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Annual Report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act: 2021 to 2022
From: Canada Border Services Agency
Chapter 1: Access to Information Act report
Introduction
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is pleased to present to Parliament, in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and Section 20 of the Services Fees Act, its annual report on the management of these Acts. The report describes the activities that support compliance with the Access to Information Act for the fiscal year commencing , and ending . During this period, the CBSA continued to build on successful practices implemented in previous years.
The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to extend 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 on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.Footnote 1
As stated in subsections 94(1) and 94(2) of the Access to Information Act, “Every year the head of every government institution shall prepare a report on the administration of this Act within the institution during the period beginning on of the preceding year and ending on of the current year… Every report prepared under subsection (1) shall be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after September 1 of the year in which the report is prepared."Footnote 2
Organization
I. About the Canada Border Services Agency
The CBSA has been, since 2003, an integral part of the Public Safety Canada (PS) portfolio, which was created to protect Canadians and maintain a peaceful and safe society. The Agency is responsible for providing integrated border services that support national security and public safety priorities and facilitate the free flow of persons and goods, including animals and plants, that meet all requirements under the program legislation.Footnote 3
The CBSA carries out its responsibilities with a workforce of approximately 14,000 employees, including over 6,500 uniformed CBSA officers who provide services at approximately 1,200 points across Canada and at 39 international locations.Footnote 4
II. Information Sharing, Access to Information and Chief Privacy Office
The Information Sharing, Access to Information and Chief Privacy (ISATICP) Office is comprised of 6 units: an Administration section, 3 Case Management units, and 2 Policy units. The Administration section's function is to receive all incoming requests and consultations, to ensure quality control of all outgoing correspondence, and to support the Case Management units in their day-to-day business. The Case Management units assign branches and regions with retrieval requests, process requests for information under the Access to Information Act, and provide daily operational guidance and support to CBSA employees. The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Policy and Governance Unit develops policies, tools, and procedures to support ATIP requirements within the CBSA and provides training to employees. The Information Sharing and Collaborative Arrangement Policy Unit maintains the policy framework for the CBSA's information-sharing and domestic written collaborative arrangements. On average, 71 full-time equivalents, and 0.5 part-time, casual and student employees were employed in the CBSA ISATICP Office during fiscal year 2021 to 2022.
The ATIP coordinator for the CBSA is the Executive Director of the ISATICP Office. The ISATICP Office is part of the Chief Data Office, which reports to the Vice-President (VP) of the Strategic Policy Branch. Consistent with best practices identified by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS),Footnote 5 the CBSA's ATIP coordinator is positioned within 3 levels of the President and has full delegated authority, reporting directly to the Chief Data Officer, who in turn reports to the VP of the Strategic Policy Branch.
Key to maintaining compliance with the statutory time requirements of the Access to Information Act is the CBSA ISATICP Office's ability to obtain records from branches and regions in a timely and reliable manner. Supported by a network of 16 ATIP liaison officers across the CBSA, the ISATICP Office is well-positioned to receive, coordinate, and process requests for information under the Access to Information Act.
The CBSA ISATICP Office works closely with other members of the PS portfolio, including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Correctional Service of Canada, the Parole Board of Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to share best practices and develop streamlined processes for the retrieval of jointly held records within the 30-day legislated time frame required to respond to access to information requests.
Activities and accomplishments
I. Performance
Fiscal year 2021 to 2022 saw record high volumes of access to information requests made to the CBSA. The volumes are largely attributable to individuals seeking copies of their immigration files. In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, 60% of all access to information requests received by the CBSA came from individuals seeking their immigration files. During the same period, 29% of all access to information requests received by the CBSA came from individuals seeking their THR. Immigration files and THR contain information used to support requirements for programs administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
In September 2012, IRCC, in consultation with the CBSA, introduced a new consent-based application form which sees applicants for citizenship provide consent on their applications for IRCC to view their travel history directly. The CBSA has allocated 100 accounts to the IRCC to verify (view only) clients' THR to Canada. IRCC has since viewed approximately 1.76 million THR, of which 116,366 were in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 that might otherwise have been requested formally through the CBSA by way of formal Access to Information Act or Privacy Act requests.
