Annual Report to Parliament 2019-2020
Access to Information Act
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part I: General Information
- Part II: Report on the Access to Information Act
- Part III: Annual Statistical Report
- Appendix A: Delegation Order
Introduction
The Access to Information Act (ATIA) was proclaimed into force on July 1, 1983.
The ATIA gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and any person and corporation present in Canada a right of access to information contained within government records, subject to specific and limited exceptions. The ATIA complements but does not replace existing procedures for obtaining government information. It is not intended to limit in any way the access to government information that is normally available to the public upon request.
Section 72 of the ATIA requires that the head of every government institution prepare for submission to Parliament an annual report on the administration of the ATIA within the institution during each fiscal year.
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 reported is in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.
This thirty-seventh Annual Report on the Administration of the ATIA is prepared in accordance with section 72 of the ATIA and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. It is intended to describe how the Department of Justice administered its responsibilities during the 2019-20 fiscal year.
Part I – General Information
Department Of Justice
To better understand the context within which the ATIA is administered, this section provides background information about the Department of Justice.
The Department of Justice has a dual mandate. This mandate stems from the dual role of the Minister of Justice, who is also the Attorney General of Canada.
In support of the Minister of Justice, the Department is responsible for providing policy and program advice and direction through the development of the legal content of bills, regulations and guidelines. In support to the Attorney General of Canada, the Department is responsible for litigating civil cases by, or on behalf of the Federal Crown and for providing legal advice to federal law enforcement agencies and other government departments.
Access To Information Activities
The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures in order to enable efficient processing of requests under the ATIA. The Coordinator is also responsible for related policies, systems and procedures stemming from the ATIA.
Activities of the ATIP Office include:
- Processing requests under the ATIA;
- Acting as spokesperson for the Department of Justice in dealing with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Information Commissioner and other government departments and agencies regarding the application of the ATIA;
- Responding to consultation requests submitted by other federal institutions on Department of Justice documents located in their files and on records that may be subject to solicitor-client privilege;
- Coordinating, reviewing, approving and publishing new entries and modifications to Info Source, an annual Government of Canada resource that describes its organization and information holdings;
- Preparing the Annual Report to Parliament and other statutory reports, as well as other materials that may be required by central agencies;
- Developing policies, procedures and guidelines for the orderly implementation of the ATIA by the Department;
- Providing advice regarding the ATIA, as well as promoting awareness, to ensure departmental respect of the obligations imposed on the government; and
- Monitoring departmental compliance with the ATIA, its regulations and relevant procedures and policies.
Monitoring Compliance
The workload is assessed, through the ATIP Case Management System, on a daily basis in order to ensure that workload is evenly distributed and effectively managed to meet statutory deadlines. Various reports are produced on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly basis to ensure that all levels of officials are advised.
Organization For The Implementation Of Access To Information Activities
The ATIP Coordinator, who is also referred to as the ATIP Director, has full authority delegated by the Minister for the administration of the Act. For the purpose of increased executive oversight, full authority is also conferred to the Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Management Sector and the Chief Information Officer. The Delegation Order can be found at Appendix A of this report.
Within the ATIP Office, 25.92 employees were dedicated on a full-time basis to the administration of the ATIA and related functions. The organizational chart of the ATIP Office is as follows:
Organizational Chart of the ATIP Office – Text version
Listing the title of each position, this organizational chart describes the reporting structure of the ATIP Office:
- The head of the Office is the ATIP Director.
- 1 Administrative Assistant, 2 Managers, ATIP Operations, 1 Legal Counsel, 1 Manager, ATIP Policy Center and 1 Manager, Proactive publication & intake report to the ATIP Director.
- 3 Team Leaders and 3 Senior Advisors report to the Managers, ATIP Operations and to the Manager, Proactive publication & intake.
- Each team reports to a Team Leader:
- Team 1 is composed of ATIP Advisors and ATIP Analysts.
- Team 2 is composed of Junior Analysts and Processing Assistant.
- Team 3 is composed of ATIP Analysts
- Each team reports to a Team Leader:
- 1 Senior Policy Advisor, 1 Systems Administrator and 1 junior administrator report to the Manager, ATIP Policy Center.
Officials of the Department were directly involved in the application of the ATIA by making recommendations concerning the disclosure of records and by ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act.
The stages for processing requests are as follows:
![Stages for processing requests described below](img/img2.jpg)
Stages for Processing Requests – Text version
This flowchart tracks the processing life cycle of an Access to Information request. Once a request has been received, it is analyzed and a search for relevant records is conducted. The records that are found are reviewed in light of recommendations that have been received. The records are then prepared for release as a response package. Once the response package has been finalized, it is reviewed and approved by the ATIP Director. Upon approval, the response package is sent out to the requester.
The reading rooms at the Department of Justice headquarters and those located in the regional offices across Canada make available to the public the most recent published version of Info Source, as well as departmental publications and manuals. Many of these publications can be found on the Department of Justice and the Treasury Board Secretariat’s websites.
Administrative Issues
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 Access to Information Act (ATIA), the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.
In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the ATIA, issued on May 5, 2016, the Department of Justice waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5.00 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.
During this reporting period, the Department collected $2,515.00 (503 requests). Fees were waived in 173 instances for an amount of $865.00. There were no service agreements under section 96 of the ATIA.
As indicated below, the total cost for operating the Access to Information Program in 2019-20 amounted to $2,488,329.00.
Salary and Administrative Expenditures
A total of 25.92 full-time equivalents were utilized on a full-time basis in the administration of the ATIA. The salary expenditures amounted to $2,097,704.
The administrative expenditures amounted to $367,597 which included professional services contracts.
These costs do not include resources expended by the Department’s other sectors to meet the requirements under the ATIA.
Accomplishments
The Department of Justice continued to strive to provide leadership and improve its performance in order to maintain the highest standards of service. For fiscal year 2019-20, the ATIP Office has accomplished the following:
- The Department reacted quickly to the Covid-19 challenge. ATIP staff have been working remotely since March 13, 2020 and continued to process requests that have electronic documents classified up to Protected B. The Department instituted alternative working arrangements to help ATIP staff affected by school closures, loss of childcare arrangements, and disruption to family life due to COVID-19. The Department worked diligently to provide service to clients, and communicated with its clients clearly during the challenge.
- The Department continued to publish material as required under the ATIA. The Department continued publishing briefing material titles submitted to the Minister and Deputy Minister on a monthly basis. This process uses an automated system that streamlines the review process currently used to respond to access to information requests and enables the publication of this information to all Canadians rather than only to individual requesters. The number of requests for briefing notes continued to increase.
- The Department continued to publish its annual reports to Parliament on the Department’s website as well as the summaries of the completed requests on the Open Government Portal, thereby improving communication with requesters and promoting transparency. This practice is in accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s directives and policies and with the ten principles of practice outlined on the ATIP Office’s website for the public.
- The ATIP Office continued to use SharePoint, a web application platform, for the transfer of information with the Offices of Primary Interest to reduce internal processing timelines and paper consumption.
- To better serve Canadians, the Department continued to be part of the Access to Information and Privacy Online Request (AORS) Pilot Project. Canadians can submit requests under the ATIA through an online channel. This channel also incorporates the Receiver General Buy Button service, enabling requesters to pay the requisite $5.00 application fee for access to information requests, which avoids the need to mail in a personal cheque with their request.
- The Department monitored guidelines and service standards for the ATIP community that clarify the ATIP Office’s role in requests that have been received by other federal government institutions pursuant to the ATIA. The timeframes and service standards continued to be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remained current.
- The Department continued to develop internal guidance documents and tools to ensure consistency and to document best practices and lessons learned. These guidance documents are routinely discussed at regular staff meetings and updated as required.
- The Department continued to update internal procedures in order to process ATIA requests more efficiently and to share best practices with other government institutions.
- The Department continued to reduce paper consumption by printing double-sided, as well as providing release packages electronically to requesters when appropriate. As well, the Department instituted E-Post in 2019-20, in order to move away from paper consumption and to provide greater convenience to clients.
Education and Training
ATIP officers regularly provided advice and informal training on the application of ATIP legislation to departmental employees who must review relevant records requested under the ATIA.
Formal awareness information sessions were also offered to other sectors within the Department. Particular emphasis is placed on those aspects of the Act that are directly related to the employees’ areas of responsibility. Nine sessions and a town hall kiosk were provided this fiscal year (for a total of 105 participants for the sessions and multiple participants for the kiosk):
- Minister’s Office – 3 sessions – 30 participants
- Deputy Minister’s Office – 1 session - 2 participants (students)
- Finance-specific training – 1 session – 39 participants
- Business and Regulatory Law Portfolio – 1 session – 2 participants
- Policy Sector – 1 session – 10 participants
- Public Law and Legislative Support Services – 1 session – 2 participants
- OPI Community Meeting – 1 session – 20 participants
- PSDI Town Hall Meeting – kiosk – multiple participants
The Centre for Information and Privacy Law also offered training to 325 departmental employees, including through the Department of Justice’s Learning Program and to employees from other government departments:
- ATIP Fundamentals – 2 sessions – 50 participants
- Training on Bill C-58 – 3 sessions – 125 participants
- Essentials of Legal Practice – 1 session – 70 participants
- Fundamentals of Solicitor-Client Privilege in the Government Context – 2 sessions – 80 participants
ATIP training is part of the recommended courses under the values and ethics component of the Department’s Roadmap for new Managers. An e-orientation deck is posted on the Department’s Intranet site for employee consultation.
ATIP training is part of the recommended courses under the values and ethics component of the Department’s Roadmap for new Managers. An e-orientation deck is posted on the Department’s Intranet site for employee consultation.
ATIP employees regularly participate in collective awareness sessions with ATIP Counsel to review recent jurisprudence and case law related to the ATIA. The ATIP Counsel participates in monthly ATIP Practice Group meetings during which information is exchanged and viable solutions are proposed. The Practice Group is open to all departmental counsel, including those from Legal Services Units, and its mandate is to discuss questions such as the right of access to information or privacy issues.
In addition to mentorship and partnership relationships, workshops and presentations are also regularly provided within the ATIP Office on various topics concerning the application of the ATIA and related policy and procedures. This allows ATIP employees to benefit from each other’s respective levels of experience and knowledge. This year, ATIP held six internal sessions, with 10 participants.
Finally, ATIP employees participated in training sessions, conferences and seminars organized by the Treasury Board Secretariat or by various associations on matters relating to both access and privacy. These exchanges provide updates for employees in the development of ATIP and upcoming trends in this area.
Part II – Report On The Access To Information Act
Requests Under The Access To Information Act
Statistical Report
The Annual Statistical Report for fiscal year 2019-20 is included at Part III of this report.
Interpretation of the Statistical Report
Fiscal Year | # of Requests Received | # of Requests Completed | # of Pages Processed | # of Pages Released |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019-20 | 640 | 679 | 340,277 | 60,411 |
2018-19 | 886 | 797 | 136,954 | 42,221 |
2017-18 | 809 | 702 | 131,594 | 32,170 |
Request Received Pursuant to the Access to Information Act
640 requests were received during the period under review. In addition, 326 requests were carried forward from previous years, for a total of 966 requests to process.
The media was the largest group of requesters. Of the 640 requests received during this reporting period, 208 (34%) requests came from the media, followed by 199 (31%) requesters who declined to identify the source and 138 (22%) from the public.
Number of Requests by Source - Text version
This pie graph illustrates the percentage of total requests that were received during the reporting period from the following sources: academia (4%), business (8%), media (34%), organizations 1%), the public (22%) and decline to identify (31%).
Requests Completed Pursuant to the Access to Information Act
679 requests were completed during the period under review. 287 requests were carried forward to be completed in fiscal year 2020-21.
Of the 679 requests, 72% were completed within the allowable time limits.
There was an increase in the number of pages released from those of the previous year (43%). Responding to formal access to information requests involved the review of 340,277 pages, of which 60,411 were partially or entirely disclosed.
Disposition of Completed Requests
Of the 679 requests completed in fiscal year 2019-20:
- No relevant records existed under the control of the Department of Justice for 120 requests; and
- 57 requests were abandoned by the applicant. In the majority of cases the applicant did not pursue the requests, either by withdrawing them or by not providing the clarification that was requested by the ATIP Office.
The remaining 497 requests were released in the following manner:
- 43 were fully disclosed (9%);
- 440 were partially disclosed (88%);
- 11 were exempted in their entirety (2%); and
- 3 were excluded in their entirety (1%).
Disposition - Text version
This pie graph illustrates the percentage of requests that were completed during the reporting period with the following dispositions: All Disclosed (9%), Disclosed in Part (88%), All Exempted (2%) and All Excluded (1%).
Completion Time and Extensions
Out of 679 requests completed in 2019-20, 336 (50%) were processed within 30 days or less.
Completion Time - Text version
This pie graph illustrates the percentage of requests that were completed during the reporting period within the following timeframes: 1 to 15 days (14%), 16 to 30 days (36%), 31 to 60 days (13%), 61 to 120 days (18%), 121 to 180 days (6%), 181 to 365 days (8%) and 366 days or more (5%).
The ATIP Office routinely monitored the processing time for access to information requests. This routine monitoring is done through various statistical reports (weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly) and meetings with ATIP staff to ensure that requests are being processed in a timely manner. All ATIP staff, portfolio contacts and senior management are made aware of the performance metrics. In some instances, the Department found it necessary to seek extensions to the prescribed time limits due to the large number of records (52 times) and/or to consult with other government institutions (129 times) or third parties (137 times).
Exemptions Invoked
The Department invoked exemptions under the ATIA for 454 requests. In descending order, section 21, which exempts information relating to the internal decision-making processes of government was invoked most often (463 times). This is followed by section 19 (281 times), which exempts personal information, and section 23 (274 times), which exempts information relating to solicitor-client privilege. For further details regarding all the exemptions invoked, please refer to the Statistical Report at Part III of this Report.
Exclusions Cited
Exclusions were invoked a total of nine times pursuant to section 68 (published material or material available for purchase by the public) and 271 times pursuant to section 69 (confidences of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada) of the ATIA.
Method of Access
A total of 38 requesters wanted paper copies and 445 requesters chose to receive information on CD-ROM at no extra charge, thereby eliminating the costs for photocopies as well as reducing the ATIP Office's paper footprint.
Fees and Fee Waivers
During the reporting period $2,515.00 was collected in application fees and fees were waived in 173 instances ($865.00).
The Department offers the requesters the possibility of receiving the release package on CD-ROM at no charge, an option which tends to be more widely accepted. As well, the Department moved toward an E-Post solution in 2019-20.
Consultations by other Federal Institutions or Departments
Fiscal Year | # of Requests Received | # Pages Received | # of Requests Completed | # of Pages Reviewed |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019-20 | 512 | 12,837 | 484 | 16,324 |
2018-19 | 413 | 18,052 | 419 | 19,226 |
2017-18 | 486 | 13,700 | 443 | 14,998 |
During the period under review, the Department received 512 requests from other government institutions and organizations requesting recommendations regarding records originating from, pertaining to, or of interest to the Department of Justice. In addition, 78 consultations outstanding from previous years were carried over, for a total of 590 to process.
Of the 590 consultations active throughout the reporting period, 484 were completed during the 2019-20 fiscal year (16,518 pages) and the remaining 106 were carried forward to be completed in fiscal year 2020-21.
Other types of Requests
Informal Requests
The policy of the ATIP Office is to process requests on an informal basis when records have already been released in response to previous ATIA requests or where the Department has already informally released documents elsewhere. As a result of the online posting of summaries of completed ATIA requests, there was an increase of informal requests for previously released information.
The ATIP Office processed 503 informal requests. This number does not include the numerous emails or telephone calls from potential applicants who were responded to informally or were redirected to other institutions.
Advice
The ATIP Office also acted as a resource on several occasions for departmental officials, as well as those from other government institutions, offering advice and guidance on the provisions of the legislation and related policies. The Office was consulted on the disclosure and collection of information on a wide-range of issues.
Complaints, Investigations and Federal Court Cases
Complaints Filed
79 complaints were filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) during the reporting period. The reasons for the complaints were as follows:
- 2 related to the extension;
- 24 related to delay;
- One (1) related to fees;
- 14 were miscellaneous;Footnote 1
- 30 concerned the exemption or exclusion of information; and
- 8 concerned the handling of the request in general.
Completed Investigations
Complaint findings are defined as follows:
Well-founded: The OIC found evidence of the complainant’s rights being denied under the Access to Information Act.
Well-founded, resolved: The institution took remedial action to the satisfaction of the OIC during the course of the investigation. The OIC did not need to provide a recommendation to the head of the institution.
Well-founded, resolved with recommendations: If the head of the institution accepted the OIC recommendations and remedial action was taken by the institution to the satisfaction of the OIC, the matter is considered resolved and no further action by the OIC is necessary;
Well founded, not resolved: If the head of the institution did not accept the recommendations of the OIC, or if the remedial action was not to the satisfaction of the OIC, the complainant will be informed that the matter is not resolved and the complainant, or the OIC with the complainant’s consent, can pursue the matter in Court where the matter relates to the refusal.
Not well-founded: As a result of the investigation, the OIC found that the institution applied the ATIA correctly.
Settled by agreement of the parties: The complaint was settled to the satisfaction of all parties without the need for the OIC to make a finding.
Discontinued: The complaint was withdrawn or abandoned by the complainant before allegations were fully investigated. In some cases, the complainant did not respond to the OIC’s request for representations within a reasonable time period, or cannot be located.
A total of 68 investigations were completed during the reporting period, some of which had been carried forward from previous years. Out of these 68, 33 were well-founded resolved, 10 were not well-founded, and 24 were discontinued by the complainant and one (1) was settled. No key issues were raised as a result of these complaints.
Review by the Federal Court of Canada
One (1) application was filed before the Federal Court pursuant to section 41 of the ATIA during the reporting period.
Part III – Annual Statistical Report
Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act
Name of institution: Department of Justice
Reporting period: 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-31
Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act
Number of Requests | |
---|---|
Received during reporting period | 640 |
Outstanding from previous reporting period | 326 |
Total | 966 |
Closed during reporting period | 679 |
Carried over to next reporting period | 287 |
Source | Number of Requests |
---|---|
Media | 218 |
Academia | 24 |
Business (private sector) | 51 |
Organization | 10 |
Public | 138 |
Decline to Identify | 199 |
Total | 640 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
39 | 409 | 51 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 503 |
Note: All requests previously recorded as “treated informally” will now be accounted for in this section only.
Section 2: Decline to act on vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of right requests
Number of Requests | |
---|---|
Outstanding from previous reporting period | 0 |
Sent during reporting period | 0 |
Total | 0 |
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period |
0 |
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period | 0 |
Carried over to next reporting period | 0 |
Section 3: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period
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 | 4 | 27 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 |
Disclosed in part | 15 | 112 | 76 | 118 | 36 | 49 | 34 | 440 |
All exempted | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
All excluded | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
No records exist | 32 | 84 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 120 |
Request transferred | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Request abandoned | 38 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 57 |
Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 94 | 242 | 86 | 125 | 44 | 53 | 35 | 679 |
Section | Number of Requests |
---|---|
13(1)(a) | 28 |
13(1)(b) | 2 |
13(1)(c) | 9 |
13(1)(d) | 0 |
13(1)(e) | 1 |
14 | 56 |
14(a) | 10 |
14(b) | 3 |
15(1) | 57 |
15(1) - I.A.Table note i | 0 |
15(1) - Def.Table note ii | 0 |
15(1) - S.A.Table note iii | 0 |
16(1)(a)(i) | 1 |
16(1)(a)(ii) | 0 |
16(1)(a)(iii) | 0 |
16(1)(b) | 1 |
16(1)(c) | 2 |
16(1)(d) | 0 |
16(2) | 35 |
16(2)(a) | 0 |
16(2)(b) | 0 |
16(2)(c) | 7 |
16(3) | 0 |
16.1(1)(a) | 0 |
16.1(1)(b) | 0 |
16.1(1)(c) | 0 |
16.1(1)(d) | 0 |
16.2(1) | 2 |
16.3 | 0 |
16.4(1)(a) | 0 |
16.4(1)(b) | 0 |
16.5 | 0 |
16.6 | 0 |
17 | 5 |
18(a) | 2 |
18(b) | 10 |
18(c) | 0 |
18(d) | 0 |
18.1(1)(a) | 0 |
18.1(1)(b) | 0 |
18.1(1)(c) | 0 |
18.1(1)(d) | 0 |
19(1) | 281 |
20(1)(a) | 3 |
20(1)(b) | 32 |
20(1)(b.1) | 0 |
20(1)(c) | 34 |
20(1)(d) | 12 |
20.1 | 0 |
20.2 | 0 |
20.4 | 0 |
21(1)(a) | 259 |
21(1)(b) | 182 |
21(1)(c) | 21 |
21(1)(d) | 1 |
22 | 9 |
22.1(1) | 0 |
23 | 274 |
23.1 | 0 |
24(1) | 3 |
26 | 0 |
Section | Number of Requests |
---|---|
68(a) | 8 |
68(b) | 0 |
68(c) | 0 |
68.1 | 1 |
68.2(a) | 0 |
68.2(b) | 0 |
69(1) | 0 |
69(1)(a) | 6 |
69(1)(b) | 0 |
69(1)(c) | 0 |
69(1)(d) | 4 |
69(1)(e) | 24 |
69(1)(f) | 1 |
69(1)(g) re (a) | 76 |
69(1)(g) re (b) | 0 |
69(1)(g) re (c) | 57 |
69(1)(g) re (d) | 33 |
69(1)(g) re (e) | 41 |
69(1)(g) re (f) | 29 |
69.1(1) | 0 |
Paper | Electronic | Other Formats |
---|---|---|
38 | 445 | 0 |
3.5 Complexity
Number of Pages Processed | Number of Pages Disclosed | Number of Requests |
---|---|---|
340,277 | 60,411 | 554 |
Disposition | Less Than 100 Pages Processed | 101-500 Pages Processed | 501-1000 Pages Processed | 1001-5000 Pages Processed | More Than 5000 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 | 35 | 595 | 6 | 848 | 1 | 610 | 1 | 116 | 0 | 0 |
Disclosed in part | 310 | 4104 | 84 | 13211 | 24 | 8926 | 16 | 15135 | 6 | 16791 |
All exempted | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
All excluded | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Request abandoned | 53 | 39 | 3 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 404 | 4738 | 97 | 14095 | 28 | 9536 | 19 | 15251 | 6 | 16791 |
Disposition | Consultation Required | Assessment of Fees | Legal Advice Sought | Other | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
All disclosed | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
Disclosed in part | 334 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 344 |
All exempted | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
All excluded | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Request abandoned | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 372 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 384 |
3.6 Closed requests
Requests closed within legislated timelines | |
---|---|
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines | 489 |
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) | 72 |
3.7 Deemed refusals
Number of Requests Closed Past the Legislated Timelines | Principal Reason - Number of requests | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Interference with Operations / Workload | External Consultation | Internal Consultation | Other | |
190 | 144 | 16 | 18 | 12 |
Number of Days Past Legislated Timelines | Number of Requests |
Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where an Extension Was Taken | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 to 15 days | 17 | 25 | 42 |
16 to 30 days | 5 | 13 | 18 |
31 to 60 days | 4 | 25 | 29 |
61 to 120 days | 4 | 28 | 32 |
121 to 180 days | 3 | 13 | 16 |
181 to 365 days | 6 | 27 | 33 |
More than 365 days | 1 | 19 | 20 |
Total | 40 | 150 | 190 |
Translation Requests | Accepted | Refused | Total |
---|---|---|---|
English to French | 0 | 0 | 0 |
French to English | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Section 4: Extensions
Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken | 9(1)(a) Interference With Operations | 9(1)(b) Consultation Section 69 | 9(1)(b) Consultation Other | 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice |
---|---|---|---|---|
All disclosed | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
Disclosed in part | 48 | 124 | 119 | 0 |
All exempted | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
All excluded | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
No records exist | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Request abandoned | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Total | 52 | 129 | 137 | 0 |
Length of Extensions | 9(1)(a) Interference With Operations | 9(1)(b) Consultation Section 69 | 9(1)(b) Consultation Other | 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice |
---|---|---|---|---|
30 days or less | 19 | 9 | 71 | 0 |
31 to 60 days | 15 | 63 | 36 | 0 |
61 to 120 days | 10 | 56 | 29 | 0 |
121 to 180 days | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
181 to 365 days | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
365 days or more | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 52 | 129 | 137 | 0 |
Section 5: Fees
Fee Type | Fee Collected | Fee Waived or Refunded | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Requests | Amount | Requests | Amount | |
Application | 503 | $2,515 | 173 | $865 |
Other fees | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 |
Total | 503 | $2,515 | 173 | $865 |
Section 6: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations
Consultations | Other Government of Canada Institutions | Number of Pages to Review | Other Organizations | Number of Pages to Review |
---|---|---|---|---|
Received during reporting period | 512 | 12837 | 3 | 37 |
Outstanding from the previous reporting period | 78 | 7816 | 2 | 157 |
Total | 590 | 20653 | 5 | 194 |
Closed during the reporting period | 484 | 16324 | 5 | 194 |
Pending at the end of the reporting period | 106 | 4329 | 0 | 0 |
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 | |
Disclose entirely | 46 | 13 | 27 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 117 |
Disclose in part | 12 | 24 | 62 | 57 | 12 | 19 | 6 | 192 |
Exempt entirely | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
Exclude entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Consult other institution | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Other | 87 | 19 | 12 | 29 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 158 |
Total | 150 | 58 | 104 | 118 | 24 | 22 | 8 | 484 |
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 | |
Disclose entirely | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Disclose in part | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Exempt entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Exclude entirely | 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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Section 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences
Number of Days | Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed | 101-500 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 | 15 | 244 | 1 | 202 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
16 to 30 | 18 | 294 | 5 | 1332 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
31 to 60 | 32 | 508 | 4 | 307 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
61 to 120 | 17 | 494 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
121 to 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
181 to 365 | 1 | 80 | 1 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 83 | 1620 | 12 | 1923 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Number of Days | Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed | 101-500 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 | 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 |
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
Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate | Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate | Section 35 Formal representations | Section 37 Reports of finding received | Section 37 Reports of finding containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner | Section 37 Reports of finding containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
79 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Section 9: Court Action
Section 41 (before June 21, 2019) | Section 42 | Section 44 |
---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 0 |
Section 41 (after June 21, 2019) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Complainant (1) | Institution (2) | Third Party (3) | Privacy Commissioner (4) | Total |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Section 10: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act
Expenditures | Amount |
---|---|
Salaries | $2,097,704 |
Overtime | $23,028 |
Goods and Services Professional services contracts | $367,597 |
Professional services contracts | $345,367 |
Other | $22,230 |
Total | $2,488,329 |
Resources | Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities |
---|---|
Full-time employees | 25.92 |
Part-time and casual employees | 0.23 |
Regional staff | 0.00 |
Consultants and agency personnel | 1.74 |
Students | 0.11 |
Total | 28.00 |
Appendix A – Delegation Order
Access to Information and Privacy Act Delegation Order - Text version
The Minister of Justice of Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and 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 and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, under the section of the Act set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces the attached designation.
Position | Privacy Act and Regulations | Access to Information Act and Regulations |
---|---|---|
The Deputy Minister | 33(2) and 35(1) | 35(2) and 37(1) |
The Director, Access to Information and Privacy Office | Full authority | Full authority |
The Assistant Deputy Minister Management Sector and Chief Financial Officer | Full authority | Full authority |
The Chief Information Officer | Full authority | Full authority |
The Chief of Operations, Chief of Policy and the Legal Counsel, Access to Information and Privacy Office | 15, and the mandatory provisions of 26 for all records | 8(1), 9, 11(2) to (6) inclusive, and the mandatory provisions of 19(1) for all records |
The Senior Access to Information and Privacy Advisors | 15 for all records | 8(1) and 9 for all records |
Dated, at the City of Ottawa,
May 2016
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould
Minister of Justice
- Date modified: