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2018 to 2019 Annual report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Introduction
  2. Organizational Structure
  3. Delegation Order
  4. Highlights of the Statistical Report, 2018-2019
  5. Reporting on Access to Information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act
  6. Training and Awareness
  7. Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives
  8. Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits
  9. 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.

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 reporting year. 

This annual report is prepared in accordance with section 72 of the ATIA and describes how Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) administered its responsibilities under theATIAduring fiscal year 2018-2019.

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 Coordinator has full authority delegated by the Minister for the administration of the Act. The Coordinator is accountable for ensuring compliance with the ATIA and its related policy instruments. In addition, the Coordinator 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 2018-2019, 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.

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.

Departmental officials made recommendations related to the disclosure of records and ensured compliance with the legislation.   

Sector Liaison Officers played a key role in the processing of requests and consultations. Their duties included coordinating the retrieval of documents in a timely manner.

3. Delegation Order

Section 73 of the ATIAprovides 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 regarding the administration of the Act.

Consistent with best practices, the ATIP Coordinator 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 is included at Appendix A.  

4. Highlights of the Statistical Report, 2018-2019

Multi-year trends 2016-17 to 2018-2019

  • Decrease in requests received: In comparison to the previous reporting period, in 2018-2019 NRCan received 64% less requests. It has received 317 requests and 74,565 pages were processed; whereas in 2017-2018, 882 requests were received and 64,454 pages were processed. In 2016-2017, 647 requests were received and 136,592 pages were processed.  Between 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, there has been a notable increase in the number of pages processed (i.e. 10,111 pages).
  • Percentage of requests responded to within legislative timelines: From April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, 297 requests were completed. Of these 297 requests, 268 were closed within their legislative timeframe, representing a compliance rate of 90%. During the 2017-2018 reporting period, 901 requests were completed. Of these 901 requests, 884 were completed within their legislative timeframe, resulting in a compliance rate of 98.1%.  In 2016-2017, 633 were completed. Of these 633 requests, 579 were closed within their legislative timeframe, resulting in a compliance rate of 91.5%. NRCan has therefore experienced a consistent trend by which its compliance rate is within the 90 to 99 percent range.  
  • Application of exemptions and exclusions: The multi-year trend from 2016-2017 to 2018-2019 shows that while the nature of exemptions applied remained fairly consistent, the number of times the exemptions were applied changed significantly 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 78 times, 116 times and 194 times, respectively. During the 2016-2017 reporting period, these exemptions were applied 171 times, 215 times and 467 times, respectively. During the 2017-2018 reporting period, exemptions related to international affairs and defense, third party information and operations of government were mostly applied. These exemptions were applied 150 times, 247 times and 496 times, respectively.
  • Application of extensions: During the current reporting period, NRCan applied extensions to 65% of requests completed. This is consistent with the  2017-2018 and 2016-2017 reporting periods where extensions were applied in 67% and 70% of cases, respectively. For all three reporting periods, the main reason for extensions was consultations required to complete the processing of the requests. Other contributing factors were volume of requests, interference with operations and third party consultations.
  • Consultations completed from other institutions: While the number of consultations closed remained consistent prior to the 2016-2017 reporting period, NRCan has since experienced an upward trend in the number of consultations completed. In 2016-2017, NRCan completed 173 consultations. In 2017-2018, NRCan completed 199 consultations. Finally, in the current reporting period, NRCan completed 210 consultations.

For more information, the statistical report can be found at Appendix B of the current report.

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 theATIA, 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: $1,420
  • Fees waived: During the reporting period, NRCan did not charge fees other than the $5 application fee. That said, a total of $155 was waived during the reporting period.
  • Cost of operating the program: $1,118,593

6. Training and Awareness

The ATIP Secretariat regularly provides advice and informal training on the application of ATIA legislation to departmental employees who are responsible for providing and reviewing relevant records requested under the ATIA. 

In 2018-2019, there were four training sessions held with various subject matter experts. A total of 44 employees received training during the current reporting period.

In light of Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, the ATIP Secretariat coordinated with key sectors to establish governance and build an implementation plan to support the proposed legislative changes, which involved:

  • Briefing up and out to ensure that departmental officials are fully aware of the legislative changes;
  • Creating centralized folders in GCDOCS for subject matter experts to store the relevant information;
  • Developing high-level and instructional process maps outlining the roles and responsibilities for key program areas;
  • Collaborating with TBS to ensure that processes line up with intent of Bill C-58; and
  • Meeting with the Tiger Team representatives on an ad-hoc basis to discuss performance and assess impacts and costs to program areas.

7. Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives

NRCan continues to improve its ATIP practices and performance in order to maintain the highest standards of service. 