The CBSA continued to see high volumes of access to information requests submitted through the Access to Information and Privacy Online Request tool. Through this tool, the Agency received 11,207 requests, which amounted to 97.8% of all access to information requests received by the CBSA.
The CBSA also continued to offer the electronic format for responses to access to information requests. Although electronic format made up 77% of all formal access to information requests, these requests accounted for 17.3% of all the pages the CBSA disclosed in their entirety or disclosed in part this fiscal year.
Finally, as per Section 96 of the Access to Information Act, the CBSA ISATICP Office has not provided services related to any power, duty or function conferred or imposed on the CBSA under this Act to another government institution that is under the responsibility of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and has not received such services from any other such government institution.
II. Education and training
In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the CBSA ISATICP Office continued to provide support and guidance to employees. To do so, the Office adapted to numerous changes and explored alternative measures to delivery. Not being able to offer in-person training sessions, the CBSA ISATICP office shared it's training materials with 26 employees and also provided 14 virtual training sessions to 200 employees. The training sessions are designed to ensure that the participants fully understood their responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, with a focus on requests made pursuant to the Acts and the duty to assist principles.
It should be noted that the CBSA added the Canada School of Public Service's (CSPS) Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals (I015) course to the list of mandatory training. This training must be successfully completed by all persons employed by the CBSA who occupy an indeterminate or term position on a full-time, part-time or seasonal basis, as well as students and casual employees. It also must be completed within six months of joining the CBSA.
Moreover, the CBSA ISATICP Office delivered six training sessions on section 107 of the Customs Act, as well as basic information-sharing, disclosure of intelligence-related information, and business line-specific training sessions to 25 employees. In addition, before attending the training, employees are advised to complete the interactive online training course, regarding information sharing that was developed by the CBSA ISATICP Office.
Further, the CBSA ISATICP Office continues to raise employees' awareness of their obligations under the Access to Information Act by leveraging the Agency's daily newsletter as a way to provide employees with important information. The communiqués include key dates, such as Right to Know Week, and other activities at the CBSA to promote ATIP tools, resources, and awareness.
Finally, the CBSA ISATICP Office continues to actively participate in the TBS-led ATIP coordinators and ATIP practitioners meetings. These meetings provide opportunities for employees of the Office to liaise with employees from other institutions to discuss various issues and challenges that have been identified by the ATIP community.
III. New and revised Access to Information Act policies and procedures
During fiscal year 2021 to 2022, the CBSA ISATICP Office continued to revise existing policies, to develop new ones, and to introduce new procedures.
The Office has continued to take a number of measures to enhance and promote ATIP tools that are readily accessible to CBSA employees by utilizing Apollo (GCDocs). To this end, it ensures that the CBSA ISATICP Office intranet site is up to date and available to all CBSA employees. This allows the Office to quickly share information and best practices and to facilitate collaboration across the Agency.
As required by the Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act and as part of the open government initiative, the CBSA posts summaries each month of completed access to information requests on the Government of Canada's mandated website. These requests do not include personal information or any other information that would be exempted or excluded under the Act or that could reveal a requester's identity. As most requests received by the CBSA are client-specific, the CBSA only posted 265 requests on the website, representing 2.6% of the requests completed by the Agency. The CBSA also received 381 informal enquiries for requests posted on the website in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, as compared to 783 in the previous year, an increase of 51%.
Since June 21, 2019, the CBSA has been respecting the new legal requirements to publish proactively a broad range of information. The CBSA has been publishing proactively titles of briefing notes received by ministers and deputy heads, briefing packages prepared for new or incoming ministers and deputy heads, briefing packages prepared for Parliamentary Committee appearances by ministers and deputy heads, reports tabled in Parliament, and Question Period notes. In keeping with pre-existing policy, and now part of the new legal requirements, the CBSA continued to publish travel and hospitality expenses incurred by selected government officials, contracts over $10,000, and information concerning the reclassification of occupied positions within the Agency.
