Office of the Information Commissioner Systematic Investigation
Date: November 17 2020
Classification: Unclassified
Branch / Agency: RCMP-ATIP Branch
Proposed Response:
- The RCMP strives to meet its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act, and is committed to providing Canadians with information in a timely manner.
- The RCMP agrees with the recommendations outlined in the Office of Information Commissioner’s Final Report.
- Enhancing the program to improve compliance is a priority for the RCMP. A number of the recommendations have already been addressed as part of modernization efforts, including the creation of a specialized unit to triage and track representation requests in order to ensure timely response.
- Additional steps are being taken moving forward - this includes pursuing opportunities to secure additional resources.
- The RCMP will continue to work in collaboration with the Office of the Information Commissioner to ensure it meets its statutory obligations.
Background:
In 2019, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) initiated a systemic investigation into how the RCMP carries out its duty to provide timely access to information requests. The investigation examined data from 2018-19 and prior years and focused on:
- complaints associated to the RCMP’s persistent inability to meet statutory times frames under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) for responding to access requests; and,
- the RCMP’s consistent failure to provide representations to the OIC during delay complaint investigations.
The OIC will table a Special Report in Parliament on the investigation’s findings pursuant to section 39 of the ATIA on November 17, 2020.
The RCMP agrees with the recommendations made in the OIC Final Report and acknowledges that there are challenges in fulfilling obligations under the ATIA as it relates to responding within the statutory timeframe. As noted in the Final Report, resources challenges are a significant inhibitor. The RCMP ATIP Branch continually reviews its processes and procedures for efficiencies.
Records are increasingly automated; however, historical records that must be assessed to fulfil ATI requests are still largely paper-based, and distributed across the RCMP.
As part of the Commissioner’s broader modernization plan, incremental resources will facilitate changes to the ATIP Branch, including reviewing its policies to better align with legislation, refining a human resources strategy to address staffing needs, and conducting a strategic program review to improve business processes.
Further, in relation to representations during delay complaint investigations, a new process was implemented in 2019, which has all incoming requests for representation going to one unit, tasked with tracking and ensuring a timely response. The effectiveness of this system was acknowledged by the OIC in recent months.
An education campaign will be launched across the country to increase awareness of employees’ roles and responsibilities when it comes to information, and the RCMP has already began publishing more data sets on its external website as part of modernization measures to increase openness and transparency.
Improving compliance with the ATIA would better serve Canadians and contribute to building public trust in the RCMP as an open and transparent organization. The RCMP is cognizant of the link between the two and is fully committed to meeting its obligations.
The Government signalled its commitment to addressing program integrity issues at the RCMP in the July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot. It announced funding for ‘Supporting and Enhancing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’. The ATIP program will be a priority once this funding is confirmed, and has allowed the RCMP to develop more specific implementation plans.
Contacts:
Prepared by: Melanie Vallee, ATIP Issues Manager – 613-894-5271
Approved by: Insp. Ray Duguay, acting Director, ATIP Branch 343-542-5204
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