Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2018-19

Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2018-19 PDF Version (1,427 KB)

Table of contents

• Introduction
  • The Access to Information Act
• Overview of Public Safety Canada
  • Our Mandate, Mission and Vision
  • Three Essential Roles of the Department
• Organizational Structure
  • Our Branches
  • Our Regional Offices
  • Our Portfolio: Partner Agencies and Review bodies
  • Our Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office
• Delegation of Authority
• Highlights of the Statistical Report and Multi-Year Trends
  • Overview of the Statistical Report
  • ATIP Request Volume and Workload
  • Requests Received under the Access to Information Act
  • Source of Requests
  • Extensions
  • Completion Times
  • Disposition of Requests
  • Consultations from other Institutions
  • Challenges/Complexities
• Training and Awareness
  • Training
  • Awareness
• Policies, Guidelines or Procedures and Initiatives
• Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints, Audits or Investigations
  • Appeals to the Court
• Monitoring Compliance
• Annex A: Delegation of Authority for the Access to Information Act and Regulations
• Annex B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Introduction

Each fiscal year, the head of every government institution prepares and submits an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Access to Information Act.

This report is tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 72 of the Access to Information Act under the direction of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. The report describes how Public Safety administered and fulfilled its obligations under the Access to Information Act between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019.

The Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act came into force on July 1, 1983. It gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents as well as persons and corporations physically present in Canada, an enforceable right of access to records under the control of a government institution. The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to help further the democratic process by promoting transparency and accountability of government.

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; and,
• Decisions about disclosures should be reviewable independently of government.

Individuals who are not satisfied with how an institution has processed their request under the Access to Information Act, may submit a complaint to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada.

Overview of Public Safety Canada

Public Safety Canada was created in 2003 to ensure coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians.

Our Mandate, Mission and Vision

Our mandate is to keep Canadians safe from a range of risks such as natural disasters, crime and terrorism. Our mission is to build a safe and resilient Canada. Our vision is to, through outstanding leadership, achieve a safe and secure Canada and strong and resilient communities.

Three Essential Roles of the Department

1. Support the Minister's responsibility for all matters related to public safety and emergency management not assigned to another federal organization;
2. Exercise leadership at the national level for national security and emergency preparedness; and,
3. Support the Minister's responsibility for the coordination of entities within the Public Safety Portfolio.

Organizational Structure

Our Branches

Public Safety branches are Emergency Management and Programs, Community Safety and Countering Crime, Portfolio Affairs and Communications, National and Cyber Security, and Corporate Management. The department also has a Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive and is supported by the Legal Services Unit.

Our Regional Offices

We have five Regional Offices representing the Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia and the North. Our regional offices are the primary point of contact for the Department at the provincial level. They deliver a coordinated federal response to emergencies; facilitate the effective delivery of emergency management, Indigenous policing and crime prevention programs; and improve partnerships with other levels of government and key regional stakeholders.

Our Portfolio: Partner Agencies and Review Bodies

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) manages the nation's borders by enforcing Canadian laws governing trade and travel, as well as international agreements and conventions. CBSA facilitates legitimate cross-border traffic and supports economic development while stopping people and goods that pose a potential threat to Canada.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) investigates and reports on activities that may pose a threat to the security of Canada. CSIS also provides security assessments, on request, to all federal departments and agencies.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) helps protect society by encouraging offenders to become law-abiding citizens while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control. CSC is responsible for managing offenders sentenced to two years or more in federal correctional institutions and under community supervision.

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) is an independent body that grants, denies or revokes parole for inmates in federal prisons and provincial inmates in province without their own parole board. The PBC helps protect society by facilitating the timely reintegration of offenders into society as law-abiding citizens.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) enforces Canadian laws, prevents crime and maintains peace, order and security.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (CRCC) investigates complaints from the public about the conduct of members of the RCMP in an open, independent and objective manner. The Commission also holds public hearings and conducts research and policy development to improve the public complaints process.

The Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) conducts independent, thorough and timely investigations about issues related to Correctional Service Canada. The OCI may initiate an investigation based on a complaint from (or on behalf of) an offender, as the result of a ministerial request, or on its own initiative.

The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) is an independent agency that promotes fair and equitable labour relations within the RCMP. The Committee conducts an independent review of appeals in disciplinary, discharge and demotion matters, as well as certain kinds of grievances.

Our Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office

The ATIP Office is part of Public Safety Canada's ATIP and Executive Services Division within the Department's Portfolio Affairs and Communications Branch. The Director of ATIP and Executive Services, supported by one Administrative Assistant, is responsible for ATIP as well as Ministerial Correspondence and Secretariat Services. The ATIP Office consists of 13 full-time employees and consists of two streams of ATIP-related work: the ATIP Operations Unit and the Privacy Policy and Training Unit (PPTU).

The ATIP Office is responsible for the coordination and implementation of policies, guidelines and procedures to ensure departmental compliance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The team is also responsible for responding to requests made under the Acts, as well as providing the following services to the Department:

• Processing consultations received from other institutions;
• Providing advice and guidance to employees and senior officials on ATIP related matters such as privacy impact assessments (PIA) and privacy breaches;
• Producing the Annual Reports to Parliament;
• Delivering ATIP awareness sessions to departmental employees;
• Coordinating regular updates to Public Safety's Info Source publication;
• Reviewing departmental documents, such as audits and evaluations, prior to proactively disclosing these on the departmental website;
• Developing departmental procedures for processing ATIP requests;
• Maintaining the Department's ATIP reading room; and
• Participating in forums for the ATIP community, such as the Treasury Board Secretariat's ATIP Community meetings and working groups.

Delegation of Authority

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is responsible for how the department administers and complies with the Access to Information Act, the Access to Information Regulations and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat policy instruments. Section 73 of the Access to Information Act gives the Minister the authority to designate one or more officers or employees of Public Safety to exercise or perform all, or part, of the Minister's powers, duties, and functions under the Act.

Public Safety's current delegation order for the Access to Information Act was signed by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness on January 8, 2016. The signed Delegation Order is attached in Annex A. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

The Public Safety positions that are authorized to perform the powers, duties, and functions given to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness as head of a government institution under the provisions of the Access to Information Act and its regulations are the following:

Deputy Minister

• Full Authority

Associate Deputy Minister

• Full Authority

Assistant Deputy Minister, Portfolio Affairs and Communications

• Authority to apply subsection 4(2.1), sections 13 to 26, paragraph 35(2)(b) and section 69 of the Access to Information Act

Director General, Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs, and Executive Services

• Authority to apply subsection 4(2.1), sections 13 to 26, paragraph 35(2)(b) and section 69 of the Access to Information Act

Director, ATIP and Executive Services

• Full Authority

Manager, ATIP Operations

• Full Authority

Team Leaders, ATIP Operations

• Authority to apply subsection 4(2.1), section 9 and subsections 11(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) of the Access to Information Act as well as subsections 7(1) and 7(3) of Access to Information Regulations.

Analysts, ATIP Operations

• Authority to apply subsection 4(2.1), section 9 and subsections 11(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) of the Access to Information Act as well as subsections 7(1) and 7(3) of Access to Information Regulations.

Highlights of the Statistical Report and Multi-Year Trends

Annex B provides a statistical report on Access to Information Act requests processed by Public Safety Canada between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019. The following explains and interprets the statistical information, and identifies multi-year trends. 

Overview of the Statistical Report

In 2018-2019, Public Safety Canada received 473 requests under the Access to Information Act, an increase of approximately 12.4 per cent over the previous year. This year, Public Safety Canada has completed 100 per cent of access to information (ATI) requests on time. It took the department an average of 73 days to process a request made under the Access to Information Act. For the past five consecutive years, Public Safety has completed 99.6 per cent of access to information requests on time.

ATIP Request Volume and Workload

In 2018-2019, the total number of requests received under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act increased by 12.3 per cent and the total number of pages processed has increased by 95.7 per cent. Over the past five years, the average growth per year of the number of requests received is 8.2 per cent and the average growth per year of the number of pages processed is 25.3 per cent. The following table and chart demonstrate the ATIP workload over the past five years.

Requests Received under the Access to Information Act

Public Safety Canada received 473 new Access to Information Act requests through the fiscal year, representing an increase of approximately 12.4 per cent over the number of requests received the previous year (421). There were 93 requests carried forward from the previous fiscal year, resulting in a total of 566 requests to process. Of these requests, 467 were completed during the reporting year, while the remaining 99 requests were carried forward to the next reporting year.

Source of Requests

The media was the primary source of requests received by Public Safety Canada. Of the 473 requests received:

• 41.6 per cent of requests (197) were received from the media;
• 9.3 per cent of requests (44) were received from members of the public;
• 5.0 per cent of requests (24) were received from organizations;
• 4.7 per cent of requests (23) were received from academia;
• 2.3 per cent of requests (11) were received from businesses; and,
• 36.9 per cent of requests (174) were received from those who declined to identify.

Extensions

Section 9 of the Access to Information Act allows institutions to extend the legal deadline for processing a request if a search for responsive records cannot be completed within 30 days of receipt of the request, or if the institution must consult with other institutions or third parties.

Public Safety Canada plays a role in coordinating activities which engage the partner agencies and review bodies within the Public Safety portfolio as well as with other federal institutions and organizations at all levels of government on matters relating to the safety of Canadians. Extensions are therefore often necessary in order to undertake the required consultations. A total of 237 extensions were taken during the fiscal year, of these:

• 40 files were extended for 30 days or less;
• 46 files were extended for 31 to 60 days;
• 88 files were extended for 61 to 120 days;
• 34 files were extended for 121 to 180 days;
• 23 files were extended for 181 to 365 days; and,
• Six extended for 365 days or more.

Extensions taken because of interference with operations resulted in

• 19 files being extended for 30 days or less;
• 11 files being extended for 31 to 60 days;
• Five files being extended for 61 to 120 days;
• Two files being extended for 121 to 180 days;
• Two files being extended for 181 to 365 days; and,
• Five files being extended for 365 days or more.

Completion Times

This fiscal year, 56 per cent of requests under the Access to Information Act were completed within 30 days which represents a slight increase from last fiscal year's 49 per cent. The average number of days taken to process a request was 73 days which is slightly more than last fiscal year's average of 66 days.

Disposition of Requests

Of the 467 completed requests:

• 58 requests were disclosed without exemptions applied;
• 262 requests were disclosed in part;
• 14 requests were exempted in their entirety;
• 45 requests were excluded in their entirety;
• Two requests were transferred;
• 35 requests were abandoned;
• 51 requests where no records existed; and,
• Zero requests where the existence of records was neither confirmed nor denied.

In total 1184 exemptions and 411 exclusions were applied under the Access to Information Act this fiscal year. The most frequently used sections are:

• Section 15 was applied in 12.9 per cent of instances;
• Section 16 was applied in 13.4 per cent of instances;
• Section 19 was applied in 11.8 per cent of instances;
• Section 21 was applied in 17.0 per cent of instances;
• Section 23 was applied in 4.5 percent of instances;
• Section 69 was applied in 25.5 percent of instances; and
• Various other sections were applied in 14.9 percent of instances.

Consultations from other Institutions

Public Safety Canada received 251 new consultation requests under the Access to Information Act. There were 12 requests carried forward from the previous fiscal year, resulting in a total of 263 requests to process. Of these requests, 257 were completed during the reporting year, while the remaining six requests were carried forward to the next reporting year.

Challenges/Complexities

Public Safety's ATIP office has experienced several challenges:

• Due to Public Safety Canada's policy coordination role, consultations and cross-referencing with partner organizations must take place to properly review responsive records;
• The sharing of highly classified information with other ATIP offices has presented itself to be a challenge as not all offices have networks that can securely handle these records. These materials must then be hand delivered, creating inefficiency in both time and resources;
• Partner organizations require more time to process consultations because of an increase of requests in the system overall. This has increased the length of extensions required.
• The complexity of the requests received remains a challenge;
• The ATIP Office continues to receive overly broad requests;
• Public Safety maintained a 100 per cent on time rate while reviewing approximately 160,000 pages. The files that have been carried over into next fiscal year include approximately 210,000 pages, which is significantly higher than the total pages processed this fiscal year. The majority of the records carried over are related to complex files with multi-year timelines. Of these files, there is:
• One file with over 45,000 pages being processed;
• Two files with over 30,000 pages being processed;
• Four files with over 10,000 pages being processed; and,
• Two files with over 5,000 pages being processed.