The CBSA continued to see high volumes in ATIP related audio/video redacting requests. In response to this continual growth, the CBSA ISATICP Office, in partnership with the Chief Transformation Officer Branch and the Information, Science and Technology Branch, and as part of an Innovation Solution Canada challenge initiative, is currently involved in a project allowing private companies to introduce applied concept for the redaction of video recording. This solution will allow video and audio recordings to be automatically processed. This year, Phase 2 of the initiative was undertaken and completed. Once available, this software will be promoted as the solution for processing video and audio recordings for the entirety of the Government of Canada.
The CBSA ISATICP Office continued sending documents safely via email to clients when consent was provided. The Office will soon adopt the Online Request Services/Online Management Tool developed by TBS, which will allow it to interact with the requesters directly, and also securely disclose documents to clients.
During fiscal year 2021-2022, the CBSA ISATICP Office introduced a new automated tool to register new incoming access to information and privacy requests without the requirement for human intervention. In the past, employees had to manually enter the information received from clients in our database. This automated tool access the same information, and perform the same tasks, that employees used to do to register the new requests received via the Online portal.
The CBSA ISATICP Office continued to provide the service of informally reviewing CBSA records for internal programs as if they had been requested under the Access to Information Act. The Office received 27 internal requests of this nature in fiscal year 2021–2022.
The CBSA closely monitors the time it takes to process access to information requests. Monthly reports, which show trends and performance, are submitted to the Assistant Directors of the Case Management units, and to the Executive Director of the ISATICP Office. Monthly reports consisting of statistics on the performance of the offices of primary interest are also distributed to all ATIP liaison officers. Finally, weekly reports listing recently received Consultations from other Government Departments, recently received ATIP requests, upcoming releases, and recently closed ATIP requests are reviewed and discussed during meetings of the Agency’s Executive Committee . These reports are produced and provided to help increase access to branch ATIP requests, as well as to help branches identify and manage any concerns in advance of ATIP requests being released.
IV. Reading room
The CBSA, in accordance with the Access to Information Act, maintains a reading room for applicants who wish to review material in person at the CBSA. Applicants may access the reading room by contacting the CBSA's ISATICP Office by telephone at 343-291-7021 or by sending an email to atip-aiprp@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca. The reading room is located at:
Place Vanier Complex
14 flr Tower A
333 N River Rd
Ottawa ON K1A 0L8
V. Audits of, and investigations into the access to information practices of the Canada Border Services Agency
In 2021 to 2022, there were no key issues raised as a result of access to information investigations, and no audits were conducted that related to the access to information practices of the CBSA.
Delegation order
Refer to Annex A for a signed copy of the delegation order.
Chapter 2: Statistical report
Statistical report on the Access to Information Act
Refer to Annex B for the CBSA’s statistical report on the Access to Information Act.
Interpretation of the statistical report
I. Requests processed under the Access to Information Act
The CBSA received 11,457 Access to Information Act requests in fiscal year 2021 to 2022, which was an 51% increase over the previous year. Moreover, the CBSA responded to 10,015 Access to Information Act requests, representing 74.8% of the total number of requests received and outstanding from the previous reporting period. Finally, the CBSA processed over 773,748 pages under the Access to Information Act.
For the past five years, the CBSA has consistently been among the top government departments in terms of workload. While receiving a substantial number of requests each year, the CBSA has been able to maintain its performance.
Image description
| Fiscal year | Requests received | Completed requests |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 to 2018 | 7,466 | 7,219 |
| 2018 to 2019 | 7,673 | 8,037 |
| 2019 to 2020 | 8,223 | 7,953 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 7,568 | 7,261 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 11,457 | 10,015 |
II. Completion time
In fiscal year 2021 to 2022, a total of 10,015 requests were completed. The graph below presents the response times for the requests that the CBSA completed this fiscal year.
Image description
| Completion time (days) | Number of requests |
|---|---|
| 121 or more | 655 |
| 61 to 120 | 1,709 |
| 31 to 60 | 2,388 |
| 30 or less | 5,263 |
Of the 10,015 completed requests, the CBSA was successful in responding to 90.7% within the legislated timelines, an increase from the 89.8% achieved last fiscal year.
