Annual report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2020-2021

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
• Delegation Order
• Highlights of the Statistical Report, 2020-21
  • Overview of 2020-21 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
    • Reasons for Extensions and Disposition of Requests
    • Length of Extensions
  • Consultations
    • Consultations Received from other Institutions and Organizations
    • Recommendations and Completion Time
    • Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences
• Reporting on Access to Information Fees for the Purposes of the Service Fees Act
• Training and Awareness
• Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives
• Impact of COVID-19 on the administration of the Access to Information Act
• Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits
• Monitoring Compliance
• Appendix A: Delegation Order
• Appendix B: 2020-21 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 94(1) 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 the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) administered the Access to Information Act from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.

Mandate of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

DFO is responsible for safeguarding Canadian waters and managing Canada's fisheries and oceans resources. DFO helps to ensure healthy and sustainable aquatic ecosystems through habitat protection and sound science. DFO supports economic growth in the marine and fisheries sectors, and innovation in areas such as aquaculture and biotechnology. DFO is committed to working with fishers, coastal, and Indigenous communities to enable their continued prosperity from fish and seafood.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), as a Special Operating Agency within DFO, is responsible for services and programs that contribute to all of DFO'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

DFO 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 DFO and CCG 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

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 DFO’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. The business lines are managed by Deputy Directors.

The Operations Division is responsible for processing requests and providing issues management; it 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
• a team of analysts and consultants responsible for the overall processing of requests

The Policy and Privacy Division (PPD) is responsible for many of the remaining responsibilities related to the administration of the Act. PPD acts as the Policy Centre for the Secretariat, provides advice to departmental officials on complex access to information matters, updates DFO’s Info Source chapter, advises senior management on changes relating to the Act and related Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (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 DFO.

In total, throughout the course of this reporting period, the ATIP Secretariat employed 23.8 full-time employees 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, 2020-21

The Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act is prepared by government institutions to assist TBS to analyze trends and exercise oversight.

DFO’s complete 2020-21 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 2020-21 Requests under the Access to Information Act

The analysis in this section compares data found in DFO’s 2020-21 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act with data from 2018-19, to produce a three-year trend analysis.

In 2020-21, DFO received 596 requests under the Access to Information Act and had 123 requests outstanding from the previous reporting period. Of these 719 requests, DFO completed 531 and carried forward 188 into the next reporting period.

As shown in Table 1 below, compliance for 2020-21 was 99.6%. Total figures for 2020-21 reveal 529 files were closed on or before their statutory or extended deadline; only two of the 531 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.

Table 1: Overview of 2020-21 Requests under the Access to Information Act

Sources of requests

Of the 596 requests received during the reporting period, the top three categories of requester that self-identified were: the general public with 245 requests (41%), followed by private sector business with 134 requests (22%), and organizations with 67 requests (11%). The remaining requests originated from: individuals who declined to self‑identify, with 85 requests (14%); the media, with 54 requests (9%); and academia, with 11 requests (2%).

Informal requests

Informal access requests are defined as requests for information made to the ATIP Secretariat, but not processed under the Act. In January 2012, TBS 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 847 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 531 requests completed during the reporting period, 261 requests (49%) were completed in 30 days or less, 75 requests were completed in 31 to 60 days (14%), 103 requests were completed in 61 to 120 days (19%), 36 requests were completed in 121 to 180 days (7%), 46 requests (9%) were completed in 181-365 days, and 10 requests (<2%) required more than 365 days to process.

Requests completed by DFO in 2020-21 were finalized in the following manner:

• all disclosed – In 92 requests (17%) treated, all relevant information was released in full to the requester
• disclosed in part – In 297 requests (56%) treated, information was partially disclosed to the requester
• all exempted – In nine requests (<2%) treated, all relevant information was withheld from disclosure to the requester
• all excluded – In one request (<1%) treated, no information was disclosed because all relevant information qualified for an exclusion under sections 68 or 69 of the Act
• no records exist – In 102 requests (19%) treated, no relevant records existed under the control of DFO
• request transferred – In five 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 25 requests (5%) 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
• no request was processed where DFO could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the requested information

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.

In 2020-21, the five most frequently invoked exemptions have not changed when compared to the previous reporting period.

The following table shows the five most commonly invoked exemptions by DFO in 2020-21.

Table 2: Five Most Commonly invoked Exemptions in 2020-21

Exclusions are provisions of the Act that remove certain records from the application of the legislation. Records excluded from the requirements of the 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 DFO during the reporting period. Published material was excluded in 55 requests and Cabinet Confidences exclusions were applied in 71 requests.

See Appendix B for further information on the exemptions and exclusions invoked by DFO in 2020-21, 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 389 requests. The information was released in paper format for 11 (<3%) of these requests, electronically in 374 requests (96%) and in an alternative formats (audio and/or video) for the remaining four requests (<2%).

Over the past three years, requesters have increasingly chosen to receive information electronically. Percentages of electronic releases have risen consistently from 93% in 2019-2020, to 96% during the current 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 2020-21, the ATIP Secretariat processed a total of 226,810 relevant pages. Of the 226,810 relevant pages processed, 142,177 pages were disclosed in whole or in part.

Of the 531 requests completed during the reporting period, 253 requests (48%) required the processing of fewer than 100 relevant pages, 77 requests (15%) had 101-500 pages, 30 requests (6%) had 501‑1,000 pages, 46 requests (9%) had 1001-5,000 pages, and 18 requests (3%) involved the processing of more than 5,000 pages. No records were processed for the remaining 19% of requests. These requests were for records that did not exist or were transferred to another institution.

DFO completed a number of requests involving factors that increased their complexity, including

• The requirement to consult with other institutions, organizations or third parties (182 requests);
• Other factors (one request), 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 2018-19 reporting period, the ATIP Secretariat closed four requests past the legislated timeline. In 2019-20, the number closed past the legislated timeline was six, and in 2020-21, two 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.

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 2020-21 reporting period, extensions to process requests were taken for the following reasons:

• Paragraph 9(1)(a) – Extensions were taken 154 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 164 times to consult with other institutions or organizations. Of these, one was to consult with DFO’s Legal Services Unit 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 100 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 418 extensions taken,

• 108 were for 30 days or less
• 169 were for 31-60 days
• 74 were for 61-120 days
• 41 were for 121-180 days
• 18 were for 181-365 days
• 8 were 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” refers to federal institutions subject to the Access to Information Act. Organizations include the governments of the provinces, territories and municipalities, and of other countries.

In 2020-21, DFO processed 164 consultation requests; 145 of these were received during the reporting period and 19 requests were outstanding from the previous reporting period. Of these 164 consultations, DFO completed 139 requests and carried forward 25 requests into the next reporting period.

Recommendations and completion time

During the period of 2020-21, 100 of the consultation requests completed by DFO were received from other government institutions. Of these requests, 69 (69%) were completed within 30 days and 31 (31%) took more than 60 days to complete. In 67 requests (67%), DFO recommended the consulting institution disclose the information in its entirety.

DFO completed 39 consultation requests from organizations in 2020‑21; 32 (82%) of these consultations were completed within 30 days and seven (18%) 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 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 one consultation in 2020-21. A response was received for this request within 31 to 60 days. No consultation on Cabinet Confidences was forwarded to PCO during the 2020-21 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: $2,415
• 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 113 requests amounting to $565.
• cost of operating the program: $2,246,627

Training and awareness

ATIP training is mandatory for all DFO executives and individuals acting in an executive position for more than four months. 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.

The ATIP Secretariat increased the frequency of training sessions offered from semi-annually to monthly as well as ad-hoc training sessions that are tailored to program’s needs continue to be offered to participants. Accessing available ATIP training options have been streamlined and participants can now sign up for training sessions on the ATIP Secretariat’s intranet page.

The ATIP Secretariat also launched a targeted training approach to train all sectors and regions within a 12-month cycle. The ATIP program began providing these targeted training sessions to programs across DFO and CCG at the end of the third quarter of this reporting period.

During the 2020-21 reporting period, DFO provided ATIP training to 979 participants. These sessions focused on processing access to information requests and protecting personal information.

DFO also 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 2020-21. During this reporting period, 311 DFO and CCG participants completed CSPS ATIP-related training courses. Table 3 highlights all ATIP-related training activities undertaken during the reporting period.

Table 3: ATIP-related training and awareness activities in 2020-21

During the second quarter of 2020-21, DFO launched ATIP Connection, a quarterly newsletter created to share information on diverse ATIP-related topics. The newsletter aims to raise more awareness with DFO and CCG employees about ATIP related issues and developments. This Newsletter is also geared towards broadening the department’s understanding of ATIP while keeping everyone one up to date on ATIP related news.

DFO also reinstated monthly meetings between the ATIP Secretariat and ATIP contacts. ATIP contacts are the primary liaison officers between their respective sectors or regions and the ATIP Secretariat for the purpose of processing formal ATIP requests. These meetings serve as an additional forum to share new information and guidance about the overall records retrieval process, discuss key responsibilities and expectations under the ATIP contact role, and discuss ideas and opportunities for improvements.

Policies, guidelines, procedures and initiatives

Digital strategy

Over the current reporting period, the ATIP Secretariat expanded upon the digital strategy that started in the previous reporting period. From desktop computers to laptops, printing and photocopying to digital file transfer, and traditional postal service to instant electronic transmittal, the digital strategy has revolutionized DFO’s process for treating formal ATIP requests.

The digital strategy was fully implemented across DFO at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 with its inception in last year’s Paper Reduction Initiative. With an unprecedented number of employees working remotely from the workplace, the digital strategy ensured that reasonable efforts to process and respond to ATIP requests were made while making the health and safety of employees and the community a priority.

In collaboration with the DFO Information Management Branch, a solution was developed and implemented to permit the electronic transmittal of records (up to and including Protected B) to the ATIP Secretariat when treating formal ATIP requests. Through this solution, the traditional paper-based process of printing or photocopying records was replaced with the digital process of securely transmitting records via GCdocs.

The digital strategy also presented digital solutions to mitigate the impact of general access to traditional mail services. File sharing platforms were adopted to send unclassified records to external recipients; and the use of epost Connect was used to transmit records (up to and including Protected B) to requesters, other federal institutions, third party organizations, and other governments.

The electronic transmittal process and use of virtual mailing services have transformed the ATIP Secretariat’s process for treating formal ATIP requests. Outcomes achieved by the digital strategy have included:

• realizing overall efficiencies in service delivery
• generating cost savings to DFO and CCG
• reducing DFO’s environmental footprint
• maintaining service excellence and strong on time compliance rate throughout the pandemic period

Impact of COVID-19 on the administration of the Access to Information Act

ATIP was met with the challenge of the COVID-19 global pandemic in March 2020 and throughout the current reporting period.

The right of access is a quasi-constitutional right; however, the processing of ATIP requests is not considered a critical service for the purpose of business continuity planning. Despite this being the case, DFO remained committed throughout the pandemic period to continue providing uninterrupted services to Canadians.

Through the solutions developed and implemented in the digital strategy, DFO was able to mitigate technical gaps and operational barriers to ensure business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. These solutions represent the DFO ATIP program’s resilience, ability to remain agile, develop and adopt innovative solutions, and be equipped to overcome barriers that would otherwise have impeded on DFO’s excellent record in delivering results.

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 Information 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 2020-21, DFO received 19 new complaints. DFO also worked with the OIC to finalize 14 complaints. Of the 14 complaints finalized, 11 were received in 2019-20, and three other complaints were received in 2020-21.

DFO reviews the outcomes of the Information Commissioner’s report of findings or recommendations, and where appropriate, incorporates lessons learned into business processes. Of the 14 complaints resolved this reporting period, only three were found to be well‑founded.

Monitoring compliance

During the past reporting period, DFO proactively published certain information including titles and tracking numbers of briefing notes, briefing packages for Parliamentary Committee appearances, and Question Period notes in accordance with Part 2 of the Access to Information Act. DFO has maintained 100% compliance with proactive disclosure requirements under Bill C-58 since becoming law. A cornerstone to this success can be attributed to DFO’s Framework on Proactive Disclosures that was developed and implemented in 2019.

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 DFO 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

Description

Copy of the Delegation Order designating the director and deputy directors of the ATIP Secretariat to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Minister as the head of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, under the provisions of the Privacy Act and related Regulations.

Appendix B: 2020-21 Statistical report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.3 Informal requests

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

Section 3: Requests closed during the reporting period

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