2019 to 2020 Annual report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Organizational Structure
- Delegation Order
- Highlights of the Statistical Report, 2019-2020
- Reporting on Access to Information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act
- Training and Awareness
- Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives
- Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits
- Monitoring Compliance
Appendices
1. Introduction
The Access to Information Act (ATIA) was proclaimed into force on July 1, 1983. The Act 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.
This report is prepared and tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. It covers the period from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.
Mandate of Natural Resources Canada
NRCan works to improve the quality of life of Canadians by ensuring that our natural resources are developed sustainably, providing a source of jobs, prosperity and opportunity, while preserving our environment and respecting our communities and Indigenous peoples.
The Minister of Natural Resources Canada has responsibilities in relation to more than 30 acts of Parliament. The Minister’s core powers, duties and functions are set forth in the Department of Natural Resources Act, the Resources and Technical Surveys Act, the Forestry Act, the Energy Efficiency Act and the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act. The department also works in areas of shared responsibilities with provinces, which includes the environment, public safety, economic development, science and technology, and consultations with Indigenous peoples. To fulfil its responsibilities, the department relies on a number of instruments (e.g. policy, regulation, statutory transfers, grants and contributions) and key activities (e.g. science and technology, partnerships and communications).
NRCan has offices and laboratories across the country. About one-third of our employees are located in the National Capital Region, with the remainder working in regional offices: Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the Western and Pacific Regions and Northern Canada.
2. Organizational Structure
NRCan’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Secretariat centralizes the administration of the ATIA for NRCan, as well as for the Northern Pipeline Agency (NPA) as per a Service Letter of Agreement.
The ATIP Director has full authority delegated by the Minister for the administration of the Act. The Director is accountable for ensuring compliance with the ATIA and its related policy instruments. In addition, the Director is responsible for the development, coordination, and implementation of effective practices and procedures within NRCan in order to enable efficient processing of requests under the ATIA.
In 2019-2020, the ATIP Secretariat had a complement of 11 full-time employees dedicated to the administration of the ATIA: one Director, one Deputy Director, one Team Leader, six ATIP Analysts, one Systems Analyst and one Administrative Assistant. In order to help meet the increase in volume and complexity of requests, the ATIP Secretariat also engaged the support of one consultant during the reporting period.
Core functions of the ATIP Secretariat include:
- Processing requests under the ATIA;
- Responding to consultations from other government departments regarding the application of the Act on records originating from NRCan;
- Representing the department in dealings with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, and other government departments and agencies;
- Developing procedures and practices to ensure the proper administration of the Act;
- Providing advice, as well as promoting awareness, to ensure that legislative obligations are respected;
- Monitoring departmental compliance with the Act, its regulations, and relevant procedures and policies;
- Coordinating, reviewing, approving and publishing new entries and modifications to Info Source, to assist members of the public in exercising their right of access under the Act; and
- Preparing the annual report to Parliament and other statutory reports, as well as other materials that may be required by central agencies.
Subject matter experts throughout the department make recommendations related to the disclosure of records subject to requests. Sector Liaison Officers play a key role in the processing of requests and consultations. Their duties include coordinating the retrieval of documents in a timely manner.
3. Delegation Order
Section 95 of the ATIA provides that the head of a government institution may, by Delegation Order, designate one or more officers or employees of that institution to exercise or perform any of the powers, duties or functions of the head related to the administration of the Act.
Consistent with best practices, the ATIP Director maintains full-delegated authority and is the principal administrator of the Act for NRCan. Full delegation also rests with the ATIP Deputy Director, the Director General responsible for ATIP, the Associate Deputy Minister and the Deputy Minister.
A copy of NRCan’s signed Delegation Order can be referenced at Appendix A.
4. Highlights of the Statistical Report, 2019-2020
Multi-year trends 2017-18 to 2019-2020
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Text version
Statistical Highlights for Access to Information Requests
In 2017-2018, 882 requests were received, 901 requests were completed, 884 requests were completed within the legislated timelines and 64,454 pages were processed.
In 2018-2019, 317 requests were received, 297 requests were completed, 268 requests were completed within the legislated timelines and 74,565 pages were processed.
In 2019-2020, 422 requests were received, 365 requests were completed, 302 requests were completed within the legislated timelines and 72,941 pages were processed.
Increase in requests received: In 2019-2020 NRCan received 422 new access to information requests, an increase of 25% from the previous reporting period. This increase is due to a number of requests that were submitted by one applicant.
Percentage of requests responded to within legislative timelines: From April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, 365 requests were completed. Of these 365 requests, 302 were closed within their legislative timeframe, representing a compliance rate of 82.7%. During the 2018-2019 reporting period, 297 requests were completed. Of these 297 requests, 268 were completed within their legislative timeframe, resulting in a compliance rate of 90.2%. In 2017-2018, 901 were completed. Of these 901 requests, 884 were closed within their legislative timeframe, resulting in a compliance rate of 98.1%. The drop in compliance rate in 2019-2020 is due to the 25% increase in workload of requests received by the ATIP Secretariat, coupled with the push to close more backlog files. For example, in 2019-2020, the department closed 63 access to information files from the backlog compared to only 29 in 2018-2019.
Application of exemptions and exclusions:
- Exemptions: The multi-year trend from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 shows that while the nature of exemptions applied remained fairly consistent, the number of times the exemptions were applied changed significantly from the 2017-2018 reporting period to the subsequent reporting periods. The exemptions applied were mostly related to personal information, third party information and operations of government. In this reporting period, these exemptions were applied 100 times, 136 times and 225 times, respectively. During the 2018-2019 reporting period, these exemptions were applied 78 times, 116 times and 194 times, respectively. During the 2017-2018 reporting period, the exemptions applied were mostly related to international affairs, third party information and operations of government. These exemptions were applied 150 times, 247 times and 496 times, respectively.
- Exclusions: In relation to the application of exclusions, the multi-year trend from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 shows that the nature of the exclusions applied to records remain consistent (i.e. most exclusions applied reference or relate to memoranda to cabinet). The number of times exclusions were applied pursuant to section 69 has been fairly consistent for the past two years, with 179 applications in 2019-2020 and 166 applications in 2018-2019. In 2017-2018, section 69 was applied 275 times.
Application of extensions: During the current reporting period, NRCan applied extensions to 47% of requests completed. This is a decrease from the 2018-2019 and 2017-2018 reporting periods where extensions were applied in 65% and 67% of cases, respectively. For all three reporting periods, extensions were mainly taken to conduct necessary consultations with other departments. Extensions were also applied to voluminous requests where meeting the original due dates would interfere with the operations of the institution, as well as to conduct consultations with organizations outside of the federal government (referred to as third party).
Consultations completed from other institutions: While the number of consultations completed remained consistent during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 reporting periods, in 2019-2020, NRCan’s number of consultations completed increased. This increase is mainly due to the three resources that were hired as part of the Professional Development Program to complete the processing of consultations. As a result, NRCan completed 291 consultations during the current reporting period, whereas 199 consultations were completed in 2017-2018 and 210 in 2018-2019.
For more information, a copy of the statistical report can be referenced at Appendix B.
2019-2020 Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act – Requests affected by COVID-19 measures
During the 2019-2020 reporting period, nine requests were received from March 14, 2020 to March 31, 2020, which were affected by the measures implemented by NRCan to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. These affected requests experienced some delays in their processing but out of the nine requests received, four requests were closed within their legislative timelines. The remaining five requests are active and currently under review.
For more information, the 2019-2020 Supplemental Statistical Report can be referenced at Appendix C.
Impact of COVID-19-related measures on NRCan’s ability to fulfill its Access to Information Act responsibilities, and mitigations measures.
NRCan has implemented exceptional workplace measures to curb the spread of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and protect federal employees and the public. As a result, all employees, except those providing critical services and support, were directed to work from home. These measures have created significant constraints on regular operations as the ATIP Secretariat depends greatly on its ATIP case management system to process requests, which cannot be accessed remotely. As such, the ATIP Secretariat’s capacity to process requests has been limited, as well as the capacity of parties involved in the retrieval of records and/or provision of representations. However, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on NRCan’s ability to fulfill its Access to Information Act responsibilities, the following measures have been implemented:
- All applicants that have active requests with NRCan have been notified by email of the situation and the limited ability to process their requests at this time, including possible delays;
- The ATIP general mailbox now sends out an automated generic response to notify the public of the possible delays in the processing of new requests;
- All departments that have active consultations with NRCan have been notified by email of the situation and the limited ability to process their consultations;
- All ATIP liaison officers have been notified of the situation and have been provided with support to address outstanding and upcoming files;
- All incoming and outgoing access to information requests, access consultations and e-mail correspondence are tracked in order to ensure that they are appropriately actioned;
- All activities related to day-to-day operations and to the processing of files are documented in order to ensure that they are appropriately actioned;
- The ATIP Secretariat has acquired a new digital tool that can be accessed remotely to assist with the processing of files in order to continue to meet legislative obligations; and
- All classified files that are affected by reasons related to COVID-19 are being tracked in order to appropriately address them once the circumstances related to return to work evolve.
- All forms related to the processing of requests have been digitized in order to facilitate the review and approval process.
- Responses to requests and consultations are sent via email to provide timely access to records.
5. Reporting on Access to Information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act
The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the ATIA, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.
- Enabling authority: ATIA
- Fee amount: $5
- Total revenue: $1,955
- Fees waived: During the reporting period, NRCan did not charge fees other than the $5 application fee. A total of $155 was waived during the reporting period.
- Cost of operating the program: $982,837
6. Training and Awareness
As part of our continued efforts to promote general ATIP awareness at NRCan, in 2019-2020, the ATIP Secretariat held 29 training sessions, which included a total of 284 participants.
7. Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives
NRCan continues to improve its ATIP practices and performance in order to maintain the highest standards of service.
Format of information released: To support the Interim Directive on the Administration of the ATIA, the ATIP Secretariat continued to provide records in the format requested by the applicant, including machine-readable and reusable formats.
ATIP Online Request Service (AORS): NRCan has been actively participating in the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Online Request Service Pilot Project. This initiative simplifies the process of requesting government records by providing a convenient solution, which enables Canadians to submit their ATIP requests and application fees online. In 2019-2020, NRCan received 93.8 % of its access to information requests (396) via the AORS. Notably, NRCan has experienced a consistent multi-year trend in the percentage of requests received through the AORS. In 2018-2019, NRCan received 94.6% of its access to information requests (300) through the AORS.
Professional Development Program: To address the government-wide labour shortage of skills and expertise in the ATIP community and strengthen recruitment and retention of ATIP professionals, in May 2019, the ATIP Secretariat developed and finalized a PDP. This program aims to build capacity to meet current and future demand by recruiting new entry-level ATIP officers and supporting them through additional training on an accelerated journey to a senior ATIP analyst position. During the reporting period, the ATIP Secretariat recruited its first three ATIP Junior Analysts into the program.
Duty to Assist: In order to ensure transparency in the ATIP process and in relation to the “Duty to Assist” requirements, the ATIP Secretariat proactively communicated with applicants to provide timely and complete responses.
8. Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits
In 2019-2020, NRCan received three complaints pursuant to the Access to Information Act. All three complaints were related to the failure to provide certain records responsive to the requests. In addition, during the reporting period, NRCan completed the processing of four complaints related to the failure to provide certain relevant records, as well as the application of exemptions. The completed complaints were all deemed as well-founded.
There were no audits or investigations pursuant to the ATIA in 2019-2020.
9. Monitoring Compliance
The ATIP Secretariat routinely monitored the processing time for access to information requests using a weekly ATIP Planner, which was provided to senior officials, including the Minister’s office, and highlights the overall year to date compliance rate for the department, the number of requests received and the number of requests closed. The department’s performance statistics, reporting on trends and changes to the ATIP process were communicated through weekly meetings with departmental and senior officials.
As a result of the exceptional workplace measures that were put into place to curb the spread of COVID-19, additional trackers were developed to ensure that decisions related to the processing of ATIP requests are properly documented and actioned.
Appendix A: Delegation Order Access to Information Act and Access to Information Regulations
The Minister of Natural Resources, pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information Act (ATIA), hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Minister as the head of Natural Resources Canada, under the provisions of the ATIA and related regulations set out in the schedule below. This designation supersedes all previous delegation orders.
| Deputy Minister / Associate Deputy Minister | Full Delegation |
|---|---|
| Director General, Portfolio Management and Corporate Secretariat (responsible for the Access to Information and Privacy function) | Full Delegation |
| Access to Information and Privacy Director | Full Delegation |
| Access to Information and Privacy Deputy Director | Full Delegation |
| Access to Information and Privacy Team Leaders | 4(2.1), 8(1), 9, 12(2)(b),(12)(3)(b), 27(1)(4) of the ATIA and 6(1), 7(2), 7(3) of the ATIA Regulations |
Original signed by: The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P. Minister of Natural Resources Canada
Date: October 15, 2020
Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act
Name of institution: Natural Resources Canada
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 | 422 |
| Outstanding from previous reporting period | 119 |
| Total | 541 |
| Closed during reporting period | 365 |
| Carried over to next reporting period | 176 |
| Source | Number of Requests |
|---|---|
| Media | 88 |
| Academia | 20 |
| Business (private sector) | 59 |
| Organization | 31 |
| Public | 74 |
| Decline to Identify | 150 |
| Total | 422 |
| 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 |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 27 |
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 | 3 | 35 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 |
| Disclosed in part | 2 | 30 | 26 | 59 | 19 | 26 | 22 | 184 |
| All exempted | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| All excluded | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| No records exist | 12 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| Request transferred | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
| Request abandoned | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 64 | 102 | 48 | 81 | 20 | 26 | 24 | 365 |
3.2 Exemptions
| Section | Number of Requests |
|---|---|
| 13(1)(a) | 4 |
| 13(1)(b) | 2 |
| 13(1)(c) | 12 |
| 13(1)(d) | 1 |
| 13(1)(e) | 1 |
| 14 | 38 |
| 14(a) | 0 |
| 14(b) | 0 |
| 15(1) | 0 |
| 15(1) - I.A.* | 28 |
| 15(1) - Def.* | 0 |
| 15(1) - S.A.* | 0 |
| 16(1)(a)(i) | 0 |
| 16(1)(a)(ii) | 0 |
| 16(1)(a)(iii) | 0 |
| 16(1)(b) | 0 |
| 16(1)(c) | 1 |
| 16(1)(d) | 0 |
| 16(2) | 53 |
| 16(2)(a) | 0 |
| 16(2)(b) | 0 |
| 16(2)(c) | 1 |
| 16(3) | 0 |
| 16.1(1)(a) | 0 |
| 16.1(1)(b) | 0 |
| 16.1(1)(c) | 1 |
| 16.1(1)(d) | 0 |
| 16.2(1) | 0 |
| 16.3 | 0 |
| 16.31 | 0 |
| 16.4(1)(a) | 0 |
| 16.4(1)(a) | 0 |
| 16.4(1)(b) | 0 |
| 16.5 | 0 |
| 16.6 | 0 |
| 17 | 0 |
| Section | Number of Requests |
|---|---|
| 18(a) | 3 |
| 18(b) | 5 |
| 18(c) | 0 |
| 18(d) | 4 |
| 18.1(1)(a) | 0 |
| 18.1(1)(b) | 0 |
| 18.1(1)(c) | 0 |
| 18.1(1)(d) | 0 |
| 19(1) | 100 |
| 20(1)(a) | 0 |
| 20(1)(b) | 65 |
| 20(1)(b.1) | 0 |
| 20(1)(c) | 56 |
| 20(1)(d) | 15 |
| 20.1 | 0 |
| 20.2 | 0 |
| 20.4 | 0 |
| 21(1)(a) | 109 |
| 21(1)(b) | 96 |
| 21(1)(c) | 20 |
| 21(1)(d) | 0 |
| 22 | 3 |
| 22.1(1) | 0 |
| 23 | 33 |
| 23.1 | 0 |
| 24(1) | 0 |
| 26 | 1 |
* I.A.: International Affairs Def.: Defence of Canada S.A.: Subversive Activities
3.3 Exclusions
| Section | Number of Requests |
|---|---|
| 68(a) | 11 |
| 68(b) | 0 |
| 68(c) | 0 |
| 68.1 | 0 |
| 68.2(a) | 0 |
| 68.2(b) | 0 |
| 69(1) | 0 |
| 69(1)(a) | 7 |
| 69(1)(b) | 0 |
| 69(1)(c) | 0 |
| Section | Number of Requests |
|---|---|
| 69(1)(d) | 6 |
| 69(1)(e) | 10 |
| 69(1)(f) | 4 |
| 69(1)(g) re (a) | 49 |
| 69(1)(g) re (b) | 0 |
| 69(1)(g) re (c) | 31 |
| 69(1)(g) re (d) | 20 |
| 69(1)(g) re (e) | 19 |
| 69(1)(g) re (f) | 33 |
| 69.1(1) | 0 |
| Paper | Electronic | Other |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 226 | 1 |
3.5 Complexity
| Number of Pages Processed | Number of Pages Disclosed | Number of Requests |
|---|---|---|
| 72941 | 42429 | 279 |
| 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 | 58 | 872 | 2 | 200 | 1 | 971 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Disclosed in part | 116 | 2481 | 44 | 8922 | 11 | 4427 | 12 | 10221 | 1 | 13222 |
| All exempted | 4 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 18 | 0 | 1 | 91 | 2 | 995 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 204 | 3380 | 48 | 9213 | 14 | 6393 | 12 | 10221 | 1 | 13222 |
| Disposition | Consultation Required | Assessment of Fees | Legal Advice Sought | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All disclosed | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Disclosed in part | 122 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 126 |
| All exempted | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| All excluded | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Request abandoned | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 151 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 155 |
3.6 Closed requests
| Requests closed within legislated timelines | |
|---|---|
| Number of requests closed within legislated timelines | 302 |
| Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) | 82.7 |
3.7 Deemed refusals
| Number of Days Past Deadline | Principal Reason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interference with Operations / Workload | External Consultation | Internal Consultation | Other | ||
| 63 | 27 | 15 | 3 | 18 | |
| Number of Days Past Legislated Timelines | Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where No Extension Was Taken | Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where an Extension Was Taken | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 15 days | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 16 to 30 days | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 31 to 60 days | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 61 to 120 days | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| 121 to 180 days | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 181 to 365 days | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| More than 365 days | 1 | 13 | 14 |
| Total | 11 | 52 | 63 |
| 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 | 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 69 | Other | |||
| All disclosed | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Disclosed in part | 30 | 41 | 80 | 37 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| All excluded | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| No records exist | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 34 | 48 | 104 | 38 |
| Length of Extensions | 9(1)(a) Interference With Operations | 9(1)(b) Consultation | 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 69 | Other | |||
| 30 days or less | 10 | 8 | 7 | 4 |
| 31 to 60 days | 12 | 25 | 42 | 22 |
| 61 to 120 days | 7 | 10 | 50 | 9 |
| 121 to 180 days | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 181 to 365 days | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 365 days or more | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 34 | 48 | 104 | 38 |
Section 5: Fees
| Fee Type | Fee Collected | Fee Waived or Refunded | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Requests | Amount | Number of Requests | Amount | |
| Application | 391 | $1,955 | 31 | $155 |
| Other fees | 0 | $0 | 0 | $0 |
| Total | 391 | $1,955 | 31 | $155 |
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 | 265 | 6295 | 8 | 262 |
| Outstanding from the previous reporting period | 60 | 3416 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 325 | 9711 | 8 | 262 |
| Closed during the reporting period | 291 | 8784 | 8 | 262 |
| Carried over to next reporting period | 34 | 927 | 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 | 60 | 59 | 49 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 216 |
| Disclose in part | 5 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 56 |
| Exempt entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Exclude entirely | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Consult other institution | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Other | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Total | 69 | 75 | 75 | 70 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 291 |
| 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 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Disclose in part | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Section 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences
| Number of Days | Fewer 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 | |
| 1 to 15 | 13 | 404 | 6 | 1290 | 2 | 1534 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13222 |
|
16 to 30 |
23 | 457 | 9 | 2133 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 60 | 5 | 87 | 4 | 181 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 to 120 | 2 | 117 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13222 |
| 121 to 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 916 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| More than 365 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 188 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 43 | 1065 | 20 | 3792 | 3 | 2450 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26444 |
| Number of Days | Fewer 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 | |
| 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
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 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 | |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Section 10: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act
| Expenditures | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Salaries | $734,897 | |
| Overtime | $0 | |
| Goods and Services | $247,940 | |
|
$230,336 | |
|
$17,604 | |
| Total | $982,837 | |
| Resources | Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities |
|---|---|
| Full-time employees | 9.08 |
| Part-time and casual employees | 1.12 |
| Regional staff | 0.00 |
| Consultants and agency personnel | 0.90 |
| Students | 0.00 |
| Total | 11.10 |
Appendix C: 2019-2020 Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act – Requests affected by COVID-19 measures
Table 1 – Requests Received
The following table reports the total number of formal requests received during two periods; 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-13 and 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31.
| Number of requests | |
|---|---|
| Received from 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-13 | 413 |
| Received from 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31 | 9 |
| Total | 422 |
Table 2 – Requests Closed
The following table reports the total number of requests closed within the legislated timelines and the number of closed requests that were deemed refusals during two periods 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-13 and 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31.
| Number of requests closed within the legislated timelines | Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines | |
|---|---|---|
| Received from 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-13 and outstanding from previous reporting periods | 302 | 63 |
| Received from 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 302 | 63 |
Table 3 – Requests Carried Over
The following table reports the total number of requests carried over during two periods; 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-13 and 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31.
| Number of requests | |
|---|---|
| Requests received from 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-13 and outstanding from previous reporting period that were carried over to the 2020-2021 reporting period | 167 |
| Requests received from 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31 that were carried over to the 2020-2021 reporting period | 9 |
| Total | 176 |
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