Furthermore, the pie chart below provides an overview of the disposition of these completed requests.
Image description
| Fully disclosed | 34.87% |
| Partially disclosed | 55.52% |
| No records exist | 3.33% |
| Request abandoned | 5.95% |
| Other | 0.34% |
Of the completed requests, 3,492 records were fully disclosed and 5,560 were partially disclosed. See Annex B for all the details on the disposition of the completed requests.
Of the 3,381 requests carried over to fiscal year 2022–2023, 1,757 were on time and 1,624 were late. The graph below provides an overview of the requests carried over that were within or beyond legislated timelines.
Image description
| Fiscal year | Requests within legislated timeline | Requests beyond legislated timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 to 2016 or earlier |
0 | 0 |
| 2016 to 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 to 2018 | 0 | 13 |
| 2018 to 2019 | 0 | 66 |
| 2019 to 2020 | 0 | 187 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 162 | 365 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 1,595 | 993 |
See Annex C for all the details related to the number of outstanding requests carried over to next fiscal year.
III. Extensions
In total, 3,039 extensions were applied for in fiscal year 2021–2022. This represents an increase of 85.8% in extensions in comparison to the previous fiscal year. Extensions were applied 99.2% of the time because of workload and meeting the original 30-day time limit would have resulted in unreasonable interference with the CBSA operations. The remaining 0.8% of the time was for consulting with third parties or other government institutions, or to provide notice to third parties.
IV. Consultations received from other institutions and organizations
In 2021–2022, the CBSA completed 362 consultation requests from other government institutions and organizations. This represents an increase of 59.5% in comparison to the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, to respond to these requests, 11,644,999 pages were reviewed, a significant increase from the previous fiscal year.
V. Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences
Although Cabinet confidences are excluded from the application of the Access to Information Act (section 69), the policies of the TBS require agencies and departments to consult their legal services to determine if requested information should be excluded. If there is any doubt or if the records contain discussion papers, legal counsel must consult the Office of the Counsel to the Clerk of the Privy Council Office (PCO).
In 2021 to 2022, the CBSA did not consult CBSA Legal services regarding Cabinet confidence exclusions, due to the fact that requesters are excluding Cabinet confidences from their requests.
VI. Complaints and investigations
Subsection 30(1) of the Access to Information Act describes how the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) receives and investigates complaints from individuals regarding the information held by a government institution. Examples of complaints the OIC may choose to investigate include refusal to disclose records, missing information, or failure to provide information in the official language requested by the individual.
For 2021–2022, 750 Access to Information Act complaints were filed against the CBSA, which represents a significant increase compared to fiscal year 2020–2021. For context, the number of complaints filed relate to 7.5% of the 10,015 access to information requests completed during this period. The complaints received during the fiscal year were related to the following issues: time delay (547); application of exemptions or exclusions (45); time extension (135); missing / incomplete records (22); and miscellaneous (1).
Of the 256 complaints that were closed in fiscal year 2021–2022, 6 were deemed well-founded, and none were deemed not well-founded. Additionally, 238 complaints were resolved; 9 were discontinued; and three were settled. Where complaints are substantiated, the matter is reviewed by the delegated Assistant Directors and processes are adjusted if required.
At the end of fiscal year 2021–2022, the CBSA had 567 active complaints that were outstanding from previous reporting periods. The graph below provides an overview of the active complaints that are outstanding.
Image description
| Fiscal Year | Active complaints |
|---|---|
| 2015 to 2016 or earlier |
2 |
| 2016 to 2017 | 4 |
| 2017 to 2018 | 8 |
| 2018 to 2019 | 13 |
| 2019 to 2020 | 38 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 59 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 443 |
See Annex C for all the details related to the active complaints that are outstanding.
VII. Fees
The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.
- Enabling authority: Access to Information Act.
- Fee payable: $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an access to information request.
- Total revenue: The total fee revenue for this reporting period is $55,605.
- Fees waived: The total amount of fees waived for this reporting period is $1,680. In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on , and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, the CBSA waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.
- Cost of operating the program: The total cost for operating the Access to Information Act program during this reporting period is $2,480,425.
VIII. COVID-19: Impact on the CBSA Information Sharing, Access to Information and Chief Privacy Office
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the CBSA has played a critical role in managing the border in a safe and efficient manner, contributing to Canadians' health and security. During fiscal year 2021 to 2022, many CBSA employees were reassigned, and called upon to work around the clock to provide critical and essential services to Canadians and travelers. Despite the implementation of these new measures, the CBSA was able to maintain the ability to process requests received under the Access to Information Act in a timely manner, responding to requests within their statutory timelines in more than 9 out of 10 cases.
This success is also due to the implementation of interim measures for processing Access to Information Act requests. Since paper records were not accessible, the CBSA Information Sharing, Access to Information and Chief Privacy Office (ISATICP) Office contacted each requester, for new and outstanding requests, to offer that they limit their request to non-secret and electronic records, thereby making them retrievable remotely. This new measure was very well received by requesters, and has allowed the CBSA ISATICP Office to process 100% of the electronic, non-secret documents.
During this period, the CBSA ISATICP Office collaborated closely with TBS and coordinators in the access to information and privacy community. The CBSA ISATICP Office has completed, every 2 weeks, the TBS request capacity questionnaire on the status of ATIP offices during COVID-19, which is being published on the Open Government website.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CBSA implemented the Temporary Exceptional Procedures for Cabinet Confidences to allow access to some of the Cabinet Confidence Documents, classified up to “Secret”, on the corporate network. This exception applies only to the following Cabinet documents defined in the PCO Policy on the Security of Cabinet Confidences (Memoranda to Cabinet, decks, Treasury Board submissions, drafts and briefing materials, as well as policy development and analysis that could lead to Ministerial and/or cabinet consideration).
Finally, in accordance with the Access to Information Act, the Agency continued to meet the legal requirements to publish proactively a broad range of information, such as the briefing note titles report and the report of summaries of closed non-personal access requests.
IX. Conclusion
The achievements portrayed in this report reflect the CBSA's commitment to ensuring that every reasonable effort is made to meet its obligations under the Access to Information Act. The CBSA strives to provide Canadians with the information to which they have a right in a timely and helpful manner by balancing the right of access with the need to protect the integrity of the border services that support national security and public safety priorities.
Annex A: Delegation order
Ministerial Order
Access to Information Act and Privacy Act
Pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information ActFootnote 1 and section 73 of the Privacy ActFootnote 2, I hereby designate the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or a person authorized to exercise the powers or perform the duties and functions of that position, to exercise or perform the powers, duties and functions of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness as the head of the Canada Border Services Agency under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position.
This Order replaces previous designation orders and comes into force on the date on which it is signed.
Dated at Ottawa, Province of Ontario, this .
The Honourable Bill Blair, P.C., C.O.M., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
| Positions | Access to Information Act and Regulations |
Privacy Act and Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| President | Full authority | Full authority |
| Executive Vice-President | Full authority | Full authority |
| Vice-President Strategic Policy Branch |
Full authority | Full authority |
| Director General Chief Data Office |
Full authority | Full authority |
| Executive Director Information Sharing, Access to Information and Chief (ISATICP) Privacy Office |
Full authority | Full authority |
| Assistant Director Information Sharing, ISATICP |
Full authority | Full authority (except 8(2)(m)) |
| Team Leader Information Sharing, ISATICP |
Full authority | Full authority (except 8(2)(m)) |
Annex B: Statistical Report
Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act
Name of institution: Canada Border Services Agency
Reporting period: , to
Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act
| Received during reporting period | 11,457 |
Outstanding from previous reporting period
|
1,939 |
| Total | 13,396 |