It is anticipated that the review of these records will remain a significant challenge to the operations of the ATIP Office, given the complexity and volume of the records.

Training and Awareness

Training

This fiscal year, the ATIP Office provided 46 training or information sessions on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. A variety of subject matters were presented from retrieving and reviewing records in response to an Access to Information (ATI) request, to proactive publication. A grand total of 803 people attended these sessions.

An additional 306 Public Safety employees completed the online course Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals (I015) this fiscal year. This course is offered by the Canada School of Public Service and is mandatory for all new employees joining Public Safety Canada.

Awareness

This fiscal year, the ATIP Office has also raised ATIP awareness through the department's internal communications vehicles, publishing three internal InfoBulletin articles, one intranet InfoCentral page and one Frequently Asked Questions intranet page.

Policies, Guidelines or Procedures and Initiatives

Public Safety's ATIP office developed the Guidelines for the Handling and Processing of Documents Classified Top Secret and Above or Considered Operationally Sensitive during this fiscal year. Public Safety's statement of completeness form for ATIP requests has also been updated.

During this fiscal year, Public Safety Canada's Privacy Policy and Training Unit led the departmental preparations, for the implementation of new proposed proactive publication requirements under Bill C-58, subject to Parliamentary approval. In the event the bill passes, new processes and procedures were developed for:

• Grants & Contributions over $25,000;
• Contracts over $ 10,000;
• Travel & Hospitality Expenses;
• Annual Reports of Minister's Office Expenses;
• Reports Tabled in Parliament;
• Position Reclassifications;
• Briefing Note Titles and Reference Numbers;
• Question Period Notes;
• Parliamentary Committee Materials; and
• Transition Materials for Deputy Heads and Ministers.

Guides, Tools and templates highlighting ATIP specific requirements have been developed for these processes. System changes to ccmEnterprise, Public Safety's briefing material tracking system, were also completed to facilitate ATIP operations. Preparations will continue throughout the next fiscal year.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints, Audits or Investigations

Public Safety Canada received notice of 26 new complaints to the Office of the Information Commissioner on 11 files. There were:

• 10 complaints related to exemptions;
• One related to excluded information;
• Seven related to denial of access;
• Two related to delay (deemed refusal);
• Two related to time extensions; and,
• Four for miscellaneous reasons.

Of the 26 complaints received:

• Four were discontinued;
• One was well founded;
• One was well founded but considered resolved without recommendations;
• One was considered resolved;
• One was not well founded; and,
• 18 are ongoing.

There have been no patterns or trends identified by Public Safety Canada as a result of complaints or investigations by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Appeals to the Court

There was one appeal to the Federal Court that was included in the 2008-2009 Annual Report to Parliament. The matter is ongoing.

Monitoring Compliance

Five recurring reports are prepared for the information of Senior Management: the Weekly ATIP Report; the Quarterly Branch Performance Report; the Completed Request Report; the Upcoming Access to Information (ATI) Release Report; and the New Request Report.

The Weekly ATIP Report identifies the new formal ATI requests received by the department each week and the deadlines assigned for retrieval/recommendations from branches. It also provides news on issues of interest such as new policies, receipt and resolution of complaints, etc. The Weekly ATIP Report is presented at the weekly Executive Committee Meeting.

The Quarterly Branch Performance Report provides Branches with their on-time response to ATI taskings, and is included as news in the Weekly ATIP Report. Quarterly Branch Performance Reports are rolled-up at the end of the year to provide an overall average of each Branch's on-time response.

The Completed Request Report provides a list of all closed files for a two week period. The Upcoming ATI Release Report provides a list of ATI requests that will be completed in the upcoming week. The New Request Report provides a list of new requests received during the reporting week.

In its commitment to transparency and accountability, Public Safety Canada posts summaries of completed ATI requests on the Open Government website. In addition, ATIP performance is monitored at the ADM level through their Performance Management Agreements to ensure ATIP is a priority within the department.

Annex A: Delegation of Authority for the Access to Information Act and Regulations

Annex B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

Part 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.5 Complexity

2.6 Deemed refusals

Part 3: Extensions

Part 5: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

Part 6: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Part 9: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

Date modified:

2022-07-28