In 2018-2019, the ATIP Secretariat implemented the following initiatives to support the revitalization of the Access to Information Act and the modernization of the Privacy Act:

  • Professional Development Program (PDP): In order to address the government-wide labour shortage of skills and expertise in the ATIP community and strengthen recruitment and retention of ATIP professionals, the ATIP Secretariat developed and began implementation of a PDP. The PDP is a 3 to 5 year program designed to support the renewal, development and retention of ATIP Analysts to meet current and future operational needs. Following a competitive process, participants are appointed at the entry ATIP Analyst level (PM-01) and promoted by means of a structured competency-based learning and development framework to a Senior ATIP Analyst level (PM-04). 

    The PDP will support the renewal and retention of ATIP Analysts within NRCan while:
    • Building internal capacity and maintaining corporate knowledge;
    • Supporting continuous intake of ATIP Analysts within the community;
    • Training and developing specialists according to current and future operational needs;
    • Addressing chronic shortages of ATIP professionals across the public service;
    • Offering a structured development program to develop competencies for working level specialists; and
    • Positioning NRCan as an employer of choice for ATIP professionals.
  • Modernization of the ATIA: To ensure that NRCan officials are aware of Bill C-58, as well as new Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat directives to support open and transparent government, the ATIP Secretariat coordinated with lead sectors to establish governance and develop an implementation plan to support the legislative changes.
  • 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 Portal: To better serve Canadians, the ATIP Secretariat continued to participate in the ATIP Online Request Pilot Project which enables Canadians to submit requests under the ATIA through an online channel. NRCan assisted in rendering the online portal much more user-friendly by providing input as to the various topics dealt with by the department.
  • Duty to Assist: To ensure transparency in the ATIP process and in relation to the Duty to Assistrequirements, the ATIP Secretariat proactively communicated with requesters to provide timely and complete responses.

8. Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits

Ten complaints made under the ATIA were received by NRCan in 2018-2019. Four of these were closed in the reporting period and had dispositions as follows: two were not well-founded, and two were discontinued by the applicants. The remaining six are ongoing.

There were no audits or investigations under the ATIA in 2018-2019.

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.

Appendix A: Delegation Order Access to Information Act and Access to Information Regulations

The Minister of Natural Resources Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information 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, duties and functions of the Minister as the head of Natural Resources Canada, under the provisions of the Access to Information Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces 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 Coordinator Full Delegation
Access to Information and Privacy Deputy Director Full Delegation
Access to Information and Privacy Team Leaders 4(2.1), 8(1), 9, 11(2)(3)(4)(5)(6), 12(2)(b), 12(3)(b), 27 (1)(4) of the Access to Information Act and 6(1), 7(2), 7(3) of the Access to Information Regulations

Original signed by: The Honourable Jim Carr, P.C., M.P. Minister of Natural Resources Canada
Date: December 15, 2015

Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Natural Resources Canada

Reporting period: 2018-04-01 to 2019-03-31

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests
  Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 317
Outstanding from previous reporting period 97
Total 414
Closed during reporting period 297
Carried over to next reporting period 117
1.2 Sources of requests
Source Number of Requests
Media 83
Academia 6
Business (private sector) 50
Organization 39
Public 43
Decline to Identify 96
Total 317
1.3 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
15 0 1 0 0 0 12 28

* An informal request is a request for records previously released to the public

Part 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and completion time
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 9 18 21 2 3 0 0 53
Disclosed in part 9 16 42 49 32 14 2 164
All exempted 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 4
All excluded 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 8
No records exist 4 28 4 0 0 0 0 36
Request transferred 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Request abandoned 19 2 2 1 0 0 4 28
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 45 68 72 56 36 14 6 297

2.2 Exemptions

2.2 Exemptions 1
Section Number of Requests
13(1)(a) 7
13(1)(b) 2
13(1)(c) 5
13(1)(d) 0
13(1)(e) 1
14 35
14(a) 0
14(b) 0
15(1) 1
15(1) - I.A.* 42
15(1) - Def.* 2
15(1) - S.A.* 1
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) 39
16(2)(a) 0
16(2)(b) 1
16(2)(c) 3
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
2.2 Exemptions 2
Section Number of Requests
16.4(1)(b) 0
16.5 0
16.6 0
17 0
18(a) 3
18(b) 4
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) 78
20(1)(a) 1
20(1)(b) 62
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 41
20(1)(d) 12
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 93
21(1)(b) 88
21(1)(c) 10
21(1)(d) 3
22 2
22.1(1) 0
23 28
23.1 0
24(1) 2
26 1

