of minutes disclosed | Number of requests |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests
| Disposition | Fewer than 60 minutes processed | 60-120 minutes processed | More than 120 minutes processed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Minutes processed | Number of requests | Minutes processed | Number of requests | Minutes processed | |
| All disclosed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Disclosed in part | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
4.5.7 Other complexities
| Disposition | Consultations required | Legal advice sought | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All disclosed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Disclosed in part | 50 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 60 | 1 | 0 | 61 |
4.6 Closed requests
4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines
| Number of requests closed within legislated timelines | 337 |
|---|---|
| Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) | 98.83 |
4.7 Deemed refusals
4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines
| Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines | Principal reason | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interference with operations/workload | External consultation | Internal consultation | Other | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
4.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)
| Number of days past legislated timelines | Numbers of requests past legislated timeline where no extension was taken | Number of requests past legislated timeline where an extension was taken | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 15 days | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 30 days | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 60 days | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 61 to 120 days | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 180 days | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 days | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| More Than 365 days | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 0 | 4 | 4 |
4.8 Requests for translation
| Translation requests | Accepted | Refused | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| English to French | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| French to English | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Section 5: Extensions
5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests
| Disposition of requests where an extension was taken | 9(1)(a) Interference with operations/workload | 9(1)(b) Consultation | 9(1)(c) Third-party notice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 69 | Other | |||
| All disclosed | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Disclosed in part | 90 | 2 | 21 | 31 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 21 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| No records exist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 114 | 3 | 34 | 37 |
5.2 Length of extensions
| Disposition of requests where an extension was taken | 9(1)(a) Interference with operations/workload | 9(1)(b) Consultation | 9(1)(c) Third-party notice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 69 | Other | |||
| 30 days or fewer | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 31 to 60 days | 19 | 1 | 3 | 29 |
| 61 to 120 days | 14 | 2 | 12 | 4 |
| 121 to 180 days | 14 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| 181 to 365 days | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 365 days or more | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 114 | 3 | 34 | 37 |
Section 6: Fees
| Fee type | Fee collected | Fee waived | Fee refunded | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Amount | Number of requests | Amount | Number of requests | Amount | |
| Application | 179 | $895.00 | 30 | $150.00 | 0 | $0.00 |
| Other fees | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0.00 |
| Total | 179 | $895.00 | 30 | $150.00 | 0 | $0.00 |
Section 7: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations
7.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations
| Consultations | Other Government of Canada institutions | Number of pages to review | Other organizations | Number of pages to review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Received during the reporting period | 48 | 422 | 0 | 0 |
| Outstanding from the previous reporting period | 4 | 71 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 52 | 493 | 0 | 0 |
| Closed during the reporting period | 48 | 422 | 0 | 0 |
| Carried over within negotiated timelines | 4 | 71 | 0 | 0 |
| Carried over beyond negotiated timelines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
7.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Governments of Canada institutions
| Recommendation | Number of days required to complete consultation requests | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 15 days | 16 to 30 days | 31 to 60 days | 61 to 120 days | 121 to 180 days | 181 to 365 days | More than 365 days | Total | |
| Disclose entirely | 26 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| Disclose in part | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Exempt entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Exclude entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Consult other institutions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 32 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada
| Recommendation | Number of days required to complete consultation requests | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 15 days | 16 to 30 days | 31 to 60 days | 61 to 120 days | 121 to 180 days | 181 to 365 days | More than 365 days | Total | |
| Disclose entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Disclose in part | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Exempt entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Exclude entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Consult other institutions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Section 8: Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences
8.1 Requests with legal services
| Number of days | Fewer than 100 pages processed | 100-500 pages processed | 501-1,000 pages processed | 1,001-5,000 pages processed | More than 5,000 pages processed | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | |
| 1 to 15 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 30 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 60 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 to 120 days | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 180 days | 3 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 days | 3 | 70 | 2 | 497 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2,777 | 0 | 0 |
| More than 365 days | 3 | 81 | 1 | 102 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 11 | 220 | 3 | 599 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2,777 | 0 | 0 |
8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office
| Number of days | Fewer than 100 pages processed | 100-500 pages processed | 501-1,000 pages processed | 1,001-5,000 pages processed | More than 5,000 pages processed | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | |
| 1 to 15 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 30 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 60 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 to 120 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 180 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| More than 365 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Section 9: Investigations and reports of finding
9.1 Investigations
| Section 32 notice of intention to investigate | Subsection 30(5) ceased to investigate | Section 35 formal representations |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 |
9.2 Investigations and reports of finding
| Section 37(1) initial reports | 37(2) final reports | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Received | Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner | Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner | Received | Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner | Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Section 10: Court action
10.1 Court actions on complaints
| Section 41 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complainant 41(1) | Institution 41 (2) | Third party 41(3) | Privacy Commissioner 41(4) | Total |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
10.2 Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)
| Section 44 Under Paragraph 28(1)(b) |
|---|
| 0 |
Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act
11.1 Allocated Costs
| Expenditures | Amount |
|---|---|
| Salaries | $1,549,913 |
| Overtime | $0 |
| Goods and services | $109,419 |
| Professional services contracts | $54,791 |
| Other | $54,628 |
| Total | $1,704,332 |
11.2 Human resources
| Resources | Person-years dedicated access to information activities |
|---|---|
| Full-time employees | 15.450 |
| Part-time and casual employees | 0.450 |
| Regional staff | 0.540 |
| Consultants and other agency personnel | 0 |
| Students | 1.860 |
| Total | 18.300 |
Note: Enter values to 3 decimal places.