Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

2020 to 2021 Annual Report on the Privacy Act

From: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

On this page

2020 to 2021 Annual Report on the Privacy Act: Treasury Board Secretariat
(PDF, 4.1 MB)

Introduction

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Privacy Act for fiscal year 2020–21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021).

Section 72 of the Privacy Act requires that the head of every government institution prepare and submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the act in the institution during the fiscal year.

Purpose of the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act provides Canadian citizens and permanent residents with the right of access to and correction of personal information about themselves that is under the control of a government institution. It also provides the legal framework for the collection, retention, use, disclosure, disposition and accuracy of personal information in the administration of programs and activities by government institutions subject to the act.

Under the Privacy Act, personal information is defined as “information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form.” Examples include information relating to the national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age or marital status of an individual; the education or the medical, criminal, financial or employment history of an individual; the address, fingerprints or blood type of an individual; and any identifying number, symbol or other particular identifier assigned to an individual.

Mandate of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

As the administrative arm of the Treasury Board, TBS has a dual mandate: to support the Treasury Board as a committee of ministers and to fulfill the statutory responsibilities of a central government agency. The Treasury Board’s mandate is derived from the Financial Administration Act.

To fulfill its mandate, TBS organizes its business and resources around four core responsibilities:

TBS provides advice and support to Treasury Board ministers in their role of ensuring value for money. It also provides oversight of the financial management functions in departments and agencies.

TBS makes recommendations and provides advice to the Treasury Board on policies, directives, regulations, and program expenditure proposals with respect to the management of the government’s resources. Its responsibilities for the general management of the government affect initiatives, issues and activities that cut across all policy sectors managed by federal departments and organizational entities (as reported in the Main Estimates). TBS is also responsible for the comptrollership function of government.

The offices of the following government officials are part of TBS:

The Comptroller General provides government-wide leadership, direction, oversight and capacity‑building for financial management, internal audit and the management of assets and acquired services.

The Chief Human Resources Officer provides government-wide leadership on people management through policies, programs and strategic engagement, and by centrally managing labour relations, compensation, pensions and benefits, and contributing to the management of executives.

The Chief Information Officer provides government-wide leadership, direction, oversight and capacity‑building for information management, information technology, government security (including identity management), access to information, privacy, and internal and external service delivery.

Delegation order

Pursuant to section 73(1) of the Privacy Act, the President of the Treasury Board has delegated the powers, duties and functions for the administration of the Privacy Act to the following TBS officials: the Secretary of the Treasury Board, the Assistant Secretary of Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs, the Senior Director of Ministerial Services, the Director of Access to Information and Privacy and managers of Access to Information and Privacy (sections 26 and 27). Certain administrative functions are also delegated to managers, team leaders and officers to accelerate the processing of requests.

The delegation order was signed on December 13, 2019, and a copy can be found in Appendix B.

Organizational structure

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) office is part of the Ministerial Services Division of TBS’s Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs Sector.

The ATIP office is responsible for implementing and managing programs and services relating to TBS’s administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, as well as for providing advice to TBS employees as they fulfill their obligations under both acts.

The ATIP office is led by a director, who is supported by 3 managers. Each of these managers oversees a unit that is responsible for a different functional area:

The Intake and Governance Unit and the Operations Unit work together closely to process ATIP requests.

The Privacy Policy Unit supports sector officials on privacy‑related matters.

In total, 22 full‑time employees at various levels administered the acts in 2020–21, with the support of 3 part-time university students.

The most significant changes in the ATIP office this year were a change in director in September 2021 and the official transfer to the office of certain responsibilities for proactive publication of information.

Figure 1 shows the roles of the individuals and teams involved in processing ATIP requests at TBS. The ATIP office has 3 functional units. Sector liaison officers, although not part of the ATIP office, also play an important role in processing requests because they coordinate ATIP activities in their sector.

Figure 1: roles in processing ATIP requests at TBS
Figure 1: roles in processing ATIP requests at TBS
Figure 1 - Text version

The ATIP Director is supported by three units: the ATIP Intake and Governance Unit, the ATIP Operations Unit and the Privacy Policy Unit.

