Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2019-2020

Annual report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2019-2020
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Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Purpose of the Access to Information Act
  • Mandate of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• Organizational Structure
  • Departmental Organization
  • Access to Information and Privacy Secretariat Organization
• Delegation Order
• Highlights of the Statistical Report, 2019-20
  • Overview of 2019-20 Requests Under the Access to Information Act
    • Sources of Requests
    • Informal Requests
  • Requests Closed During the Reporting Period
    • Disposition and Completion Time
    • Exemptions and Exclusions
    • Format of Information Released
    • Complexity
    • Deemed Refusals
    • Extensions
    • Consultations
• Reporting on Access to Information Fees for the Purposes of the Service Fees Act
• Training and Awareness
• Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives
  • Monitoring Compliance
• APPENDIX A: Delegation Order
• APPENDIX B: 2019-20 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Introduction

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act came into effect on July 1, 1983, giving the public a right of access to information contained in government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions.

Section 72 of the Access to Information Act requires that the head of every government institution prepare and submit an annual report to Parliament, detailing the administration of the Act within the institution for each fiscal year.

This annual report describes how Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) administered the Access to Information Act from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

Mandate of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) supports strong and sustainable economic growth in our marine and fisheries sectors and contributes to a prosperous economy through global commerce by supporting exports and advancing safe maritime trade. The Department supports the innovation needed for a knowledge-based economy through research in expanding sectors such as aquaculture and biotechnology. The Department contributes to a clean and healthy environment and sustainable aquatic ecosystems for Canadians through habitat protection, oceans management and ecosystems research.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), as a Special Operating Agency within DFO, is responsible for services and programs that contribute to all of the Department's core responsibilities while also contributing significantly to the safety, security, and accessibility of Canada's waterways. The CCG also supports other government organizations by providing a civilian fleet and a broadly distributed shore-based infrastructure.

Organizational Structure

Departmental Organization

The department has a presence across Canada with the majority of employees working outside the national headquarters in one of the seven DFO regions or four CCG operational regions. National objectives, policies, procedures, and standards for the Department and the Canadian Coast Guard are established at national headquarters, in Ottawa. Regions are responsible for delivering programs and activities in accordance with national and regional priorities and within national performance parameters.

Access to Information and Privacy Secretariat Organization

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Director reports to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Human Resources and Corporate Services. The ATIP Director is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective ATIP-related policies, guidelines, systems and procedures. This accountability ensures that the Department’s responsibilities under the Access to Information Act are met, and enables appropriate processing and proper disclosure of information.

The ATIP Secretariat is divided along two business lines; one processes requests under the Act and the other is responsible for all other activities related to the administration of the Act at DFO. Each business line is managed by a Deputy Director.

The business line responsible for processing requests and providing issues management is the Operations Division and is supported by:

• An Intake Unit, which oversees all incoming requests and liaises with requesters, programs and regions;
• An Administrative Support Group, which handles scanning, file management and quality control; and
• A team of analysts and consultants responsible for the overall processing of requests.

The business line responsible for many of the remaining responsibilities related to the administration of the Act is the Policy and Privacy Division (PPD). PPD acts as the Policy Centre for the Secretariat, provides advice to departmental officials on complex access to information matters, updates the Department’s Info Source chapter, advises senior management on changes relating to the ATIA and related TBS policies, and liaises with the wider ATIP community.

PPD is also responsible for tracking departmental performance, supporting the Operations Division with staffing processes, hiring contracted resources, maintaining case management technology, leading strategic projects to improve the overall delivery of the ATIP program, and coordinating the access to information training program to ensure the ongoing sound application of the Act. PPD is also responsible for various activities related to the legislative changes to the Access to Information Act found in Bill C-58 including the proactive disclosure of certain information.

The ATIP Secretariat collaborates with a network of ATIP contacts located in each region and sector who act as liaisons for their respective programs within the Department.

In total, throughout the course of this reporting period, the ATIP Secretariat employed approximately 22.5 full-time employees (FTEs) devoted to Access to Information Act activities; this includes full-time employees, consultants, agency personnel and casual employees.

Delegation Order

Responsibility for the administration of the Access to Information Act at DFO is delegated from the Minister to the Director and Deputy Directors of the ATIP Secretariat. A copy of the Delegation Order is found at Appendix A.

Highlights of the Statistical Report, 2019-20

The Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act is prepared by government institutions to assist the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) to analyze trends and exercise oversight.

DFO’s complete 2019-20 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act is found at Appendix B. Previous years’ statistical reports can be obtained from the ATIP Secretariat upon request.

Overview of 2019-20 Requests under the Access to Information Act

The analysis in this section compares data found in DFO’s 2019-20 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act with data from 2017-18, to produce a three-year trend analysis.

In 2019-20, DFO received 536 requests under the Access to Information Act and had 84 requests outstanding from the previous reporting period. Of these 620 requests, DFO completed 497 and carried forward 123 into the next reporting period.

As shown in Table 1 below, compliance for 2019-20 was 98.8 %; total figures for 2019-20 reveal 497 files were closed on or before their statutory or extended deadline. Only six of the 497 files closed were late. Despite an increase in requests processed and completed compared to previous reporting periods, available data shows a compliance rate consistently near 99% over the last three years.

The following table illustrates fluctuations in workload over the past three years.

Sources of Requests

Of the 536 requests received during the reporting period, the top three categories of requester that self-identified were the general public (181), which accounted for more than one-third of all requests, followed by business (private sector), representing nearly one-quarter of all requests (126), followed by the media (85, or 15% of received requests). The remaining requests originated from individuals who declined to self-identify (66, or 12% of requests received), organizations (54, or 10%) and academia (24, or 4%).

Informal Requests

Informal access requests are defined as requests for information made to the ATIP Secretariat, but not processed under the Act. Since January 2012, Treasury Board Secretariat began to require departments to publish summaries of their completed access to information requests online, so that the public could request copies informally. For the purpose of the Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act, this definition excludes the following: requests by DFO employees acting in their official capacity, such as internal service requests to review reports on security incidents, harassment complaints, evaluations or internal audits; requests for strategic advice; responses to Parliamentary Questions and media enquiries; and review of documents to be posted online. With these caveats, DFO processed 413 informal access requests for previously-released documents;

Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

Disposition and Completion Time

Section 7 of the Act requires institutions to provide a response to a requester within 30 days of receipt of their request, or to notify the requester that an extension is required. Of the 497 requests completed during the reporting period, 267 requests (54%) were completed in 30 days or less, 62 requests were completed in 31 to 60 days (12%), 88 requests were completed in 61 to 120 days (18%), 45 requests were completed in 121 to 180 days (9%), 32 requests (6%) were completed in 181-365 days, and 3 requests (<1%) required more than 365 days to process.

Requests completed by the Department in 2019-20 were finalized in the following manner:

• All disclosed – In 68 requests (14%) treated, all relevant information was released in full to the requester.
• Disclosed in part – In 286 requests (58%) treated, information was partially disclosed to the requester.
• All exempted – In 5 requests (<1%) treated, all relevant information was withheld from disclosure to the requester.
• All excluded – There was no request treated where no information was disclosed because all relevant information qualified for an exclusion under sections 68 or 69 of the Act.
• No records exist – In 79 requests (16%) treated, no relevant records existed under the control of the Department.
• Request transferred – In two requests (<1%) treated, a transfer was made to another government institution that had a greater interest in the subject of the request.
• Request abandoned – In 56 requests (11%) treated, the requester abandoned their request by formally withdrawing the request or by not responding to correspondence from the ATIP Secretariat; for instance, requests for clarification.
• Neither confirmed nor denied – In 1 request (<1%) treated, the department was not able to confirm or deny the existence of records.

Exemptions and Exclusions

The Access to Information Act gives the public a right of access to information contained in federal records under the control of Government institutions, subject to limited and specific exceptions. These exceptions are called exemptions and exclusions. Exemptions are provisions of the Act that allow or require the heads of federal government institutions to withhold information requested under the legislation.

The Access to Information Act gives the public a right of access to information contained in federal records under the control of Government institutions, subject to limited and specific exceptions. These exceptions are called exemptions and exclusions. Exemptions are provisions of the Act that allow or require the heads of federal government institutions to withhold information requested under the legislation.

In 2019-20, the five most frequently invoked exemptions have changed slightly when compared to the previous reporting period.

The following table shows the five most commonly invoked exemptions by DFO in 2019-20.

Exclusions are provisions of the Act that remove certain records from the application of the legislation. Records excluded from the requirements of the Access to Information Act include published material and confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council (Cabinet Confidences) pursuant to sections 68 and 69, respectively, both of which were invoked by the Department during the reporting period. Published material was excluded in 51 requests and Cabinet Confidences exclusions were applied in 64 requests.

See Appendix B for further information on the exemptions and exclusions invoked by DFO in 2019-20, presented by section, subsection and paragraph. For the purposes of this report, if an exemption or exclusion was claimed several times within the same request, it is reported only once in Appendix B.

Format of Information Released

When requests are complete, requesters may receive the information in paper or electronic formats, or they may view the records at any DFO office. During the reporting period, access to relevant documents was given, in whole or in part, for 354 requests. The information was released in paper format for 24 (7%) of these requests, electronically in 328 requests (93%) and in an alternative formats (audio and/or video) for the remaining 2 requests (<1%).

Over the past three years, requesters have increasingly chosen to receive information electronically. Percentages of electronic releases have risen consistently from 83% in 2017-18, to 93% during the reporting period. This reflects DFO’s ongoing efforts to provide records that are easily accessible to the public without interfering with its ability to respond within statutory deadlines.

Complexity

In 2019-20, the ATIP Secretariat processed a total of 162,852 relevant pages. Of the 162,852 relevant pages processed, 101,147 pages were disclosed in whole or in part.

Of the 497 requests completed during the reporting period, 48% (240 requests) required the processing of fewer than 100 relevant pages, 19% (92 requests) 101-500 pages, 8% (38 requests) had 501-1,000 pages, 7% (36 requests) had 1001-5,000 pages, and 2% (10 requests) involved the processing of more than 5,000 pages. No records were processed for the remaining 16% of requests. These requests were for records that did not exist or were transferred to another institution.

The Department completed a number of requests involving factors that increased their complexity, including:

• The requirement to consult with other institutions, organizations or third parties (165 requests);
• Other factors (42 requests), such as cases involving:
  • information extracted from a database;
  • the processing of audio and video recordings;
  • records located in a region outside of national headquarters; or
  • high-profile subject matter.

Deemed Refusals

In the 2017-18 reporting period, the ATIP Secretariat closed six requests past the legislated timeline. In 2018-19, the number closed past the legislated timeline was four, and in 2019-20, six requests (1%) were closed later than the legislated timeline.

The principal reason for delay in the requests closed past the statutory deadline is related to workload: due to the large volume of pages for each request and/or the complexity of the request, processing them within the statutory time limit was not possible. Additionally, the ATIP Secretariat assigns both access and privacy files within the same team of analysts, which means an increased workload in privacy can affect the timely completion of access requests. Other pressures included responding to complaints, and providing training sessions to departmental employees, both of which are also required under law and policy.

Extensions

Section 9 of the Act provides for the extension of statutory time limits if consultations are necessary, or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing the request within the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Department.

Reasons for Extensions and Disposition of Requests

During the 2019-20 reporting period, extensions to process requests were taken for the following reasons:

• Paragraph 9(1)(a) – Extensions were taken 121 times because the request was for a large volume of records and processing the request within the original time limit would have unreasonably interfered with departmental operations;
• Paragraph 9(1)(b) – Extensions were taken 129 times to consult with other institutions or organizations. Of these, 23 were to consult with the Legal Services Unit/Privy Council Office (PCO) on the application of section 69 for Cabinet Confidences and 106 were to consult with other government departments; and
• Paragraph 9(1)(c) – Extensions were taken 96 times to consult with third parties.

Length of Extensions

The length of an extension correlates to the type of extension taken. For example, consultations on Cabinet Confidences often take 180 days, whereas third party notification processes usually take 60 days.

Of the 346 extensions taken:

• 100 were for 30 days or less;
• 134 were for 31-60 days;
• 70 were for 61-120 days;
• 29 were for 121-180 days;
• 12 were for 181-365 days; and
• 1 was for 365 days or more.

Consultations

Consultations Received from other Institutions and Organizations

When other institutions and organizations retrieve information that concerns or originates from DFO in response to access to information requests, they may consult the DFO ATIP Secretariat for recommendations on release. Other institutions are defined as federal institutions subject to the Access to Information Act. Organizations include the governments of the provinces, territories and municipalities, and of other countries.

In 2019-20, DFO processed 285 consultation requests; 264 of these were received during the reporting period and 21 requests were outstanding from the previous reporting period. Of these 285 consultations, DFO completed 266 requests and carried forward 19 requests into the next reporting period.

Recommendations and Completion Time

During the period of 2019-20, 219 of the consultation requests completed by DFO were received from other government institutions. Of these requests, 133 (61%) were completed within 30 days and 20 (9%) took more than 60 days to complete. In 148 requests (68%), DFO recommended the consulting institution disclose the information in its entirety.

DFO completed 47 consultation requests from organizations in 2019-20; 37 of these consultations were completed within 30 days and none took longer than 60 days to complete.

Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

The ATIP Secretariat consults with the DFO Legal Services Unit regarding the application of all section 69 (Cabinet Confidence) exclusions. On occasion, Legal Services will forward the consultation to the Privy Council Office (PCO) for additional advice. For the purposes of the Statistical Report, when a consultation is forwarded in this manner, it is recorded as a PCO consultation instead of a Legal Services consultation.

The ATIP Secretariat received responses directly from Legal Services on 22 consultations in 2019-20. Response times for these consultations ranged between 1 to 15 days to 181 to 365 days with the majority of the responses (8 requests) being received within 31 to 60 days. No consultation on Cabinet Confidences was forwarded to PCO during the 2019-20 reporting period.

Reporting on Access to Information Fees for the Purposes of the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution.

With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, 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 amount: $5
• Total revenue: $2,355
• Fees waived: In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, DFO 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.
  
  Additionally, the $5 application fee may be waived at the discretion of the ATIP Director if, for example, there is a clear public interest in the requested information. During this reporting period, DFO waived or refunded fees for 26 requests amounting to $130.
• Cost of operating the program: $1,961,699

Training and Awareness

DFO makes significant efforts to promote awareness of federal access and privacy legislation and the corresponding responsibilities of DFO employees, providing ongoing individual and group training sessions. ATIP training is mandatory for all DFO executives and individuals acting in an executive position for more than four months. While regions, sectors and divisions are encouraged to request training as the need arises, the ATIP Secretariat also offered semi-annual awareness sessions to all employees of the Department.

The ATIP Secretariat also delivered training sessions to many sectors of the Department on the paper reduction initiative (discussed in the next section), to bring awareness to the implementation and onboarding of the new electronic transmittal process.

During the 2019-20 reporting period, the Department provided ATIP training to 805 participants. While some of the sessions were focused exclusively on access to information or privacy protection, others included elements of both access to information and privacy.

In addition to training offered by DFO, the Department encourages employees to take ATIP training offered by the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS). The ATIP Secretariat continued its efforts to promote the CSPS training in 2019-20. During this reporting period, 463 DFO and CCG participants completed CSPS ATIP-related training courses. The following table highlights all ATIP-related training activities undertaken during the reporting period.

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives

On June 21, 2019, Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, was given Royal Assent.

As the departmental coordinator for statutory proactive disclosure requirements, ATIP plays a lead role in ensuring compliance with the new proactive disclosure requirements. Accordingly, ATIP developed and implemented, in consultation with key stakeholders and senior management, a departmental framework on proactive disclosure that aligns with the legislative changes brought in by Bill C-58.

During the reporting period, the ATIP Secretariat also implemented a digital strategy that includes a paper reduction initiative, in order to modernize how requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act (collectively referred to as ATIP) are processed within the Department. The initiative is envisioned to increase productivity and improve the overall process for treating ATIP requests across the Department including: increased efficiency when retrieving and transmitting records relating to ATIP requests, faster response times, and significant cost savings in both human resources and material costs. The expected outcome of this initiative also includes a significant reduction in the Department’s overall paper consumption, as well as key expenses incurred when processing ATIP requests.

COVID-19 Impact on Requests

Late in the reporting period when met with the challenge of the COVID-19 global pandemic, ATIP found innovative approaches to move forward on requests. The paper reduction initiative described above was launched before the pandemic and proved to be a key digital business process in the remote work environment. Another approach involves using a digital delivery platform, instead of mail, to transmit records to requesters, and ATIP has been taking steps toward implementation. The digital delivery platform will not only facilitate the electronic delivery of responsive records to requesters, it will also allow for consultation packages to be sent to other government institutions and third parties. The digital platform is expected to be fully implemented during the next reporting period, advancing ATIP farther towards a completely paperless environment.

Although access to information and privacy are quasi-constitutional rights, ATIP is not considered a critical service and function within the organization. Nevertheless, the ATIP Secretariat remains committed to continuing to provide services to Canadians during the pandemic.

Despite the challenges, ATIP is continuing to find ways to support access to information and privacy, and serve Canadians.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits

The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) investigates complaints about federal institutions’ handling of access requests. The Information Commissioner has broad investigative powers to assist in mediating between dissatisfied requesters and government institutions. Following the passage of Bill C-58, the Information Commissioner now has new responsibilities and authorities, including the power to order institutions to release records at the end of an investigation when a complaint is well-founded. The Commissioner can also issue such orders as appropriate when new complaints cannot be resolved by her Office’s informal resolution process. Additionally, the Commissioner can now publish the results of investigations. Further information on the responsibilities and the activities of the OIC can be found on its website.

In 2019-20, DFO received 23 new complaints. The Department worked with the OIC to finalize 15 complaints. Of the 15 complaints finalized, one was received in 2014-15, seven were received in 2018-19 and the seven other complaints were received in 2019-20.

The Department reviews the outcomes of the Information Commissioner’s report of findings or recommendations, and where appropriate, incorporates lessons learned into business processes. Of the 15 complaints resolved this reporting period, 10 were well-founded and resolved.

Monitoring Compliance

During the past reporting period, the department proactively published certain information including briefing note titles, transition briefing binder for the Minister, and Question Period notes in accordance with Part 2 of the Access to Information Act. The department has maintained 100% compliance with proactive disclosure requirements under Bill C-58 since becoming law.

DFO makes every effort to meet statutory deadlines and actively monitors the time taken to process access to information requests. Monitoring begins as soon as a request is received by the ATIP Secretariat, entered into the case management system and assigned to an analyst. All requests, including requests for consultations and requests for informal advice or review of records, are entered into the case management system for tracking. This electronic tracking of deadlines is essential, as analysts work on numerous requests, each with multiple actions coming due, at any given time. Analysts meet with their respective team leaders on a weekly basis to identify issues with requests that might result in delays. Issues are raised with the ATIP management team, if necessary. The Director and Deputy Directors of the ATIP Secretariat get involved in files where they can use their authority as the Minister’s delegates under the Access to Information Act to promote compliance with deadlines and deliverables.

APPENDIX A: Delegation Order

APPENDIX B: 2019-20 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Reporting period: 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.3 Informal requests

Note: All requests previously recorded as “treated informally” will now be accounted for in this section only.

Section 2: Decline to act vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of right requests

Section 3: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

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

3.5 Complexity

3.6 Closed requests

3.7 Deemed refusals

Section 4: Extensions

Section 5: Fees

Section 6: Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Organizations

Section 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Section 8: Complaints and Investigations

Section 9: Court Action

Section 10: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act