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

2.3 Exclusions

2.3 Exclusions 1
Section Number of Requests
68(a) 21
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) 1
2.3 Exclusions 2
Section Number of Requests
69(1)(d) 4
69(1)(e) 12
69(1)(f) 4
69(1)(g) re (a) 45
69(1)(g) re (b) 0
69(1)(g) re (c) 28
69(1)(g) re (d) 8
69(1)(g) re (e) 28
69(1)(g) re (f) 29
69.1(1) 0
1.3 Informal requests *
Disposition Paper Electronic Other Formats
All disclosed 23 30 0
Disclosed in part 68 96 0
Total 91 126 0

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition of Requests Number of Pages Processed * Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
All disclosed 18207 17688 53
Disclosed in part 44169 29083 164
All exempted 457 0 4
All excluded 450 0 8
Request abandoned 11282 3252 28
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0

* Number of pages processed represents the complete number of pages received and reviewed including duplicates

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests
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 44 682 6 722 0 0 2 3430 1 12854
Disclosed in part 111 2456 36 5488 8 3498 7 3160 2 14481
All exempted 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 24 177 1 18 1 95 1 44 1 2918
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 187 3315 47 6228 9 3593 10 6634 4 30253
2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation Required Assessment of Fees Legal Advice Sought Other Total
All disclosed 12 0 0 0 12
Disclosed in part 105 0 0 0 105
All exempted 2 0 0 0 2
All excluded 5 0 0 0 5
Request abandoned 8 0 0 0 8
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 132 0 0 0 132

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Number of Requests Closed Past the Statutory Deadline Principal Reason
Workload External Consultation Internal Consultation Other
29 5 5 1 18
2.6.2 Number of days past deadline
Number of Days Past Deadline Number of Requests Past Deadline Where No Extension Was Taken Number of Requests Past Deadline Where An Extension Was Taken Total
1 to 15 days 1 0 1
16 to 30 days 5 0 5
31 to 60 days 0 0 0
61 to 120 days 0 4 4
121  to 180 days 0 7 7
181 to 365 days 0 6 6
More than 365 days 0 6 6
Total 6 23 29
2.7 Requests for translation
Translation Requests Accepted Refused Total
English to French 0 0 0
French to English 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0

Part 3: Extensions

3.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests
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 4 1 10 2
Disclosed in part 23 40 71 27
All exempted 0 0 1 1
All excluded 1 5 1 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 5 1
Total 29 46 88 31
3.2 Length of extensions
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 12 1 26 5
31 to 60 days 9 20 24 21
61 to 120 days 5 25 34 3
121 to 180 days 3 0 4 1
181 to 365 days 0 0 0 1
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 29 46 88 31

Part 4: Fees

Part 4: Fees
Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
Number of Requests Amount Number of Requests Amount
Application 284 $1,420 31 $155
Search 0 $0 0 $0
Production 0 $0 0 $0
Programming 0 $0 0 $0
Preparation 0 $0 0 $0
Alternative format 0 $0 0 $0
Reproduction 0 $0 0 $0
Total 284 $1,420 31 $155

Part 5: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada 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 249 8745 10 7507
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 11 1609 1 3
Total 260 10354 11 7510
Closed during the reporting period 199 8595 11 211
Pending at the end of the reporting period 61 1759 0 7299
5.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions
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 38 57 38 3 0 0 0 136
Disclose in part 7 11 25 5 0 2 1 51
Exempt entirely 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Other 5 3 2 0 0 0 0 10
Total 51 72 65 8 0 2 1 199
5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations
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 5 0 0 0 0 0 6
Disclose in part 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 5
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 9 1 0 0 0 0 11

Part 6: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

6.1 Requests with Legal Services
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 12 243 3 150 1 310 1 559 0 0

16 to 30

8 164 6 636 0 0 3 2553 0 0
31 to 60 9 80 9 1205 2 692 1 70 0 0
61 to 120 4 78 1 83 0 0 1 423 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 1 102 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 33 565 19 2074 4 1104 6 3605 0 0
6.2 Requests with Privy Council Office
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

Part 7: Complaints and Investigations

Part 7: Complaints and Investigations
Section 32 Section 35 Section 37 Total
10 3 31 44

Part 8: Court Action

Part 8: Court Action
Section 41 Section 42 Section 44 Total
0 0 0 0

Part 9: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

9.1 Costs
Expenditures Amount
Salaries $767,968
Overtime $316
Goods and Services $350,309
  • Professional services contracts
$324,956
  • Other
$25,353
Total $1,118,593
9.2 Human Resources
Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees 8.44
Part-time and casual employees 1.69
Regional staff 0.00
Consultants and agency personnel 1.32
Students 0.00
Total 11.45

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