| Closed during reporting period | 10,015 |
Carried over to the next reporting period
|
3,381 |
| Source | Number of requests |
|---|---|
| Media | 79 |
| Academia | 243 |
| Business (private sector) | 4,274 |
| Organization | 237 |
| Public | 4,474 |
| Decline to identify | 2,150 |
| Total | 11,457 |
| Source | Number of requests |
|---|---|
| Online | 11,207 |
| 60 | |
| 160 | |
| In person | 0 |
| Phone | 0 |
| Fax | 30 |
| Total | 11,457 |
Section 2: Informal Requests
| Number of requests | |
|---|---|
| Received during reporting period | 381 |
Outstanding from previous reporting period
|
0 |
| Total | 381 |
| Closed during reporting period | 381 |
| Carried over to next reporting period | 0 |
| Source | Number of requests |
|---|---|
| Online | 381 |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| In person | 0 |
| Phone | 0 |
| Fax | 0 |
| Total | 381 |
| 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 |
| 381 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 381 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 197 | 4,587 | 90 | 15,140 | 35 | 19,498 | 58 | 71,359 | 1 | 11,631 |
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 |
| Carried over to next reporting period | 0 |
Section 4: 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 | 488 | 2,204 | 575 | 171 | 35 | 17 | 2 | 3,492 |
| Disclosed in part | 227 | 1,700 | 1,670 | 1,424 | 314 | 142 | 83 | 5,560 |
| All exempted | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
| All excluded | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No records exist | 34 | 125 | 74 | 69 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 333 |
| Request transferred | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 375 | 100 | 59 | 39 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 596 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,129 | 4,134 | 2,388 | 1,709 | 381 | 175 | 99 | 10,015 |
| Section | Number of Requests | Section | Number of Requests | Section | Number of Requests | Section | Number of Requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13(1)(a) | 4,001 | 16(2) | 62 | 18(a) | 1 | 20.1 | 0 |
| 13(1)(b) | 10 | 16(2)(a) | 0 | 18(b) | 0 | 20.2 | 0 |
| 13(1)(c) | 10 | 16(2)(b) | 6 | 18(c) | 0 | 20.4 | 0 |
| 13(1)(d) | 23 | 16(2)(c) | 1,334 | 18(d) | 0 | 21(1)(a) | 45 |
| 13(1)(e) | 0 | 16(3) | 0 | 18.1(1)(a) | 0 | 21(1)(b) | 41 |
| 14 | 0 | 16.1(1)(a) | 0 | 18.1(1)(b) | 0 | 21(1)(c) | 6 |
| 14(a) | 5 | 16.1(1)(b) | 0 | 18.1(1)(c) | 0 | 21(1)(d) | 6 |
| 14(b) | 0 | 16.1(1)(c) | 0 | 18.1(1)(d) | 0 | 22 | 5 |
| 15(1) | 0 | 16.1(1)(d) | 0 | 19(1) | 2,661 | 22.1(1) | 0 |
| 15(1) - I.A.* | 29 | 16.2(1) | 0 | 20(1)(a) | 0 | 23 | 38 |
| 15(1) - Def.* | 9 | 16.3 | 0 | 20(1)(b) | 13 | 23.1 | 0 |
| 15(1) - S.A.* | 1,457 | 16.31 | 0 | 20(1)(b.1) | 2 | 24(1) | 23 |
| 16(1)(a)(i) | 5 | 16.4(1)(a) | 0 | 20(1)(c) | 6 | 26 | 24 |
| 16(1)(a)(ii) | 2 | 16.4(1)(b) | 0 | 20(1)(d) | 6 | ||
| 16(1)(a)(iii) | 1 | 16.5 | 0 | ||||
| 16(1)(b) | 50 | 16.6 | 0 | ||||
| 16(1)(c) | 4,690 | 17 | 503 | ||||
| 16(1)(d) | 3 |
* I.A.: International Affairs Def.: Defence of Canada S.A.: Subversive Activities
| Section | Number of Requests | Section | Number of Requests | Section | Number of Requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68(a) | 5 | 69(1) | 2 | 69(1)(g) re (a) | 0 |
| 68(b) | 0 | 69(1)(a) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (b) | 0 |
| 68(c) | 0 | 69(1)(b) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (c) | 0 |
| 68.1 | 0 | 69(1)(c) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (d) | 0 |
| 68.2(a) | 0 | 69(1)(d) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (e) | 0 |
| 68.2(b) | 0 | 69(1)(e) | 0 | 69(1)(g) re (f) | 0 |
| 69(1)(f) | 0 | 69.1(1) | 0 |
Paper |
Electronic |
Other |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-record | Data set | Video | Audio | ||
| 138 | 0 | 8,914 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
4.5 Complexity
Number of Pages Processed |
Number of Pages Disclosed |
Number of Requests |
|---|---|---|
| 773,748 | 617,294 | 9,682 |
| Disposition | Less Than 100 |
101-500 |
501 to 1,000 |
1001-5000 |
More Than 5000 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 3,434 | 33,758 | 50 | 9,341 | 2 | 1,800 | 5 | 9,481 | 1 | 10,561 |
| Disclosed in part | 3,574 | 99,088 | 1,773 | 390,087 | 159 | 109,159 | 51 | 78,821 | 3 | 24,985 |
| All exempted | 17 | 413 | 4 | 828 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 582 | 769 | 12 | 3,404 | 2 | 1,236 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 6 | 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 | 7,620 | 134,045 | 1,839 | 403,660 | 163 | 112,195 | 56 | 88,302 | 4 | 35,546 |
Number of minutes Processed |
Number of Minutes Disclosed |
Number of Requests |
|---|---|---|
| 789 | 682 | 3 |
| Disposition | Less Than 60 |
60-120 |
More than 120 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Requests | Minutes Processed | Number of Requests | Minutes Processed | Number of Requests | Minutes Processed | |
| All disclosed | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 667 |
| Disclosed in part | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All exempted | 0 | 0 | 1 | 107 | 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 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 107 | 1 | 667 |
Number of minutes Processed |
Number of Minutes Disclosed |
Number of Requests |
|---|---|---|
| 3,419 | 1,620 | 10 |
| Disposition | Less Than |
60-120 |
More than |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Requests | Minutes Processed | Number of Requests | Minutes Processed | Number of Requests | Minutes Processed | |
| All disclosed | 1 | 2 | 1 | 73 | 1 | 132 |
| Disclosed in part | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2,613 |
| All exempted | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 577 |
| 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 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 73 | 6 | 3,322 |
Disposition |
Consultation Required |
Legal Advice Sought |
Other |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All disclosed | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Disclosed in part | 82 | 0 | 0 | 82 |
| All exempted | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| All excluded | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Request abandoned | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neither confirmed nor denied | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 91 | 1 | 0 | 92 |
4.6 Closed requests
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines |
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) |
|---|---|
| 9,085 | 90.71392911 |
4.7 Deemed refusals
Number of Requests Closed Past the Legislated Timelines |
Principal Reason |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interference with Operations / Workload | External Consultation | Internal Consultation | Other | |
| 930 | 382 | 7 | 6 | 535 |
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 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 30 days | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 60 days | 219 | 3 | 222 |
| 61 to 120 days | 96 | 196 | 292 |
| 121 to 180 days | 25 | 118 | 143 |
| 181 to 365 days | 30 | 144 | 174 |
| More than 365 days | 14 | 85 | 99 |
| Total | 384 | 546 | 930 |
Translation Requests |
Accepted |
Refused |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| English to French | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| French to English | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Section 5: Extensions
Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken |
9(1)(a) |
9(1)(b) Consultation |
9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 69 | Other | |||
| All disclosed | 295 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Disclosed in part | 2,500 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| All exempted | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All excluded | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Request abandoned | 101 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No records exist | 102 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3,015 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
Length of Extensions |
9(1)(a) |
9(1)(b) Consultation |
9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 69 | Other | |||
| 30 days or less | 765 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 31 to 60 days | 1,129 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 61 to 120 days | 1,101 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 121 to 180 days | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 365 days or more | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3,015 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
Section 6: Fees
| Fee type | Fee collected |
Fee waived |
Fee refunded |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Amount | Number of requests | Amount | Number of requests | Amount | |
| Application | 11,121 | $55,605.00 | 336 | $1,680.00 | 0 | $0.00 |
| Other fees | 0 | $0.00 | 0 | $0.00 | 0 | $0.00 |
| Total | 11,121 | $55,605.00 | 336 | $1,680.00 | 0 | $0.00 |
Section 7: 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 | 297 | 11,609,537 | 10 | 85 |
| Outstanding from the previous reporting period | 65 | 35,462 | 2 | 41 |
| Total | 362 | 11,644,999 | 12 | 126 |
| Closed during the reporting period | 266 | 11,612,815 | 10 | 125 |
| Carried over to next reporting period | 96 | 32,184 | 2 | 1 |
| Carried over beyond negotiated timelines | 0 | 0 | 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 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 126 |
| Disclose in part | 15 | 31 | 28 | 24 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 118 |
| Exempt entirely | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Exclude entirely | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Consult other institution | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| Total | 46 | 62 | 60 | 47 | 20 | 20 | 11 | 266 |
| 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 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Disclose in part | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 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 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences
| Number of days | Fewer than 100 pages processed |
101 to 500 pages processed |
501 to 1,000 pages processed |
1001 to 5,000 pages processed |
More than 5,000 pages processed |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | |
| 1 to 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 to 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| More than 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of days | Fewer than 100 pages processed |
101 to 500 pages processed |
501 to 1,000 pages processed |
1,001 to 5,000 pages processed |
More than 5,000 pages processed |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | Number of requests | Pages disclosed | |
| 1 to 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 to 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 to 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 findings
9.1 Investigations
| Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate |
Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate |
Section 35 Formal representations |
|---|---|---|
| 750 | 0 | 7 |
Section 37(1) Initial Reports |
Section 37(2) Final Reports |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Received | Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner | Containing orders issues by the Information Commissioner | Received | Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner | Containing orders issues by the Information Commissioner |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 256 | 0 | 0 |
Section 10: Court Action
Section 41 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complainant (1) | Institution (2) | Third Party (3) | Privacy Commissioner (4) | Total |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Section 44 – under paragraph 28(1)(b) |
|---|
0 |
Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act
| Expenditures | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Salaries | $2,120,964 | |
| Overtime | $60,741 | |
| Goods and services: |
$298,720 | |
Professional services contracts |
$0 | |
Other |
$298,720 | |
| Total | $2,480,425 | |
| Resources | Person years dedicated to Access to Information activities |
|---|---|
| Full-time employees | 23.880 |
| Part-time and casual employees | 0.130 |
| Regional staff | 0.00 |
| Consultants and agency personnel | 0.00 |
| Students | 0.00 |
| Total | 24.010 |
Annex C: Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act
Section 1: Capacity to receive requests
| Number of weeks | |
|---|---|
| Able to receive requests by mail | 52 |
| Able to receive requests by email | 52 |
| Able to receive requests through the digital request service | 52 |
Section 2: Capacity to process records
| No capacity | Partial capacity | Full capacity | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unclassified paper records | 14 | 17 | 21 | 52 |
| Protected B paper records | 14 | 17 | 21 | 52 |
| Secret and Top Secret paper records | 22 | 13 | 17 | 52 |
| No capacity | Partial capacity | Full capacity | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unclassified electronic records | 0 | 0 | 52 | 52 |
| Protected B electronic records | 0 | 0 | 52 | 52 |
| Secret and Top Secret electronic records | 23 | 13 | 16 | 52 |
Section 3: Open Requests and Complaints
| Fiscal Year Open Requests were received |
Open Requests that are within Legislated Timelines as of |
Open Requests that are Beyond Legislated Timelines as of |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received in 2021-2022 | 1,595 | 993 | 2,588 |
| Received in 2020-2021 | 162 | 365 | 527 |
| Received in 2019-2020 | 0 | 187 | 187 |
| Received in 2018-2019 | 0 | 66 | 66 |
| Received in 2017-2018 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| Received in 2016-2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Received in 2015-2016 or earlier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,757 | 1,624 | 3,381 |
| Fiscal Year Open | Complaints were received Number of Open Complaints |
|---|---|
| Received in 2021-2022 | 443 |
| Received in 2020-2021 | 59 |
| Received in 2019-2020 | 38 |
| Received in 2018-2019 | 13 |
| Received in 2017-2018 | 8 |
| Received in 2016-2017 | 4 |
| Received in 2015-2016 or earlier | 2 |
| Total | 567 |
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