2023-2024: Annual report to Parliament - Access to Information Act

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Organizational Structure
3. Delegation Order
4. Performance 2023-2024
5. Training and Awareness
6. Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures
7. Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act
8. Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information
9. Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints
10. Reporting on Access to Information Fees for the Purposes of the Service Fees Act
11. Monitoring Compliance
Appendix A: Delegation Order
Appendix B: Statistical Report
Appendix C: Supplemental Statistical Report

1. Introduction

The Access to Information Act (ATIA) was proclaimed into force on July 1, 1983 and further amended on June 21, 2019. The purpose of the ATIA is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions in order to promote an open and democratic society and to enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions.

Part 1 of the ATIA extends the present laws of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific, and that decisions about the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.

Part 2 of the ATIA sets out requirements for the proactive publication of information.

This report is prepared and tabled in accordance with section 20 of the Service Fees Act and section 94 of the ATIA, which requires that the head of every federal institution prepare and submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act in the institution during the fiscal year. It covers the period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.

Mandate of Natural Resources Canada

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 Energy and Natural Resources 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. NRCan also reports on behalf of the Northern Pipeline Agency (NPA).

2. Organizational Structure

NRCan’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Secretariat administers the ATIA for NRCan. Pursuant to section 96 of the ATIA, which allows government institutions to provide services related to access to information to another government institution that is presided over by the same minister, in 2023-24, under a Service Letter of Agreement, the Secretariat also performed ATIP-related services for the NPA.

The ATIP Director has full authority delegated by the Minister for the administration of the ATIA. 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 to enable efficient processing of requests under the ATIA.

The ATIP Secretariat is part of the Communications and Portfolio Sector. In 2023-2024, the ATIP Secretariat had a complement of 20 employees working in both access to information and privacy: one Director, two Deputy Directors, three Team Leaders, five ATIP Analysts, one Systems Analyst, five Administrative Assistants, and 3 students. To help meet the increase in volume and complexity of requests, the ATIP Secretariat also engaged the support of four consultants.

The ATIP Secretariat is responsible for:

1. Implementing and managing programs and services related to NRCan’s administration of the ATIA, including part 2 on Proactive Publication and the Privacy Act (PA);
2. Providing advice to NRCan employees as they fulfill their obligations under both Acts.

The ATIP Secretariat is led by a Director supported by two Deputy Directors. Each of these managers oversees a unit that is responsible for a different functional area:

1. ATIP Operations Unit
2. ATIP Policy and Governance Unit

The ATIP Operations Unit oversees the management of the ATIP Intake Unit and its operations teams.

Core functions of the ATIP Secretariat include:

ATIP Intake Unit

• Receiving access to information and privacy requests from the public and from other organizations;
• Liaising with sectors to obtain and retrieve documents relevant for ATIP requests;
• Conducting and monitoring performance, reporting and data analytics for the team; and
• Supporting the ATIP Operations and Policy and Governance teams.

ATIP Operations Unit

• Processing requests under the ATIA and under the PA;
• Responding to consultations from other government departments on records relating to NRCan;
• Coordinating and reviewing documents that must be published under Part 2 of the ATIA;
• 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 ATIA;
• Providing advice, as well as promoting awareness, to ensure that legislative obligations are respected; and
• Conducting informal review of information related to parliamentary motions, order paper questions, disposition of departmental records, administrative investigations, departmental reports and audits for publication and media relations questions.

ATIP Policy and Governance

• Providing guidance on the collection, transmission, protection, use, retention and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the PA, including new or modified programs;
• Representing the department in dealings with the Treasury Board Secretariat, Office of the Privacy Commissioner, and other government departments and agencies regarding the application of the PA;
• Developing procedures and practices to ensure the proper administration of both Acts;
• Promoting awareness and training, to ensure that legislative obligations are respected;
• Monitoring departmental compliance with the PA, its regulations, and relevant procedures and policies;
• Coordinating, reviewing, approving and publishing new entries and modifications to Info Source, an annual Government of Canada publication that assists members of the public in exercising their right of access under the Acts;
• Reviewing Personal Information Banks (PIBs); and
• Preparing the ATIP annual reports 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.

Proactive Publication

Bill C-58, an Act to amend the ATIA and the PA and to make consequential amendments to other acts, received royal assent and came into force on June 21, 2019. Bill C-58 modified the ATIA to include Part 2, adding a requirement for mandatory proactive publication of specific records produced by government institutions and Ministers’ offices. NRCan’s ATIP Secretariat plays a coordination and review function in relation to the proactive publication requirements. Collaboration between the ATIP Secretariat and key branches ensures that the department’s legislative proactive publication requirements are met. Section 7 of this report provides more detail on roles and responsibilities to ensure that proactive publication requirements are met.

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 ATIA.

Consistent with best practices, the ATIP Director maintains full-delegated authority and is the principal administrator of the ATIA 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 the Delegation Order is attached in Appendix A.

4. Performance 2023-2024

Multi-year trends 2021-2022 to 2023-2024

Requests received: In 2023-2024, NRCan received 964 new access to information requests, an increase of 71.2% from the previous reporting period. The rise in requests received was due to a large increase of requests made for dockets, following the monthly publication of memoranda titles. The department also received an increase of requests relating to lobbying activities. In addition to the 964 requests received in 2023-2024, 324 requests were outstanding from previous reporting periods, resulting in a total of 1288 active requests in 2023-2024. For more information on the number of requests received, please refer to the table 1.1 in the Appendix B: Statistical Report.

Number of requests completed within legislated timelines: From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, 846 requests were completed, 774 of which were closed within their legislative timeframes, resulting in a compliance rate of 91.5%. This is an increase of 109 on-time requests closed compared to the 2022-2023 reporting period and was due to the hiring of additional resources and the efforts made to raise awareness and understanding of the ATIP process, through departmental training sessions. Both the compliance rate and the number of on-time files closed were higher in 2023-2024. In 2022-2023, 746 requests were closed, 665 of which were completed within their legislative timeframes, resulting in a compliance rate of 89.1%. In 2021-2022, 457 requests were completed, 421 of which were completed within their legislative timeframes, resulting in a compliance rate of 92.1%.

The following tables illustrate the number of requests completed for which the disposition was all disclosed or disclosed in part, broken down by completion times and the percentage of requests completed within their legislative timelines.

Number of active requests as of the last day of the fiscal year: On the last day of fiscal year 2023-2024, a total of 442 requests were carried over to the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Out of the 442 active requests, 310 remained within their legislative timelines and 132 were beyond their legislative timelines. For more information on the breakdown of files received by fiscal year, please refer to table 1.1 in the Appendix C: Supplemental Statistical Report.

Number of active complaints as of the last day of fiscal year: In total, as of the last day of fiscal year 2023-2024, 15 active complaints were carried over to the 2024-2025 fiscal year. For more information on the breakdown of the active complaints outstanding by fiscal year, please refer to table 1.2 in the Appendix C: Supplemental Statistical Report.

The number of pages processed: In 2023-2024, the ATIP Secretariat processed 64,106 pages under the ATIA, which is an increase of 9% from 2022-2023, where 58,684 pages were processed. The increase in pages processed correlates to the increase in number of requests received.

Application of exemptions and exclusions:

• Exemptions: The multi-year trend from 2021-2022 to 2023-2024 shows that the nature of exemptions and the number of times the exemptions were applied remained consistent from one reporting period to the next. The exemptions applied were mostly related to personal information, third party information and operations of government. In this reporting period, these exemptions were applied 151 times, 264 times and 845 times, respectively. During the 2022-2023 reporting period, these exemptions were applied 133 times, 289 times, and 650 times, respectively. During the 2021-2022 reporting period, these exemptions were applied 110 times, 169 times and 364 times, respectively.
• Exclusions: In relation to the application of exclusions, section 69 was applied 368 times during the 2023-2024 reporting period. This represents an increase from the 2022-2023 reporting period where exclusions were applied 352 times and a significant increase from the 2021-2022 reporting period where exclusions were applied 137 times. The increase in the number of exclusions applied in 2023-2024 was due to the nature of information found in the records processed, namely cabinet confidences.

Application of extensions: During the current reporting period, NRCan applied extensions to 69% of requests completed. This is an increase from the 2022-2023 and 2021-2022 reporting periods where extensions were applied in 59% and 52% of cases, respectively. For all three reporting periods, extensions were mainly taken to conduct necessary consultations with other government departments. Extensions were also applied to voluminous requests where meeting the original due date would interfere with the operations of the institution, as well as to conduct third party consultations.

Consultations completed from other institutions: In this reporting period, 145 consultations were completed. This represents a moderate decrease compared to 2022-2023 and 2021-2022, where 152 and 156 were completed, respectively. All consultations completed during the current reporting period were completed on time and within a timeframe of 30 to 90 days.

Requests for which records were “all disclosed” and “disclosed in part”:

From April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, 105 requests were completed for which the records were all disclosed, and 584 requests were completed for which the records were disclosed in part. This represents 12% and 69%, respectively, of the total number of access requests completed during the reporting period.

NRCan 2023-2024 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

For more information, a copy of the 2023-2024 Statistical Report can be referenced at Appendix B.

NRCan 2023-2024 Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act:

For more information, a copy of the 2023-2024 Supplemental Statistical Report can be referenced at Appendix C.

5. Training and Awareness

As part of our continued efforts to promote general ATIP awareness at NRCan, in 2023-2024, the ATIP Secretariat delivered 28 ATIP-focused training sessions and 19 privacy-focused training sessions to various program areas. The ATIP Secretariat worked with the internal marketing team to advertise the training sessions through the use of departmental newsletters, tv ads and work devices. A total of 1,105 employees participated in the ATIP-focused training sessions, while 254 employees participated in the privacy-focused training sessions. The success of this training initiative was record-breaking as it attained 1,359 departmental employees over the course of the year.

6. Policies, Guidelines, Procedures

The ATIP Secretariat continuously reviews its ATIP practices and performance to maintain the highest standards of service. It does so in the following ways:

• ATIP Online Request Service (AORS): To improve and modernize ATIP-related services to Canadians in a technology-driven way, the ATIP Secretariat leveraged the AORS to send release packages to requesters. In 2023-2024, 480 out of the 846 requests completed were sent via the AORS. By using this platform to communicate with requesters, the ATIP Secretariat was able to efficiently provide requesters with relevant information using a centralized approach.
• New tasking process: To address the increase in requests for this reporting period and to ensure that the legislative requirements are consistently supported, the ATIP Secretariat established a new process that streamlined the intake and tasking of requests.
• Data analytics: To increase internal response times and support compliance requirements, the ATIP Secretariat focused its efforts on data analytics. The ATIP Secretariat developed individualized sector performance report cards aimed at creating awareness within sectors, identify emerging trends and correcting process deficiencies. These report cards are presented to the sectors on a quarterly basis.
• Update proactive publication process: Following the approval and publication of the Directive on Proactive Publication in June 2023, the ATIP Secretariat worked with the key program areas to revisit and review the existing departmental procedures related to proactive publication. This exercise was conducted in an effort to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our process, and to ensure alignment with the Government of Canada’s initiative including updated directives on proactive publication and Open Government.
• Improving consultations with Indigenous Peoples: To advance Indigenous reconciliation and provide culturally appropriate services to Indigenous Peoples, the ATIP Secretariat partnered with Nòkwewashk, under the Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships (INRP) Program, to establish a process to improve ATIP consultations with Indigenous Peoples and organizations. This effort has been successful, as it improved communications relating to these consultations.
• Presence in the workplace: Following TBS’ Direction on Prescribed Presence in the Workplace, the ATIP Secretariat reviewed employee work arrangements and established telework agreements for its employees. The hybrid work model has contributed to the increase in productivity as it ensured that employees are equipped to succeed both on and off site.

7. Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the ATIA

NRCan is a government institution for the purpose of Part 2 of the ATIA. The proactive publication process at NRCan has been developed in consultation with the departmental program areas who process each of the key requirements of the legislation. In this model, each program area lead is responsible for actioning their respective proactive publication requirement to ensure publishing within the legislative timelines. Prior to publishing, the information is reviewed by the ATIP Secretariat. Following review and approval, the program area lead publishes the requirement within the prescribed legislative timeline and confirms publication with the ATIP Secretariat.

The table below outlines key information related to the proactive publication process at NRCan.

Legislative Requirement	Section of the ATIA	Responsible Sectors	Publication Timeline	Compliance
All Government Institutions as defined in section 3 of the ATIA
Travel Expenses	82	Lead Sector: Corporate Management and Services Sector	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement	100% compliant (published 12 times per FY)
Hospitality Expenses	83			100% (12 publications)
Reports tabled in Parliament	84	Lead Sector: Parliamentary Affairs Unit	Within 30 days after tabling	100% compliant
Government entities or Departments, agencies, and other bodies subject to the Act and listed in Schedules I, I.1, or II of the Financial Administration Act
Contracts over $10,000	86	Lead: Finance and Procurement Branch	Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter	100% compliant (published 4 times per FY)
Grants & Contributions over $25,000	87	Lead: The Center of Expertise for Grants & Contributions (COE)	Within 30 days after the quarter	100% compliant (published 4 times per FY)
Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent	88(a)	Lead: Audience and Engagement Team	Within 120 days after appointment	100% compliant
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent, that is received by their office	88(b)	Lead: Executive Document Unit (EDU)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received	100% compliant (published 12 times per FY)
Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent’s appearance before a committee of Parliament	88(c)	Lead: Parliamentary Affairs Unit	Within 120 days after appearance	100% compliant
Government institutions that are departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act or portions of the core public administration named in Schedule IV to that Act (i.e. government institutions for which Treasury Board is the employer)
Reclassification of positions	85	Lead: Human Resources Branch	Within 30 days after the quarter	100% compliant (published 6 times per FY)
Ministers
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for new or incoming ministers	74(a)	Lead: Audience and Engagement Team	Within 120 days after appointment	N/A
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister, that is received by their office	74(b)	Lead: Executive Document Unit (EDU)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received	100% compliant (published 12 times per FY)
Package of question period notes prepared by a government institution for the minister and in use on the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December	74(c)	Lead: Parliamentary Affairs Unit	Within 30 days after last sitting day of the House of Common in June and December	100% compliant
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister’s appearance before a committee of Parliament	74(d)		Within 120 days after appearance	100% compliant
Travel Expenses	75	Lead: Corporate Management Services Sector	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement	100% compliant (published 12 times per FY)
Hospitality Expenses	76			100% compliant (published 12 times per FY)
Contracts over $10,000	77	Lead: Finance and Procurement Branch	Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter	100% compliant (published 4 times per FY)
Ministers’ Offices Expenses *Note: This consolidated report is currently published by TBS on behalf of all institutions.	78	Lead: TBS	Within 120 days after the fiscal year	N/A

The publications are available at the following web links:

• Open Government | Open Government, Government of Canada
• Natural Resources Canada

NRCan’s overall compliance rate for proactive publication in 2023-2024 reporting period was 100%.

8. Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

NRCan is committed to leveraging opportunities aimed at reinforcing public trust. The following highlights the initiatives and projects underway to improve service to Canadians as it relates to access to information, enhance trust and transparency and advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

Improving Services to Canadians

• Professional Development Program (PDP): One of the key contributors to successfully delivering ATIP services in an efficient and timely manner is to strengthen the ATIP workforce. The NRCan ATIP Secretariat continues to build its function using its PDP, which was created in 2019. The PDP is a key human resources tool that is used to meet current and future demands by recruiting new entry-level ATIP professionals and supports them through their progression into a Senior ATIP Analyst position. During this reporting period, one staff member was appointed to a senior level analyst position through the PDP.
• IT Modernization: Technology plays a significant role in the constant evolution of the digital age. In 2023-2024, NRCan ATIP focused its efforts on establishing a project management plan to procure and implement a new ATIP request processing software solution (RPSS) to replace and improve upon its existing, outdated system. This project will span over a period of three years and will provide an opportunity for NRCan to further enhance digitization and innovation in its ATIP practices.

Enhancing Trust and Transparency

• Backlog Reduction Strategy: To support access to information services, processes and timelines, the ATIP Secretariat prioritized the backlog of requests by developing a Backlog Reduction Strategy in April 2022. This strategy is aligned with the Chief Information Officer of Canada’s message to institutions about their legal obligations under the ATIA as they plan for return to the workplace. Through this initiative, the ATIP Secretariat acquired temporary funding to engage the services of consultants who are focusing on clearing the departmental backlog of ATIP requests. This project is ongoing and at the end 2023-2024, the department completed 101 files, which represents 46.75% of its total backlog requests.

• Increasing Access to Release Packages: Making information readily available to the public further supports transparency and awareness of records held by government departments. In 2023-2024, the NRCan ATIP Secretariat worked with an applicant to provide access to previously released access to information requests. These requests are published on a centralized platform, where the public can easily access release packages from several government institutions.

  In addition to the requests that have been made public by one requester, in 2023-2024, the ATIP Secretariat released 1376 informal requests to various other requesters. This represents a significant increase in the processing of informal requests compared to the previous reporting period, where only 79 informal requests were released.

• Open Data: The publication of data sets allow Canadians to understand the information holdings of institutions. NRCan has published 10,123 data sets to date, of which 9,959 are updated on a regular or as needed basis. While NRCan remains a leader in the publication of data sets, the ATIP Secretariat continues to work with key internal stakeholders to improve and increase the quality of open data available on the Open Data Platform.
• Improving Proactive Publication: Part 2 of the ATIA stipulates legislative requirements to proactively publish key information in the public interest. In 2023-2024, the ATIP Secretariat worked with departmental key stakeholders to revisit the internal processes to ensure that they align with the Directive on Proactive Publication under the Access to Information Act. Through this exercise, the ATIP Secretariat tightened the process around the tracking and monitoring of the proactive publication timelines to further support the legislative requirements.

Advancing Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples

• ATIP and Indigenous Reconciliation: Advancing Indigenous reconciliation in the access to information regime is a key commitment of the government of Canada. In 2023-2024, the ATIP Secretariat prioritized the development of a three-year Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan (IRAP) that establishes actions to support the provision of more culturally appropriate services to Indigenous groups and improve the management of Indigenous data held by NRCan. While the ATIP Secretariat has implemented some of the measures outlined in the IRAP related to consultations and training, engagement with key stakeholders will continue with the intention to finalize the plan in the next reporting period. Awareness around advancing Indigenous reconciliation in the ATIP regime was included as a component in the departmental ATIP training sessions.

9. Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

In 2023-2024, NRCan received 19 complaints under the ATIA. These included 3 delay complaints, 2 extension complaints, 10 exemption and exclusion complaints, 2 general complaints, and 2 reasonable search complaints. During this period, NRCan also received 13 findings from the OIC related to missing records, processing delays, extensions, and exemptions. NRCan worked with the OIC in resolving these complaints and in certain instances, additional information was disclosed as a result of the investigations.

10. 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 payable: $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATI request
• Total revenue: $1,785
• Fees waived: During the reporting period, NRCan did not charge fees other than the $5 application fee. A total of $3,035 were waived during the reporting period to facilitate the processing of requests.
• Cost of operating the program: $2,008,037

11. Monitoring Compliance

Monitoring ATIP compliance is a key component of improving ATIP performance. The ATIP Secretariat uses the following tools to ensure the right of access is respected:

ATIP Weekly Planner: The ATIP Secretariat routinely monitors departmental ATIP performance through the use of weekly reports and dashboards. The ATIP Planner is shared with senior officials on a weekly basis, 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.

Sector Report Cards and Performance: In 2023–2024, the ATIP Secretariat focused its efforts on data analytics to identify emerging trends and deficiencies in the ATIP process. Through this exercise, the ATIP Secretariat developed individualized sector report cards aimed at creating awareness of legislative obligations and highlighting performance in this area. These reports cards are produced on a monthly frequency and are shared with senior officials on a quarterly basis. The ATIP Secretariat also worked closely with sectors that experience high volumes of ATIP requests to coordinate and expedite responses from those program areas. This collaboration with sectors created awareness of compliance and identified gaps in the process to further improve procedures and performance.

Inter-institutional Consultations: To support the TBS-issued guidance relating to Access to Information Implementation Notice 2022-01: Inter-institutional Consultations, NRCan limits inter-institutional consultations by only consulting when necessary and by sending out courtesy consultations when possible. In doing this, NRCan exercises its discretion in the application of certain exemptions, as appropriate. In 2023-2024, NRCan continued to ensure that decisions to consult inter-institutionally are well documented and clearly established.

Open Data: The ATIP Secretariat continues to evaluate the feasibility of making frequently requested types of information available to the public by other informal means. Efforts have been made with a requester who has developed a platform of previously released requests, as well as, working with program areas to determine if other datasets can be proactively released.

Contracts: In accordance with section 4.2.8 of the Directive on Access to Information Requests, the ATIP Secretariat worked with program officials to develop additional measures to support the right of public access to information when entering into contracts, arrangements and agreements. This work is ongoing.

Accuracy and Completeness: NRCan monitors accuracy and completeness of proactive publication in accordance with the proactive publication due dates. This is done through a verification process of the published information, as well as, through liaising with the lead sectors. This process was further strengthened in this reporting period, following the publication of the Directive on Proactive Publication under the Access to Information Act.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

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.

Original signed by: The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P. Minister of Natural Resources Canada
Date: November 17, 2021

Appendix B: Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Natural Resources Canada
Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	964
Outstanding from previous reporting periods	324
• Outstanding from previous reporting period	142
• Outstanding from more than one reporting period	182
Total	1288
Closed during reporting period	846
Carried over to next reporting period	442
• Carried over within legislated timeline	310
• Carried over beyond legislated timeline	132

1.2 Sources of requests

Source	Number of Requests
Media	711
Academia	9
Business (private sector)	47
Organization	18
Public	96
Decline to Identify	83
Total	964

1.3 Channels of requests

Source	Number of Requests
Online	960
E-mail	1
Mail	3
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	964

Section 2: Informal Requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	1025
Outstanding from previous reporting periods	550
• Outstanding from previous reporting period	247
• Outstanding from more than one reporting period	303
Total	1575
Closed during reporting period	1376
Carried over to next reporting period	199

2.2 Channels of informal requests

Source	Number of Requests
Online	1020
E-mail	5
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	1025

2.3 Completion time of informal 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
10	45	141	80	43	334	723	1376

2.4 Pages released informally

Less Than 100 Pages Released		100-500 Pages Released		501-1000 Pages Released		1001-5000 Pages Released		More Than 5000 Pages Released
Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2.5 Pages re-released informally

Less Than 100 Pages Re-released		100-500 Pages Re-released		501-1000 Pages Re-released		1001-5000 Pages Re-released		More Than 5000 Pages Re-released
Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released	Number of Requests	Pages Released
1241	24218	114	24172	13	9475	7	13003	1	5073

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on 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
Withdrawn during reporting period	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0

Section 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of Requests	Completion Time
	0 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	8	56	25	14	0	0	2	105
Disclosed in part	56	95	137	214	45	21	16	584
All exempted	0	1	5	4	0	0	0	10
All excluded	0	0	7	9	0	0	0	16
No records exist	2	50	21	0	0	0	0	73
Request transferred	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Request abandoned	23	9	2	6	1	0	16	57
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	90	211	197	247	46	21	34	846

4.2 Exemptions

Disposition of Requests	Completion Time
	0 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	8	56	25	14	0	0	2	105
Disclosed in part	56	95	137	214	45	21	16	584
All exempted	0	1	5	4	0	0	0	10
All excluded	0	0	7	9	0	0	0	16
No records exist	2	50	21	0	0	0	0	73
Request transferred	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Request abandoned	23	9	2	6	1	0	16	57
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	90	211	197	247	46	21	34	846

* I.A.: International Affairs  Def.: Defence of Canada S.A.: Subversive Activities

4.3 Exclusions

Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests	Section	Number of Requests
68(a)	17	69(1)	1	69(1)(g) re (a)	195
68(b)	0	69(1)(a)	11	69(1)(g) re (b)	0
68(c)	0	69(1)(b)	0	69(1)(g) re (c)	20
68.1	0	69(1)(c)	0	69(1)(g) re (d)	46
68.2(a)	0	69(1)(d)	12	69(1)(g) re (e)	48
68.2(b)	0	69(1)(e)	18	69(1)(g) re (f)	59
		69(1)(f)	3	69.1(1)	0

4.4 Format of information released

Paper	Electronic				Other
	E-record	Data set	Video	Audio
1	689	0	0	0	0

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats

Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests
64106	43301	772

4.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests

Disposition	Less Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed
All disclosed	101	1793	1	173	0	0	3	7522	0	0
Disclosed in part	513	9441	50	11973	10	7441	11	19769	0	0
All exempted	9	206	1	356	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	15	558	1	396	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	48	141	5	1435	3	1753	1	1149	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	686	12139	58	14333	13	9194	15	28440	0	0

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests

Disposition	Less Than 60 Minutes Processed		60 - 120 Minutes Processed		More than 120 Minutes Processed
	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests

Disposition	Less Than 60 Minutes Processed		60 - 120 Minutes Processed		More than 120 Minutes Processed
	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.7 Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation Required	Legal Advice Sought	Other	Total
All disclosed	21	0	0	21
Disclosed in part	242	1	0	243
All exempted	3	0	0	3
All excluded	5	0	0	5
Request abandoned	14	0	0	14
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0
Total	285	0	0	285

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines

Number of requests closed within legislated timelines	774
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	91.4893617

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Principal Reason
	Interference with operations/ Workload	External Consultation	Internal Consultation	Other
72	18	29	2	0

4.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

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	2	11	13
16 to 30 days	1	4	5
31 to 60 days	2	8	10
61 to 120 days	1	3	4
121 to 180 days	0	5	5
181 to 365 days	0	4	4
More than 365 days	9	22	31
Total	15	57	72

4.8 Requests for translation

Translation Requests	Accepted	Refused	Total
English to French	0	0	0
French to English	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
		Section 69	Other
All disclosed	9	0	24	4
Disclosed in part	57	81	296	40
All exempted	4	2	3	0
All excluded	0	13	4	0
Request abandoned	13	5	16	8
No records exist	6	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0
Total	89	101	343	51

5.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
		Section 69	Other
30 days or less	30	11	100	6
31 to 60 days	16	81	113	35
61 to 120 days	11	9	101	10
121 to 180 days	2	0	25	0
181 to 365 days	1	0	3	0
365 days or more	0	0	1	0
Total	89	101	343	51

Section 6: Fees

Fee Type	Fee Collected		Fee Waived		Fee Refunded
	Number of Requests	Amount	Number of Requests	Amount	Number of Requests	Amount
Application	357	$1,785.00	607	$3,035.00	0	$0.00
Other fees	0	$0.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00
Total	357	$1,785.00	607	$3,035.00	0	$0.00

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

7.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

Consultations	Other Government of Canada Institutions	Number of Pages to Review	Other Organizations	Number of Pages to Review
Received during the reporting period	134	5057	4	684
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	28	540	0	0
Total	162	5597	4	684
Closed during the reporting period	145	5252	3	671
Carried over within negotiated timelines	6	187	1	13
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines	11	158	0	0

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

Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
	0 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	28	30	23	1	0	0	3	85
Disclose in part	9	18	18	4	0	0	2	51
Exempt entirely	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	3
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Other	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	4
Total	43	48	43	5	0	0	6	145

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
	0 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	1	0	0	0	0	2
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	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	3

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 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	43	604	1	103	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	74	670	4	714	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	33	491	1	123	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	2	16	1	322	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	1	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	2	55	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	155	1845	7	1262	0	0	0	0	0	0

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		100‒500 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 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate	Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate	Section 35 Formal Representations
19	6	1

9.2 Investigations and Reports of finding

Section 37(1) Initial Reports			Section 37(2) Final Reports
Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner	Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
3	1	2	13	0	1

Section 10: Court Action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

Section 41

Complainant (1)	Institution (2)	Third Party (3)	Privacy Commissioner (4)	Total
0	0	0	0	0

10.2 Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

Section 44 - under paragraph 28(1)(b)
0

Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated Costs

Expenditures		Amount
Salaries		$1,146,895
Overtime		$1,373
Goods and Services		$859,769
Professional services contracts	$859,142
Other	$627
Total		$2,008,037

11.2  Human Resources

Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees	11.174
Part-time and casual employees	1.138
Regional staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	2.742
Students	0.629
Total	15.684

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

Appendix C: Supplemental Statistical Report

Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Natural Resources Canada
Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Fiscal Year Open Requests Were Received	Open Requests that are Within Legislated Timelines as of March 31, 2024	Open Requests that are Beyond Legislated Timelines as of March 31, 2024	Total
Received in 2023-2024	217	44	261
Received in 2022-2023	10	28	38
Received in 2021-2022	58	21	79
Received in 2020-2021	11	20	31
Received in 2019-2020	13	8	21
Received in 2018-2019	1	5	6
Received in 2017-2018	0	4	4
Received in 2016-2017	0	2	2
Received in 2015-2016	0	0	0
Received in 2014-2015 or earlier	0	0	0
Total	310	132	442

1.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Fiscal Year Open Complaints Were Received by Institution	Number of Open Complaints
Received in 2023-2024	12
Received in 2022-2023	3
Received in 2021-2022	0
Received in 2020-2021	0
Received in 2019-2020	0
Received in 2018-2019	0
Received in 2017-2018	0
Received in 2016-2017	0
Received in 2015-2016	0
Received in 2014-2015 or earlier	0
Total	15

Section 2: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Privacy Act

2.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Fiscal Year Open Requests Were Received	Open Requests that are Within Legislated Timelines as of March 31, 2024	Open Requests that are Beyond Legislated Timelines as of March 31, 2024	Total
Received in 2023-2024	8	1	9
Received in 2022-2023
Received in 2021-2022	0	0	0
Received in 2020-2021	0	0	0
Received in 2019-2020	0	0	0
Received in 2018-2019	0	0	0
Received in 2017-2018	0	0	0
Received in 2016-2017	0	0	0
Received in 2015-2016	0	0	0
Received in 2014-2015 or earlier	0	0	0
Total	8	1	9

2.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Fiscal Year Open Complaints Were Received by Institution	Number of Open Complaints
Received in 2023-2024	0
Received in 2022-2023	0
Received in 2021-2022	0
Received in 2020-2021	0
Received in 2019-2020	0
Received in 2018-2019	0
Received in 2017-2018	0
Received in 2016-2017	0
Received in 2015-2016	0
Received in 2014-2015 or earlier	0
Total	0

Section 3: Social Insurance Number

Has your institution begun a new collection or a new consistent use of the SIN in 2023-2024?	No

Section 4: Universal Access under the Privacy Act

How many requests were received from confirmed foreign nationals outside of Canada in 2022-2023?	0