The ATIP Intake and Governance Unit coordinates and reviews documents for proactive disclosure and receives ATIP requests from the public and consultation requests from other departments. The unit also liaises with sectors to obtain and retrieve documents needed to process ATIP requests, and prepares reports on performance, using data in the ATIP software. The unit is comprised of 7 employees and 1 student.

The ATIP Operations Unit reviews documents to be sent in response to requests made under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act and consults any required parties. The unit liaises with the Office of Information Commissioner and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to resolve complaints and reviews records for parliamentary Motions for the Production of Papers. The Operations Unit is comprised of 9 employees.

The Privacy Policy Unit advises and supports TBS officials to ensure compliance with the Privacy Act and related policy instruments. The unit also supports TBS officials to ensure that individuals' privacy rights are respected in the delivery of programs and activities. Lastly, the unit supports the ATIP Director in their role as delegate responsible for section 10 of the Privacy Act. The Privacy Policy Unit is comprised of 5 employees.

As aforementioned, the ATIP sector liaison officers are not part of the ATIP office. They support the ATIP program by coordinating ATIP activities in their sector.

Section 73.1 of the Privacy Act allows government institutions to provide services related to privacy to another government institution that is presided over by the same minister. In 2020–21, the ATIP office did not provide any such services.

Performance 2020–21

Statistical reports prepared by government institutions provide aggregate data on the application of the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act legislation. This information is made public annually in a Statistical Information Bulletin and is included with the annual reports on access to information and privacy tabled in Parliament by each institution. TBS’s statistical report on the Privacy Act for 2020–21 is provided in Appendix A.

This year, institutions were asked to report on how the COVID‑19 pandemic affected their capacity to receive requests and process records. The 2020–21 Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act is in Appendix B.

The following sections contain highlights on TBS’s performance in 2020–21 in relation to its obligations under the Privacy Act and analyses of the notable statistical data for this year compared with previous years.

Requests received and carried over

In 2020–21, TBS received 66 new requests under the Privacy Act, down from 87 last year, a decrease of 24%. Many of these requests were from current and former federal public service employees and had to do with personnel or staff relations issues that required TBS’s involvement.

In 2020–21, 6 requests were carried forward from last year, 2 fewer than last year.

Figure 2 shows how many privacy requests TBS received each year and how many were carried forward for 2017–18 to 2020–21.

Figure 2: privacy requests received and requests carried forward, 2017–18 to 2020–21
Figure 2: privacy requests received and requests carried forward, 2017–18 to 2020–21
Figure 2 - Text version
Fiscal year Requests received Requests carried forward
2017–18 93 8
2018–19 77 9
2019–20 87 8
2020–21 66 6

Requests completed and pages processed

In 2020–21, TBS’s ATIP office responded to a total of 68 requests for personal information under the Privacy Act, which represents 17,455 pages processed. Although fewer requests were received and completed this year, 13,022 more pages were processed, representing an increase of 294% from last year’s total of 4,433 pages processed.

Figure 3 shows, for 2017–18 to 2020–21, the number of privacy requests TBS completed each year and the number of pages it processed for those requests. The number of requests completed decreased from last year, but the number of pages processed for them increased.

Figure 3: requests completed and pages processed, 2017–18 to 2020–21
Figure 3: requests completed and pages processed, 2017–18 to 2020–21
Figure 3 - Text version
Fiscal year Requests completed Pages processed
2017–18 93 5,089
2018–19 76 10,165
2019–20 88 4,433
2020–21 68 17,455

Disposition of requests completed

Of the 68 requests completed, for 11 of them, the records were fully disclosed to the requester without redactions; for 13 of them, the records were partially disclosed; for 17 of them, the request was abandoned by the applicant; and for 27 of them, no records existed. Most of the requests for which no records existed related to subjects that fall within the mandates of other federal institutions. In these cases, the ATIP office contacted the requesters to redirect their request to the more appropriate institution.

Because the President of the Treasury Board is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Privacy Act government‑wide, TBS often receives requests that fall within the mandates of other federal organizations. Such requests are registered, reviewed and closed after the requester is informed of which organization they should contact. These requests are included in the totals for the “No records exist” category.

Figure 4 shows the breakdown of requests by disposition for 2020–21.

Figure 4: breakdown of requests by disposition, 2020–21
Figure 4: breakdown of requests by disposition, 2020–21
Figure 4 - Text version
Disposition Number of requests
No records exist (40%)  27
Abandoned (25%)  17
Partially disclosed (19%)  13
Fully disclosed (16%)  11
Exempted in entirety (0%) 0

Format of requests

The ATIP office has continued to strive to increase the number of responses it provides in electronic format. In 2020–21, it released information in electronic format for 24 cases. It provided no paper responses this year, mainly because of the changes made to procedures in order to maintain operations during the COVID‑19 pandemic and to adapt to the new digital environment.

On‑time compliance rate, completion times and extensions

On‑time compliance rate

The on-time compliance rate is the percentage of requests responded to within their legislative timelines, including requests for which the institution invoked legislative extensions.

In 2020–21, TBS’s ATIP office achieved a 79.4% on‑time compliance rate despite the significant challenges associated with the COVID‑19 pandemic. Several factors contributed to this rate, including the quick resumption of the office’s operations after adapting to the shift to teleworking, the issuing of weekly statistical reports on performance, strong case file management, and regular information sessions with TBS officials.

Figure 5 shows the impact of the increasing average number of pages processed for completed requests on the on‑time compliance rate.

Figure 5: average number of pages processed per completed request and the on-time compliance rate, 2017–18 to 2020–21
Figure 5: average number of pages processed per completed request and the on-time compliance rate, 2017–18 to 2020–21
Figure 5 - Text version
Fiscal year Average pages processed per completed request Percentage of requests completed within legislated timelines (on-time compliance rate)
2017–18 55 98%
2018–19 134 95%
2019–20 50 99%
2020–21 257 79%

Completion times

Of the 68 requests completed in 2020–21, 54 (79%) were completed within the prescribed time limits, including any extensions taken pursuant to subparagraphs 15(a)(i) and 15(a)(ii) of the Privacy Act.

TBS received many requests that fell within the mandates of other government organizations; all of these requests were addressed within the first 15 days following conversations with the requester.

Extensions

The legislation sets timelines for responding to privacy requests and allows for extensions when the response requires the review of a large amount of information, consultations with other organizations, or extra time for documents to be translated.

For 2 requests (3%), TBS sought extensions to the prescribed time limits in order to consult with other government organizations.

Exemptions and exclusions

Exemptions

The Privacy Act allows, and in certain instances, requires that some personal information, such as information related to law enforcement investigations, information about other individuals, or information that is subject to solicitor‑client privilege, be exempt from release.

In 2020–21, 19 records were subject to exemptions under the Privacy Act and were therefore not disclosed because they contained the following:

Exclusions

The Privacy Act does not apply to or excludes information that is already publicly available, such as government publications and material in libraries and museums. It also excludes material such as Cabinet confidences. No records were subject to exclusions in 2020–21.

Consultations

TBS receives consultation requests from other federal institutions relating to Privacy Act requests involving TBS records or issues. In 2020–21, TBS received 4 such requests.

Every year, the ATIP office receives enquiries from the general public about how to obtain information under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act, and about where to send their requests. TBS redirects many of these enquiries to other federal government institutions, and occasionally, to provincial Freedom of Information and Privacy offices. They are not counted as requests for the purposes of this report.

Impact of COVID‑19 pandemic on ATIP office operations

In response to the measures implemented to minimize the effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic (for example, having all employees work from home), TBS activated its business continuity plan (BCP) on March 16, 2020. Under the BCP, employees providing critical services were given priority for using the limited network capacity. Employees providing non-critical services, were given only limited access to TBS’s virtual private network (VPN).

From March 20, 2020, to June 1, 2020, legislated ATIP services were provided primarily by the handful of employees who were identified as providing critical services and who therefore had VPN access. The remaining employees were granted VPN access on a rotational basis, under the BCP. By June 1, 2020, all TBS ATIP employees had full access to the VPN, and normal ATIP activities resumed. Since then, some staff have also been going to the office regularly to perform certain tasks needed to ensure program continuity (for example, to pick up regular mail and to process paper documents).

The TBS ATIP office had to update its procedures to reflect the realities of a new digital environment while at the same time continuing its operations despite the challenges of the pandemic. It modernized its processes to ensure that requests were processed efficiently and within legislative deadlines to the extent possible.

The TBS ATIP office engaged with both internal and external stakeholders to ensure continued program delivery. It informed sector officials of new procedures and best practices for processing ATIP records remotely. It also provided privacy advice and guidance to program officials to support the development of critical initiatives directly related to the COVID‑19 pandemic. In addition, it provided privacy advice and guidance to internal services partners at TBS to help speed up the deployment of various technologies and tools in support of remote work during the pandemic.

The office informed requesters of potential processing delays and offered them different options in an effort to provide records within legislative timelines and in compliance with the COVID‑19 ATIP Implementation notice issued by TBS’s Information and Privacy Policy Division.

Training and awareness

In 2020–21, the ATIP office continued to expand its outreach activities and provided several training sessions to TBS employees. In all, 41 separate sessions on access and privacy legislation as they relate to ATIP requests were provided to 266 employees. Some of these sessions were tailored to the needs of specific teams and sectors. The office also provided guidance on privacy protection and developed a privacy training video.

In addition, to mark Data Privacy Day, the ATIP office promoted the importance of sound privacy management practices and the shared responsibility for safeguarding personal information in day-to-day activities. The ATIP office published a TBS In-Brief message, in collaboration with colleagues in the Office of the Chief Information Officer. This message also announced the office’s bilingual privacy training presentation.

Policies, guidelines, procedures and initiatives

Privacy

The ATIP office’s Privacy Policy Unit continued to support TBS program staff on various initiatives involving the potential collection, use and disclosure of personal information. In 2020–21, the unit responded to over 370 internal requests from TBS program officials for privacy-related advice and guidance. The unit observed an increase in the complexity and sensitivity of requests for privacy advice, particularly with respect to activities relating to digital tools, employment equity, diversity and inclusion, and people management. This year, the ATIP office continued to support TBS program officials in ensuring compliance with privacy legislation and policy requirements by developing new tools for TBS’s internal Privacy Management Framework.

Digital processes

With most TBS employees working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Intake and Governance unit developed alternate procedures and guidelines to make it easier for employees to retrieve documents digitally in response to ATIP requests. Each sector liaison officer held a one‑on‑one virtual meeting with each sector representative to ensure that ATIP program delivery would continue while employees were working off-site. Digital efficiencies continue to be explored.

The transition to remote work posed several logistical challenges associated with ATIP‑related correspondence, including responses to requesters. When working on‑site, ATIP‑related correspondence could be sent by paper, or by CD in cases where the file size exceeded outgoing email restrictions. In the last quarter of 2020–21, the ATIP office implemented Canada Post Epost Connect, a secure mechanism for delivering large ATIP documents classified up to Protected B.

Part 2 of the Access to Information Act: proactive publication of information

The ATIP office proactively publishes information for the President of the Treasury Board, the Minister of Digital Government, and the deputy heads at TBS (the Secretary, the Comptroller General of Canada, the Chief Human Resources Officer of Canada, the Chief Information Officer of Canada, and the Deputy Minister for Public Service Accessibility).

The ATIP office leads the publication of certain requirements for proactive publication of information under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, except for information about contracts and reclassification. This includes creating procedural guides on proactive publication, providing training to TBS staff, coordinating with the web team, translation, editing, and reviewing all documents before publication. Elements that are released publicly under part 2 of the Access to Information Act are reviewed by the ATIP office for sensitivities, including personal data elements to ensure that TBS complies with its responsibilities under the Privacy Act.

The following information is published by the ATIP office as part of proactive publication.

Briefing note titles: Lists of briefing note titles are published monthly. In 2020–21, 13 titles were published, but some titles were partially redacted because they contained advice, personal information or information related to testing.

Parliamentary committee appearance binders: In 2020–21, the ATIP office finalized 13 binders for the House of Commons Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the Senate Standing Committee on National Finance, and a special sitting of the House of Commons COVID‑19. The publication of appearance binders requires detailed review, consultation and coordination within TBS. Of the 13 binders, 3 were fully disclosed. The remaining 10 had to be redacted to protect information related to internal decision-making of government, third‑party business information, law enforcement and security, or because they contained Cabinet confidences.

Question Period notes: In 2020–21, 21 question period notes totalling 102 pages were fully disclosed.

Travel and hospitality: In 2020–21, there were 66 disclosures relating to travel and hospitality.

Motions for the production of papers

The ATIP office supports TBS in responding to motions for the production of papers by coordinating consultations within TBS and with other government institutions and by conducting a detailed review of documents for sensitivities, including personal data elements to ensure that TBS complies with its responsibilities under the Privacy Act. This fiscal year, over 1,500 pages were processed to support TBS in responding to three motions for the production of papers:

Information about programs and information holdings

TBS publishes an inventory of its information holdings, as well as relevant details about personal information under its control.

The primary purpose of this inventory is to assist individuals in exercising their rights under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It also supports the federal government’s commitment to facilitate access to information on its activities, since it is available to the public on the Internet, free of charge.

A description of TBS’s functions, programs, activities and related information holdings can be found in Treasury Board Secretariat - Sources of Federal Government and Employee Information (Info Source).

In addition to completing the annual update of its inventory of information holdings, TBS is realigning all content in the publication to bring it into line with the 2019–20 Departmental Results Framework. The TBS ATIP office has held information sessions with individual sectors and workshops for groups of sectors to provide guidance to sectors as they review their program information holdings.

Complaints and audits

Complaints received

Requesters can file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) if they are not satisfied with the processing of their requests. In 2020–21, TBS was notified of 4 complaints received by the OPC. All of them related to delays in responding.

Complaints closed

The OPC closed 1 complaint at the intake stage and 2 complaints at the early resolution stage.

As of publication, there are 3 active complaints and 2 complaints that have not yet been officially not accepted because they are under review.

Court cases

There have been no court cases against TBS in relation to the Privacy Act since 2004.

Audits

In September 2017, the ATIP office asked the Internal Audit and Evaluation Bureau to undertake a department‑wide privacy audit and evaluation to assess the soundness and effectiveness of privacy practices at TBS. The scope of the audit and evaluation covered the period from April 2016 to April 2018.

In keeping with commitments made in the management response action plan to address the recommendations from the audit and evaluation exercise, in 2020–21, the ATIP office continued to implement new processes, procedures and tools, developed a formal outreach and engagement plan, and expanded promotional efforts to ensure that TBS employees take privacy requirements into consideration in their day‑to‑day activities.

The results of the audit and evaluation can be found in the Joint Audit and Evaluation of Privacy Practices at Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

As a result of the work completed to date on specific tools and guidance and on awareness and outreach, program officials across TBS continue to view the ATIP office as an important resource for privacy expertise.

Monitoring compliance

The ATIP office produces a variety of regular and ad hoc reports on TBS’s compliance with the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. In 2020–21, a new monthly ATIP dashboard was introduced. It provides a snapshot of statistics, including sector performance trends.

The dashboard is in addition to the regular compliance data that is shared with program areas and senior management weekly.

Material privacy breaches

TBS had no material privacy breaches in 2020–21.

Privacy impact assessments

The ATIP office provides TBS program officials with support and guidance on the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) process. In accordance with the TBS Directive on Privacy Impact Assessment, a PIA must be initiated for a program or activity in the following circumstances:

In 2020–21, TBS submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and to the Information Privacy Policy Division the PIA for Phase 2 of the Talent Cloud platform. A summary of the Talent Cloud PIA is available on TBS’s website on Canada.ca.

In addition, the ATIP office continued to support TBS program officials on several ongoing PIAs, including the Canada Financial and Material Management Solution PIA and the Online Regulatory Consultation Program PIA.

Public interest disclosures

Subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act provides limited and specific circumstances under which institutions may disclose personal information without an individual’s consent. Paragraph 8(2)(m) allows for the disclosure of personal information when the public interest clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy or when the disclosure would benefit the individual involved.

In 2020–21, TBS made 1 disclosure pursuant to paragraph 8(2)(m) of the act. The disclosure was in response to a motion for the production of records where TBS authorized the disclosure of the previously redacted personal information from TBS records to the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel for the limited purpose of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel confirming to the Committee that it was indeed personal information. Individuals whose personal information was provided were informed of the disclosure. Before disclosing the records, TBS notified the Privacy Commissioner in writing of this disclosure, in accordance with subsection 8(5) of the act.

Costs

In 2020–21, TBS’s total cost of administering the Privacy Act was $581,267. The ATIP office incurred $569,493 in salary costs and $11,774 in other administrative costs (software licences, office equipment and supplies, training).

These costs do not include resources expended by TBS’s program areas to meet the requirements of the act.

Appendix A: Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

In this section

Name of institution: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

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

Section 1: Requests under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of requests

Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 66
Outstanding from previous reporting period 8
Total 74
Closed during reporting period 68
Carried over to next reporting period 6

Section 2: Requests closed during the reporting period

2.1 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 0 6 4 0 1 0 0 11
Disclosed in part 0 0 3 3 1 4 2 13
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 14 12 1 0 0 0 0 27
Request abandoned 15 1 0 0 0 1 0 17
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 29 19 8 3 2 5 2 68

2.2 Exemptions

Section Number of requests
18(2) 0
19(1)(a) 0
19(1)(b) 0
19(1)(c) 0
19(1)(d) 0
19(1)(e) 0
19(1)(f) 0
20 0
21 1
22(1)(a)(i) 0
22(1)(a)(ii) 0
22(1)(a)(iii) 0
22(1)(b) 0
22(1)(c) 0
22(2) 0
22.1 0
22.2 0
22.3 0
23(a) 0
23(b) 0
24(a) 0
24(b) 0
25 0
26 13
27 5
28 0

2.3 Exclusions

Section Number of requests
69(1)(a) 0
69(1)(b) 0
69.1 0
70(1) 0
70(1)(a) 0
70(1)(b) 0
70(1)(c) 0
70(1)(d) 0
70(1)(e) 0
70(1)(f) 0
70.1 0

2.4 Format of information released

Paper Electronic Other
0

24

0

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Number of Pages Processed Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
17455

11250

41
2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests
Disposition Less than 100
pages processed		 101 to 500
pages processed		 501 to 1,000
pages processed		 1,001 to 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
All disclosed 5 187 6 945 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 3 184 2 568 3 1647 5 7719 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 25 371 8 1513 3 1647 5 7719 0 0
2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation required Legal advice sought Interwoven information Other Total
All disclosed 1 0 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 2 0 0 0 2
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 0 0 3

2.6 Closed requests

2.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines
  Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

54
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)

79.4

2.7 Deemed refusals

2.7.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Number of requests closed past the statutory deadline Principal reason
Workload External consultation Internal consultation Other
14

9

1

0

4
2.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extensions taken)
Number of days past deadline Number of requests past deadline where no extension was taken Number of requests past deadline where an extension was taken Total
1 to 15 days 2 2 4
16 to 30 days 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 1 0 1
61 to 120 days 0 2 2
121 to 180 days 0 2 2
181 to 365 days 2 2 4
More than 365 days 0 1 1
Total 5 9 14

2.8 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 3: Disclosures under subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Paragraph 8(2)(e) Paragraph 8(2)(m) Subsection 8(5) Total
0

1

1

2

Section 4: Requests for correction of personal information and notations

Disposition for correction requests received Number
Notations attached

0
Requests for correction accepted

0
Total

0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Number of requests where an extension was taken 15(a)(i) Interference with operations 15 (a)(ii) Consultation 15(b)
Translation purposes or conversion
Further review required to determine exemptions Large volume of pages Large volume of requests Documents are difficult to obtain Cabinet Confidence Section (Section 70) External Internal
16

2

5

2

5

0

2

0

0

5.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions 15(a)(i) Interference with operations 15 (a)(ii) Consultation 15(b)
Translation purposes or conversion
Further review required to determine exemptions Large volume of pages Large volume of requests Documents are difficult to obtain Cabinet Confidence Section (Section 70) External Internal
1 to 15 days 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
16 to 30 days 2 5 2 4 0 1 0 0
31 days or greater 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 5 2 5 0 2 0 0

Section 6: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

6.1 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 4 34 0 0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 0 0 0 0
Total 4 34 0 0
Closed during the reporting period 4 34 0 0
Pending at the end of the reporting period 0 0 0 0

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

Recommendation Number of days required to complete consultation requests
1 to 15 days 16 to 30 days 31 to 60 days 61 to 120 days 121 to 180 days 181 to 365 days More than 365 days Total
All disclosed 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Total 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 4

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Recommendation Number of days required to complete consultation requests
1 to 15 days 16 to 30 days 31 to 60 days 61 to 120 days 121 to 180 days 181 to 365 days More than 365 days Total
All disclosed 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Section 7: Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

Number of days Fewer than 100 pages processed 101 to 500 pages processed 501 to 1,000
pages processed		 1,001 to 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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of days Fewer than 100 pages processed 101 to 500 pages processed 501 to 1,000
pages processed		 1,001 to 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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Section 8: Complaints and investigations notices received

Section 31 Section 33 Section 35 Court action Total
4

0

0

0

4

Section 9: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIBs)

9.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

Number of PIA(s) completed

1

9.2 Personal Information Banks

Personal Information Banks Active Created Terminated Modified
95

0

0

1

Section 10: Material Privacy Breaches

Number of material privacy breaches reported to TBS

0
Number of material privacy breaches reported to OPC

0

Section 11: Resources related to the Privacy Act

11.1 Costs

Expenditures Amount
Salaries

$569,493
Overtime

$0
Goods and services

$11,774

Professional services contracts

$0
Other

$11,774
Total

$581,267

11.2 Human Resources

Resources Person years dedicated to privacy activities
Full-time employees 6.370
Part-time and casual employees 0.430
Regional staff 0.000
Consultants and agency personnel 0.000
Students 0.060
Total 6.860

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

In addition to completing the forms for the statistical reports on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act for 2020 to 2021, institutions were asked to complete this supplemental report regarding capacity to receive requests and capacity to process records.

Name of institution: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

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

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests

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

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records

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

Appendix C: Delegation Order

I, undersigned, President of the Treasury Board, pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Act hereby designate the ATIP Advisors, the Access to Information and Privacy Team Leader, the Access to Information and Privacy Manager, the Access to Information and Privacy Director, the Senior Director of Ministerial Services, the Assistant Secretary, Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs and the Secretary, or persons occupying those positions on an acting basis, to exercise signing authorities or perform any of the President’s powers, duties or functions as head of institution that are specified in the attached Schedule B. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Original signed by

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
President of the Treasury Board
Date: 2019-12-13

Schedule B - Sections of the Privacy Act to be delegated

Position Powers, Duties or Functions
Secretary Full authority
Assistant Secretary, Strategic Communications and Ministerial Affairs Full authority
Senior Director, Ministerial Services Full authority except:
Subsections: 33(2), 35(1), 36(3), 37(3)
Director, Access to Information and Privacy Full authority except:
Subsections: 33(2), 35(1), 36(3), 37(3)
Manager, Access to Information and Privacy Sections: 14,15, 26, 27
Team Leader, Access to Information and Privacy Paragraph: 14(a)
Sections: 15
Access to Information and Privacy Officers Paragraph: 14(a)

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the President of the Treasury Board, 2021,
Catalogue No. BT1-5/2E-PDF
ISSN: 2371-3038

Page details

Date modified: