Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Suzanne Legault
Interim Information Commissioner of Canada
April 2010
Email: general@oic-ci.gc.ca
Website: www.oic-ci.gc.ca
Printed on paper containing over 10% total recovered fibre. All post consumer fibre.
ii
A Special Report to Parliament
April 2010
Pursuant to section 39 of the Access to Information Act, I have the honour to submit to Parliament a
special report entitled Out of Time: 2008–2009 Report Cards and Systemic Issues Affecting Access to
Information in Canada.
This report is part of my office’s ongoing work to shed light on how federal institutions comply with
the Act. Following up last year’s report on chronic delays and pervasive access issues, we monitored
the implementation of our recommendations and resulting action plans, and we enlarged our sample
of institutions to provide more quantitative and qualitative data for this year’s report cards. Our
findings show that little progress has been achieved so far to remedy the root causes of delay across
the system. Of the 24 institutions assessed this year, 13 performed below average or worse. This
report documents once again key issues that Parliament may wish to address to improve the
performance of the access system.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Legault
Interim Information Commissioner of Canada
iii
Out of Time
April 2010
Pursuant to section 39 of the Access to Information Act, I have the honour to submit to Parliament a
special report entitled Out of Time: 2008–2009 Report Cards and Systemic Issues Affecting Access
to Information in Canada.
This report is part of my office’s ongoing work to shed light on how federal institutions comply with
the Act. Following up last year’s report on chronic delays and pervasive access issues, we monitored
the implementation of our recommendations and resulting action plans, and we enlarged our sample
of institutions to provide more quantitative and qualitative data for this year’s report cards. Our
findings show that little progress has been achieved so far to remedy the root causes of delay across
the system. Of the 24 institutions assessed this year, 13 performed below average or worse. This
report documents once again key issues that Parliament may wish to address to improve the
performance of the access system.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Legault
Interim Information Commissioner of Canada
iv
A Special Report to Parliament
Contents
Appendix A 137
Appendix B 147
1
Out of Time
2
A Special Report to Parliament
Executive summary
This special report is part of the Office of Canada with 34 days—managed to come primarily due to senior management’s
the Information Commissioner’s Three-Year close to the 30-day timeframe. The figure ongoing support for a compliance-prone
Plan for Report Cards and Systemic reached as high as 157 days on average culture. Three institutions achieved greater
Issues.1 This Plan aims to assess and for the Privy Council Office and 163 days success than in the previous reporting
investigate the extent and root causes of for Foreign Affairs and International year. The Canada Border Services
chronic delays across federal institutions in Trade Canada. This is of great significance Agency and Public Works and
handling access to information requests. given the high number of mandatory Government Services Canada had
consultation requests these two institu- an above average performance due to
Pursuant to the Access to Information tions process. effectively implementing three-year action
Act, institutions have 30 days to complete plans aimed at improving compliance.
access requests, or may claim a time We also looked at the number of requests The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
extension in limited and specific circum- responded to after statutory deadlines substantially improved its performance
stances. In 2008–2009, 44 percent of have been missed as an indicator of by introducing procedures to reduce
all complaints received by the Office of institutions’ commitment to assist request- turnaround time for record retrievals and
the Information Commissioner related ers as promptly as possible. We found that reducing its deemed refusal rate.
to delays and time extensions. And of over one-fourth (27 percent) of all overdue
those delay-related complaints that were requests took more than 60 days to close Twelve institutions performed at a below
completed with a finding, three out of four after their original due date (either 30 days average or unsatisfactory level. They
were resolved with merit. or an extended deadline). accounted for 9,047 (or 27 percent) of all
the access requests made to the federal
We enlarged our sample for this year’s Our analysis clearly confirmed the government in 2008–2009. (This percent-
report cards process to 24 institutions, increasing misuse of time extensions age increases to 45 percent if we remove
which represent 88 percent of all access as well as the number and duration of the large share of requests sent to
requests submitted in 2008–2009. We inter-institutional consultations as the most Citizenship and Immigration Canada.) Most
selected all institutions against which we common causes of delay. Under-resourced of them had deemed refusal rates of well
had received at least five delay-related institutions are increasingly using exten- over 20 percent, reaching a high of nearly
complaints (requests completed late and sions as an administrative measure to 60 percent, as indicated above. Their
problems due to the time extensions that cope with heavy workloads, which in our poor performance resulted from the
institutions claimed to process requests) view is contrary to the spirit of the Act following factors to varying degrees:
during the reference period. This sample and the intent behind the provision for insufficient resources, dispersed delega-
generated enough statistical data and extensions. The increasing number of tion orders, drawn out review and approval
information on contextual factors for a consultations creates bottlenecks within processes, high staff turnover, and
sound, fact-based assessment of delays. the system. At the time of going to press, extensive or inappropriate use of time
recent complaints also highlighted the risk extensions. Some of these institutions
of delays stemming from alleged interfer-
Access delays also had a major impact on the access
ences in the processing of requests or system as a whole given their pivotal role
For a detailed assessment of delays, we delegation authorities. in the mandatory consultation process.
used three indicators, which together Foreign Affairs and International
expose different facets of timeliness. Institutional report cards Trade Canada’s performance was so
Looking at the deemed refusal rate— poor that the OIC could not rate it against
i.e. the percentage of requests that have As this year’s report cards indicate, timeli- its established criteria.
exceeded the statutory timelines—we ness was once again an issue for all
found a very large range between institutions. Of the 24 institutions assessed
Systemic issues
institutions, from 0 percent for Telefilm this year, 13 had a below average or inferior
Canada to 59.6 percent for Foreign Affairs performance in 2008–2009. Our holistic approach to assessing delays
and International Trade Canada (DFAIT). in responses to access requests enables
Both Citizenship and Immigration
a more in-depth analysis of recurring and
As for the average completion time, only Canada and Department of Justice
system-wide issues facing most institutions.
one institution—Citizenship and Immigration Canada achieved a perfect score
1 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_3_yrs_plan.aspx 3
Out of Time
This year’s report cards process confirmed increasingly using extensions as an Recommendations and
across a wider spectrum of institutions the administrative measure to cope with heavy commitments
presence and persistence of the five workloads. The OIC will closely monitor the
systemic issues that were identified last use of time extensions through the extension Despite warnings and recommendations
year. It has also highlighted flawed or notices it receives. These notices are the to individual institutions as well as the
ill-enforced delegation orders as another only means of accountability for exten- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat,
significant obstacle to timely access. sions provided for by the Act aside from little progress has been achieved so far
complaints. Better statistics are also to remedy the root causes of delay
Delegation orders set out the powers, required to accurately track the use and across the system. As mentioned, there
duties and responsibilities that are being length of time extensions and thereby is an urgent need for an action plan to
delegated by the institutional head for hold institutions accountable. address the current shortage of access
administering the Act within the organiza- to information staff. In the absence of
tion. Our process uncovered oral evidence Inter-institutional consultations legislated reform, more detailed and
of delegation orders with multiple layers represent a definite challenge for the timely reliable information is also required—
of review and approval which, in some delivery of information. Only the institution notably on time extensions, consultations,
instances, resulted in additional and subject to the request is currently account- workload and outcomes—to accurately
unwarranted delays. Given this evidence, able for meeting the requirements of the measure institutions’ overall performance in
we will examine through a systemic Act. This compounds the problem of meeting their obligations under the Act and
investigation whether these practices bottlenecks resulting from the increasing improve accountability mechanisms.
further delay responses to access number of mandatory consultations. There
requests or whether they have a negative are still no data to measure the magnitude For its part, the Office of the Information
impact on the amount of information and impact of consultations. Commissioner has fulfilled the commit-
disclosed. Greater guidance is also ments contained in last year’s report.
required to achieve appropriate, efficient Evidence shows that insufficient Specifically, revised disposition catego-
and transparent delegation orders and resources—funds, staff and tools— ries for closed complaints will soon be
prevent improper influence on the undermine the effectiveness of access introduced to provide a more accurate
processing of access requests. to information. This deficiency also picture of institutional performance. We
creates excessive risks, including the have also taken steps to begin measur-
Leadership is clearly the single most erosion of requesters’ right to informa- ing the degree to which institutions are
important determinant of how well tion. Sustained compliance can only be releasing records in accordance with the
institutions fulfill their obligations under achieved with permanent and qualified Act. After updating our Three-Year Plan2
the Act. Senior management’s commit- staff and proper tools. An integrated in light of recent developments, we will
ment to the access regime determines human resources action plan is urgently move ahead with a thorough systemic
the level of resources allocated to their required to address the shortage of staff. investigation into the causes and sources
access program as well as the degree of delays across the system.
of institutional openness. The criteria Finally, access to information relies
under the Management Accountability heavily on sound records manage- As the Interim Commissioner stated
Framework must be revised to ade- ment. Institutions that are unable to before the House of Commons Standing
quately measure institutional compliance, effectively manage information requested Committee on Access to Information,
which will serve to hold institutional under the Act face time-consuming Privacy and Ethics, the Office of the
heads and senior managers accountable retrieval of records, uncertain, incom- Information Commissioner will work
for their performance. plete or unsuccessful searches, as well closely with institutions to better
as the risk of substantial delays and understand the challenges they face in
As stated earlier, the misuse of time complaints. Long-term initiatives have providing greater access to information.
extensions represents an important been undertaken to address information It will provide greater guidance through
cause of delay within the system. We management deficiencies across practice directions and other means to
observed an inconsistent application of government, but they require sustained improve the timeliness of responses to
paragraph 9(1)(a), which provides for efforts and commitment to achieve the access requests and accelerate the
the use of time extensions in specific expected results. resolution of complaints.
circumstances. Contrary to the spirit of
the Act, under-resourced institutions are
2 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_3_yrs_plan.aspx
4
A Special Report to Parliament
Introduction
This year’s special report takes timeli- government make it a priority to address
ness as its chief focus. It looks at how the rampant problem of delays, which The Access to Information Act
well 24 federal institutions—representing can be significantly reduced through gives Canadian citizens, residents
88 percent of all access requests— administrative measures with the and companies the right to request
handled those requests in 2008–2009 concerted will of all key players. and receive information that federal
and examines the factors that affect the institutions have, including docu-
capacity of the system as a whole to Chapter 1 of the report provides a
ments, pictures, letters, emails and
deliver timely service to Canadians.3 fact-based assessment of the extent
memos. There are some limitations,
and immediate causes of delay across
however: for example, institutions
The results of the previous report cards the system. Chapter 2 takes stock of
may withhold all or portions of
process4 had showed that timeliness is no the progress achieved in implementing
records that contain personal
longer the norm for federal institutions, nor last year’s recommendations to deal with
information, Cabinet confidences
an ideal, in answering access to informa- various issues that have a significant
or information that, if released,
tion requests. In light of this, the Office of impact on timeliness across government.
could harm Canada’s security.
the Information Commissioner (OIC) set This chapter also reports on another
as the goal for its Three-Year Plan on systemic issue impeding access, which The Office of the Information
Report Cards and Systemic Issues5 to surfaced during this year’s exercise. Commissioner helps ensure that
probe the root causes of this problem in Chapter 3 describes actions that the federal institutions respect the
order to devise appropriate solutions. OIC will undertake within its mandate Act and provide timely access to
to address delay issues. Chapter 4 information, to keep the federal
This year’s exercise—unprecedented in presents the report cards of the government accountable
scope—is meant to offer a fact-based 24 institutions assessed this year. to Canadians.
assessment of the situation with a view
to improving timeliness. In the absence The information in this report comes
of legislated reform, it is imperative to from a number of sources, including
gather reliable and detailed information to institutions’ responses to our question-
accurately assess institutions’ compliance naire,6 which asked for both statistics
with the Act and to develop better mecha- and narrative answers to specific ques-
nisms for holding institutions accountable tions, as well as from interviews with key
before the Canadian public. access to information officials following
up on their answers to the questionnaire.
This is particularly timely, since the Minister We supplemented that information with
of Justice indicated to the House of printouts from institutions’ case manage-
Commons Standing Committee on ment systems, institutions’ annual
Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics reports on access to information, and
in October 2009 that the government our own files. Our conclusions stem from
would look at administrative alternatives our analysis of all the information these
to remedy the shortcomings of the sources brought to light.
Act. We strongly recommend that the
3 Figures provided to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat by 241 federal institutions subject to the Access to Information Act show that they received
34,041 requests in 2008–2009. The 24 institutions we surveyed this year account for 88 percent or 29,845 of that total. See www.infosource.gc.ca.
4 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_2007-2008.aspx
5 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_3_yrs_plan.aspx
6 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rep-pub-spec_rep-rap_spec-quest-2008-2009_questionnaires.aspx
5
Out of Time
7 According to TBS statistics, in 2008-2009, 57.1 percent of all requests received by 241 institutions were completed within 30 days; 20.2 percent were completed
between 31 and 60 days; 10.3 percent between 61 and 120 days; and 12.5 percent beyond 120 days. See http://www.infosource.gc.ca.
8 http://www.infosource.gc.ca
6
A Special Report to Parliament
To supplement existing data and derive responded to after the statutory dead- The goal for institutions is to have as
enough information to further analyze the lines. These indicators taken together few deemed refusals as possible. As
issue, the Office of the Information expose different facets of timeliness. illustrated in Figure 3, the range of
Commissioner expanded the sample of deemed refusals between institutions is
institutions this year to 24 institutions. The OIC has long used the deemed large. This variance may be attributable
This sample accounts for 88 percent of refusal rate to measure an institution’s to a number of factors including the level
all access requests made to the federal compliance with statutory timelines. of resources, the length or complexity
government. The quantitative data came Pursuant to the Act, requesters have of approval processes as well as records
from institutions’ responses to our a right to timely access to information. management practices within the
questionnaire9 and printouts from each As a result, a delayed response is institution. Most institutions, however,
institution’s case management system. considered to be a deemed refusal. mention inter-institutional consultations
In 2008–2009, the OIC received as an important factor in delays and a
The questionnaire included three time 261 complaints about deemed refusals; great source of frustration, because this
indicators, namely the deemed-refusal among those that were completed with delay is often out of their control. These
rate, the average completion time and a finding, 80 percent were resolved factors are discussed at greater length in
the number of requests the institution with merit. the following chapter on systemic issues.
60
50
40
Percentage
30
20
10
0
Telefilm Canada
Department of
Justice Canada
Public Works and Government
Services Canada
Canada Border
Services Agency
Citizenship and
Immigration Canada
Industry Canada
National Defence
Transport Canada
Royal Canadian
Mounted Police
Health Canada
Canadian Security
Intelligence Service
Canadian Food
Inspection Agency
Environment Canada
Canadian International
Development Agency
Canadian Heritage
9 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rep-pub-spec_rep-rap_spec-quest-2008-2009_questionnaires.aspx
7
Out of Time
Deemed refusals signal delays. However, 61 and 90 days; 6 more responded The number of requests responded to
they provide little information about the between 91 and 120 days, while the last after the statutory deadlines—and
duration of delays. Figure 4 provides 5 institutions reached levels as high as how late those responses were—is a
an additional level of information about 157 and 163 days on average. The critical indicator of an institution’s
institutions’ response time. As illustrated, complexity of requests has an obvious commitment to complete requests as
Canadians may frequently have to wait impact on the time an institution takes to quickly as possible. We found that once a
much more than 30 days to receive a process those requests, as do consulta- response to a request is late, there is no
response to their requests. Of the 24 tions and the volume of pages to review. guarantee that it will be answered quickly
institutions surveyed, 7 responded to However, time extensions are the main after that.
access requests within 31 and 60 days culprit for average completion time
on average; 6 responded between beyond 30 days.
180
150
120
Number of days
90
60
30
30 day statutory deadline
0
Citizenship and
Immigration Canada
Royal Canadian
Mounted Police
Canada Border
Services Agency
Industry Canada
Canadian Food
Inspection Agency
Department of
Justice Canada
Transport Canada
Environment Canada
Canadian Heritage
Telefilm Canada
National Defence
Health Canada
Canadian International
Development Agency
8
A Special Report to Parliament
Figure 5 How long requests completed late were overdue, 24 institutions, 2008–2009
650
600
200
Number of requests
150
100
50
0
Canada Border
Services Agency
Canadian Food
Inspection Agency
Canadian Heritage
Canadian International
Development Agency
Canadian Security
Intelligence Service
Citizenship and
Immigration Canada
Correctional Service
of Canada
Department of
Justice Canada
Environment Canada
Fisheries and
Oceans Canada
Health Canada
Industry Canada
National Defence
Royal Canadian
Mounted Police
Telefilm Canada
Transport Canada
Overdue by 1–30 days Overdue by 31–60 days Overdue by 61–90 days Overdue by more than 90 days
As illustrated in Figure 5, of the 2,216 (with ratings between 4 and 5) are requests within 30 days of receipt.
requests that the 24 institutions com- performing well with respect to the Extended time may be claimed if there
pleted after their original due date timeliness of their responses to access are many records to examine, other
(either 30 days or an extended deadline), requests. They have sound and efficient federal institutions to consult or third
594 (27 percent) took more than 60 days processes in place and make the best parties to notify. The legislators’ intent
to close. During interviews, officials from of the tools at their disposal. As a result, was that extensions would be for a
at least one institution said that they are they have provided timely services to “reasonable” period of time, so that
likely to choose to complete a request requesters with limited meritorious requesters would still have timely access
that is still on time over one that is complaints. By contrast, about half of the to information. However, the Act sets no
already late, in order to improve their institutions surveyed have had a below limits on how long an extension can be
report card rating. We find this practice average or unsatisfactory performance. and does not prescribe criteria for what
somewhat troubling and we are con- constitutes “reasonable.” It leaves it to
cerned that there could be more What are the immediate causes of delay institutions to determine what would be
instances of institutions placing less in responding to access requests? reasonable based on the particular
emphasis on overdue requests than circumstances of the request.
The inappropriate use of time
on more recent requests.
extensions is a leading and well
Overall, looking at the results from this recognized cause of delays. Federal
year’s report cards, some institutions institutions must complete access
9
Out of Time
With limited scrutiny, time extensions Prolonged delays due to consultations delays and time extensions will therefore
have become more frequent and longer have therefore given rise to various be expanded to examine alleged political
over the years. Looking at complaints circumventing tactics to manage the risk or other improper interferences with
registered in 2008–2009, institutions’ of delays, which are cause for concern. the processing of access requests and
use of time extensions is the most For example, institutions may routinely with established delegated authorities.
important ground for complaining take longer time extensions than
(31 percent) to the Information Commis warranted to ensure that requests Last year’s special report called on
sioner. For 70 percent of the complaints requiring consultations are completed TBS to improve the scope of statistics
completed with a finding, time extensions within the set timelines. They may collected annually, particularly regarding
were not applied appropriately. The encourage requesters to narrow the completion time, extensions and consulta-
Office of the Information Commissioner scope of their requests to exclude records tions. Although the Secretariat has
will probe the use and duration of time rather than risk lengthy delays due to carried out some groundwork to collect
extensions as part of the systemic consultations—a tactic that, in some additional statistics in 2010–2011,
investigation that it is conducting cases, might also limit the information implementation has been delayed. In
pursuant to subsection 30(3) of the Act. to which requesters may be entitled. practical terms, informative and com-
Alternatively, institutions may choose to parative data on performance will not
As mentioned earlier, inter-institutional close request files before consultations be publicly available in the near future.
consultations are also a well recognized are completed, therefore jeopardizing Yet this information is crucial to holding
source of delays. Federal institutions future follow-ups on the request. institutions accountable for their perfor-
frequently consult other institutions mance under the Act.
before determining whether to exempt, It is difficult at this time to accurately
exclude or disclose records. In order to assess the impact of inter-institutional Based on the information derived from
do so, they may claim a time extension consultations on delays because there this year’s expanded report cards
to allow the other institution(s) to provide are still no statistics on this issue. We process, the next chapter provides an
their views. The time needed to complete will examine the volume of consultations, in-depth look at a number of significant
the consultation in order to release the particularly mandatory consultations, as issues that affect the performance of the
information to the requester then depends part of our systemic investigation into access to information system, particu-
on the efficiency and goodwill of the delays and time extensions. larly in providing timely service delivery
institution being consulted. There are to Canadians.
currently neither requirements nor Recent high-profile complaints to the
incentives to quickly process consulta- Information Commissioner have high-
tion requests, even where required by lighted yet another source of delays in
government policy. responses to access requests. The
scope of our systemic investigation into
10
A Special Report to Parliament
A systemic issue is a system-wide A key player is the access to information It follows that a delegation order must be
development that affects the capacity coordinator. Ideally, the coordinator appropriate, efficient and transparent.
of institutions to fulfill their obligations receives full delegated authority for the This means that responsibilities should
under the Access to Information Act. If access program. In reality, the roles and be delegated to officials who have full
not properly addressed, it may become responsibilities of coordinators, their knowledge of the legislation and jurispru-
the norm and negatively impact the levels within the management structure dence. Associated review and approval
system as a whole, translating into less and the amount of authority they have processes should not cause any delay in
government accountability and greater for administering the Act vary widely the processing of access requests or
infringements of requesters’ rights to across government. Some institutions unduly restrict disclosure under the Act.
access information. have expansive delegation, with various
people involved in approvals and The President of the Treasury Board
Five systemic issues were identified in sign-offs, which protracts the approval recently finalized a study of best
last year’s special report: leadership, process. In other cases, the coordinator practices for access to information
as the most determining factor; time may have the authority on paper but in requests subject to special processing.
extensions and consultations, the practice others intervene in the process This study stems from a recommenda-
immediate causes of delay as discussed or question the coordinator’s decisions tion made in the Canadian Newspaper
in Chapter 1; resources; and records on which records to release. Association investigation.10 Among the
management. The Office of the Information 18 best practices listed in the TBS
Commissioner (OIC) made several At the time of going to press, the OIC report, the first one recommends that
recommendations to the Treasury Board of had undertaken to investigate a series the coordinator be delegated full authority
Canada Secretariat (TBS) and the Canada of complaints highlighting the risks of by the head of the institution for the
School of Public Service in order to political interference and delays that may administration of the Act.
address these issues. As the update stem from inappropriate or ill-enforced
below shows, much remains to be delegation orders.
accomplished and therefore, the same
An appropriate delegation of authority Recommendation 1
issues have resurfaced this year.
is crucial to a well functioning access That the Treasury Board of Canada
This year’s process has also uncovered to information program. A delegation Secretariat assess the extent to which
oral evidence that delegation orders have order requiring multiple layers of senior institutions implement the best practices
a direct and significant impact on the management and ministerial review and on the delegation of powers, duties and
ability of institutions to meet the statu- approval heavily taxes senior manage- functions pursuant to section 73 of the
tory deadlines for responding to requests ment’s time and is likely to generate Access to Information Act with the view
for information. delays. If the delegation order requires to achieving appropriate, efficient and
senior managers to apply exemptions transparent delegation orders.
and exclusions, they may not have the
Delegation orders expertise to interpret these provisions of
the Act and may be ill-prepared to defend
Pursuant to the Act, the head of each
their decisions before the OIC during an
institution is responsible for the adminis-
investigation. The greater risk, however,
tration of the Act within the institution.
is the potential to negatively impact
Through a delegation order, he or she
requesters’ rights to be given timely
delegates specific authorities to officials
access to records and to obtain all the
to ensure that decisions are efficiently
information to which they are entitled
implemented at the proper level.
under the Act.
10 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/syst-inv_inv-syst_do_secret_rules_lead_to_delays.aspx
11
Out of Time
Leadership have made clear and strong statements met in 2008. Except for Telefilm Canada,
about the importance of access to all institutions surveyed this year in the
Executive leadership is the key to how information. However, judging from report cards process are subject to the
well institutions fulfill their obligations specific actions that undermine the MAF requirements on access to informa-
under the Act. As the policy centre, the system—such as funding cuts and tion. No institution scored a “strong
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is acceptance of poor performance performance.” Only 4 of the 23 institu-
responsible for giving institutions the ratings—it would seem that many tions (Canadian Heritage, Citizenship
guidance they need to implement the Act officials do not fully recognize the and Immigration Canada, Industry
correctly. Within institutions, it is the significance of the Act and the principles Canada and Privy Council Office) were
head and the officials with delegated of freedom of information. deemed to have an “acceptable perfor-
authority who are ultimately accountable. mance,” where no significant deficiencies
A successful access to information were observed and the indicators met
Throughout the research phase for this program depends, above all, on leader- TBS expectations. For the other 19
special report, it became apparent that ship. Therefore, recommendations must institutions, however, moderate deficien-
a large number of institutions still do not be directed to the officials who have the cies pointed to an “opportunity for
authority to implement them. In many improvement” with respect to their
instances, the OIC recommended to reporting requirements.
Best practices the head of the institution that he or she
take a strong leadership role in establish- Whether or not an institution complies
After a number of years struggling ing a culture of compliance and proactive with reporting requirements offers little
with substandard compliance with disclosure. Going one step further, a insight into their actual performance in
the Access to Information Act, strong message to support an institution’s providing timely access to information.
Canada Border Services Agency, careful and responsible stewardship of Indicators under the Management
the Department of Justice Canada access to information obligations would Accountability Framework (MAF) should
and Public Works and Government be to include access to information in measure the overall performance of
Services Canada developed managers’ performance agreements. federal institutions in meeting their
multi-year plans to bring about obligations under the Act. As a result, we
significant improvement. The plans Last year’s special report also recom- reiterate the recommendation from last
received strong support from mended that TBS review the current year’s special report about the necessity
senior officials and have resulted criteria in the Management Accountability to have stronger indicators in the MAF.
in stronger performances. Framework (MAF) to ensure that they
adequately measure institutions’ perfor-
mance in meeting their obligations under
give access to information the priority it the Act. TBS has reviewed the compliance Recommendation 2
deserves as a legislated responsibility. assessment methodology used for the MAF That, as part of the Management
Where deputy heads have fully assumed and will include new ATIP-related statistical Accountability Framework, the Treasury
their responsibilities, their institutions data to refine its performance monitoring Board of Canada Secretariat review
have demonstrated high levels of compli- capability. (See Appendix A for the TBS current criteria to ensure that they are
ance or drastic improvements in recent response to OIC recommendations.) measuring the overall performance
years. Employees in both the access of federal institutions in meeting their
Round VI of the MAF11 provided an assess- obligations under the Access to
to information offices and the program
ment of whether the statutory and
areas took their cues from leaders who Information Act.
regulatory requirements of the Act were
11 he methodology used by TBS during Round VI primarily looked at the public reporting aspect of institutional performance, namely the submission of an annual
T
report to Parliament, compliance with all mandatory reporting requirements in the annual report, publication of the institution-specific classes of records in
accordance with TBS requirements, and publication of the institution’s information holdings, programs, activities and related information in the 2008 Info Source.
12
A Special Report to Parliament
12 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_2007-2008_25.aspx
13
Out of Time
Consultations the consulting institution can close the In the case of mandatory consultations,
associated access requests and release much of the time a file stays with the
Institutions regularly consult with one the information to requesters. institution being consulted is spent
another about information in records waiting in queue to be processed. This
subject to an access to information Consultations with other federal institu- forces consulting institutions to adopt
request, to confirm what information tions represent a definite challenge circumventing tactics to manage the risk
may be released or exempted (paragraph because the institution in receipt of the of delays resulting from the consultation
9(1)(b)). Treasury Board (TB) policy request remains responsible for complet- process. Institutions claim long, blanket
requires federal institutions to consult ing the request within the statutory time extensions as a contingency, to
on requests involving the application of timelines. However, it is entirely depen- ensure that the requests are completed
exemptions relating to international dent upon the efficiency and goodwill of
affairs, defence and national security the consulted institution to complete the
(section 15), and exemptions relating consultation in a timely fashion.
to law enforcement and penal institutions
Best practices
Institutions that receive mandatory
(section 16). TB policy also requires Public Safety Canada has adopted
consultation requests like those in Figure 1
institutions to consult the Privy Council a firm stance against situations
have an additional responsibility to
Office (PCO) to confirm whether records where the institution consulted
ensure that their performance does not
are Cabinet confidences. These are called fails to respond on time. It uses its
significantly affect the workings of the
“mandatory consultations.” own judgment to decide what to
access to information program. A poor
performance on their part creates release, applying the necessary
bottlenecks that have rippling effects exemptions itself.
Best practices across the system and negatively affect
The Canada Border Services
requesters’ rights.
Contacting the institution being Agency, the Department of
consulted to mutually determine Due to the lack of information on Justice Canada, Citizenship
how long the consultation will take consultations, the current system does and Immigration Canada and
is a best practice more institutions not place responsibility for action where the Canadian International
should adopt. It is standard it belongs. There is no incentive in law, in Development Agency have
procedure at the Canadian Food policy, in performance agreements or developed protocols with
Inspection Agency, Industry under the Management Accountability the institutions they consult
Canada, and Canadian Heritage. Framework for the consulted institution frequently, to expedite the
to respond quickly or to treat a consulta- consultation process.
tion as a priority.
The volume of these mandatory consulta- All institutions in this year’s report cards
tions has grown over the years such that process reported that the turnaround within the timelines. Many accept the
it now accounts for a significant part of time for consultations is increasing and response times set by their counterparts
some institutions’ workloads. (See the deadlines for responses are often being (in cases where they ask) and do not
workload distribution below in the missed. This is particularly the case challenge unreasonable turnaround times
institutions most frequently consulted.) when dealing with Foreign Affairs and when circumstances would sensibly
As a result, many institutions no longer International Trade Canada and the PCO warrant this (such as for very small or
quickly respond to consultation requests. Cabinet Confidences Counsel. straightforward records packages).
This in turn affects the speed at which
14
A Special Report to Parliament
Royal Canadian
Mounted Police 2008 531
Some institutions have also implemented statistical data will track the volume of Recommendation 4
a practice of closing files before the consultations. However, none of these
That the Treasury Board of Canada
consultation is completed in order to measures are in force at this time.
Secretariat, together with relevant
avoid any negative effect on their (See Appendix A for the TBS response
institutions, assess the magnitude of
compliance rate. to OIC recommendations.)
consultations between federal institutions
In last year’s special report, the OIC We reiterate the recommendation and the impact of such consultations
recommended that TBS assess the from last year’s special report about on institutions’ workloads with a view
magnitude of consultations, including the necessity to assess the magnitude to allocating appropriate resources for
mandatory consultations, and their and impact of consultations. this function.
impact on the workloads of institutions.
TBS reported that it has examined the
issue. However, no specific action was
taken during the reference period to
assess the impact of consultations. The
Proposed Directive on the Administration
of the Access to Information Act
mentions the importance of timely
consultations. In addition, the new
15
Out of Time
Resources The Canada School has added access to the necessary personnel and financial
information into its information manage- resources in order to comply fully
A fully compliant access to information ment curriculum which underscores the with the Act. Some have faced major
program requires adequate resources. inextricable link between access and increases in their workload, which has
These include stable funding, a sufficient information management. Other courses had an important impact on the timeli-
number of qualified employees and for managers will be revised similarly. ness and quality of their responses to
modern tools to do the work on time access requests. It is therefore crucial
and efficiently. TBS organized a number of activities to develop an effective long-term
to support the access to information strategy for access to information
Last year’s special report included three community, including community operations. Sustained compliance can
recommendations for TBS on human meetings and awareness events. It is only be achieved with permanent and
resources and training. These called for also exploring new training opportunities qualified staff. Many institutions surveyed
developing and implementing an inte- with the Canada School. Both institutions have faced, over the years, successive
grated human resources action plan, are working together to implement the increases in the volume of requests
an extensive training program for Five-Year Integrated Learning and pages to review without equivalent
access to information specialists, Development Strategy for information increases in their resources. They have
and an integrated learning strategy management and access to information. often approached the problem with
for all employees of the public service.
short-term or temporary funding to deal
In contrast, TBS has been silent on the
It is in the area of training that most with the overflow.
development of an integrated human
progress has been achieved. After a resources action plan. It is looking to In addition, all institutions interviewed
successful pilot in the summer of 2009, develop competency profiles for the this year mentioned difficulties in staffing
the Canada School of Public Service access to information community, which their analyst positions due to a shortage
launched its new three-day access to will support recruitment and developmen- of qualified and experienced personnel.
information course for the federal public tal activities. (See Appendix A for the TBS Retention of qualified staff is also a great
service in the summer of 2009. To response to OIC recommendations.) challenge for institutions. As a result of
date, four sessions have been delivered
capacity gaps, access to information
to 73 participants. Additional sessions We have heard on numerous occasions
offices often had to invest considerable
are planned for the regions and online at that access to information offices across
time in staffing and training, causing
the end of fiscal year 2009−2010. The government are severely under-resourced.
further delays in responding to access
A realistic allocation of resources
requests. There is an urgent need to
constitutes a key feature of a well
develop a recruitment, renewal and
functioning access to information
Best practices retention strategy for access to informa-
program. Without the necessary
tion officers. We therefore reiterate
Library and Archives Canada resources, the effectiveness of the
another recommendation from last year’s
considers access to information program is compromised.
special report about the necessity to
as a mandatory service to
The risks from inadequate funding are develop and implement urgently an
Canadians. Senior officials
abundant, from the failure to meet legal integrated human resources action plan.
recognize, support and adequately
requirements of the Act to declining
fund the access to information
performance, exhaustion of staff and an
function. They also take a busi-
increase in complaints to the Information Recommendation 5
ness-like approach to ensuring
Commissioner. The ultimate risk is the
that requests are dealt with the That the Treasury Board of Canada
erosion of requesters’ right to informa-
greatest efficiency. Secretariat, in collaboration with relevant
tion. These risks, if realized, would
institutions and agencies, develop and
create negative public perceptions about
implement, as a matter of urgency, an
the transparency and openness of
integrated human resources action plan
government as a whole.
course will also be tailored for employ- to address the current shortage of
ees of Crown corporations that became In many instances during this year’s access to information staff.
subject to access legislation under the report cards process, the OIC recom-
Federal Accountability Act. mended that senior officials devote
16
A Special Report to Parliament
Record management Strategy and Action Plan, including a between poor information management
new Directive on Recordkeeping.13 It is and this type of complaint.
Information management goes hand in also working towards developing an
hand with access to information. Poor information management certification During the course of the report cards
information management makes the program for information management process, we have heard from institutions
retrieval of records time consuming, functional specialists. These activities are that their current practices have been
uncertain and incomplete. It also promising but will be implemented over a developed out of operational needs
increases the cost and the level of efforts five-year period. (See Appendix A for the without consideration to facilitating
associated with access to information. TBS response to OIC recommendations.) retrieval and disclosure of records. As
a result, all but a few signalled difficult
The OIC recommended that TBS assess In 2009−2010, Library and Archives retrieval of records. The OIC will follow
the state of information management Canada collaborated with TBS in imple- developments with great interest.
across government and develop an menting the Directive on Recordkeeping.
action plan to address institutional
deficiencies in this area, including It will be interesting to see if these initiatives
training on information management will actually translate into more effective
practices for the access to information access to information. About six percent
function. TBS reports that it carried out a of all complaints received by the OIC are
myriad of initiatives under the Government about incomplete searches or no records
of Canada’s Information Management found. We have often found a correlation
13 http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=16552§ion=text
17
Out of Time
3. OIC commitments
14 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/med-roo-sal-med_speeches-discours_1999_1.aspx
18
A Special Report to Parliament
15 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_3_yrs_plan.aspx
19
Out of Time
For the period 2008–2009, the Office For 2008–2009, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
of the Information Commissioner (OIC) Justice Canada and Citizenship and Canada’s performance was so poor
selected a large sample of 24 institutions Immigration Canada (CIC) achieved a that the OIC could not rate it against its
covered by the Access to Information Act perfect score. The former maintained established criteria. This is all the more
to analyze their performance in terms its performance from last year. As the troublesome given the high number of
of the timeliness of their responses to institution that received the largest volume mandatory consultations that this depart-
access requests. This group of institu- of access requests of any federal govern- ment receives. As a result, other institutions
tions received 88 percent of all federal ment institution, CIC tied first place. and requesters are held hostage by the
access requests in 2008–2009. They department’s dismal performance.
were selected on the basis of complaints Three institutions achieved greater
the OIC received during the reference success in 2008–2009 than in the Finally, following the review process,
period. All institutions against which previous reporting year: Canada Border the OIC decided not to rate Telefilm
we received at least five delay-related Services Agency, Public Works and Canada on its compliance with the Act
complaints (requests completed late Government Services Canada and the in 2008–2009, which was an atypical
and problems due to the time extensions Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The year for the institution. In particular,
that institutions claimed to process goal for these institutions is to sustain since 33 of the 39 complaints against
requests) were selected. The institutions’ their efforts, as there is room for Telefilm Canada were pending at the
responses to our assessment question- additional improvements. end of the year, the OIC did not have
naire16 are posted on the OIC website. a complete set of data on which to
Institutions that scored an average base its assessment.
We followed up on the 10 institutions and above average performance all
surveyed for our 2007–2008 Special faced varying challenges during the year
Report17 in order to report on their but were able to maintain a reasonable
implementation of action plans to address performance.
issues that were identified last year.
The performance of 12 institutions
The table below provides the 2008–2009 was below average or unsatisfactory
rating by institution. Scores ranging from in 2008–2009 for a variety of reasons.
one to five stars (or from F to A), as These institutions accounted for
explained in Appendix B, have been 9,047 (or 27 percent) of a total of
assigned to institutions based on their 34,041 access requests made to the
overall compliance. In response to federal government. (This percentage
feedback from institutions, our assess- increases to 45 percent if we remove
ment framework retained both the the large share of requests sent to CIC,
deemed refusal rate and the letter grade. the majority of which are privacy-related
We also looked at a broader picture of and as such can be processed more
institutional compliance, such as whether expeditiously.) Most of these institutions
institutions met their statutory obligation struggled with increases in requests,
to notify the Information Commissioner insufficient resources, and/or drawn-
every time they invoked a time extension out review and approval processes.
for more than 30 days and the length of They also made extensive use of time
time it took to process overdue requests extensions, many of which were applied
after the due date. inappropriately.
16 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rep-pub-spec_rep-rap_spec-quest-2008-2009_questionnaires.aspx
17 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_2007-2008.aspx
20
A Special Report to Parliament
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada 0 Off chart Red alert
21
Out of Time
Follow-up on an institution
assessed in 2007–2008
22
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada is responsible for preserving the documentary
heritage of Canada for the benefit of current and future generations, serving
as a source of enduring knowledge accessible to all. Library and Archives
Canada facilitates Canada’s cooperation among communities involved in the
acquisition, preservation and diffusion of knowledge, and serves as the
memory bank for the Government of Canada and its institutions.
Given Library and Archives Canada’s excellent progress in ensuring compliance with
the Access to Information Act, and the small number of delay-related complaints
(complaints about requests completed late and problems associated with time
extensions that institutions take to process requests) to the OIC during 2008–2009,
the OIC did not select this institution for this year’s report card process.
23
Out of Time
Institutions assessed in
2007–2008 and
reassessed in
2008–2009
24
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of • CBSA’s complaints record has improved in recent years: the number of com-
consultation plaints related to requests delayed beyond the timelines set out in the Access to
requests 299 Information Act decreased from 429 in 2006–2007 to 4 in 2008–2009. Over
the same period, the Office of the Information Commissioner found an increasing
• Number of complaints number of complaints related to time extensions to be not substantiated.
registered with • The access to information coordinator has full delegation of authority.
the Office of
the Information • Information management is an ongoing challenge due to legacy systems. CBSA
Commissioner 36 has committed to completing an analysis of its records and information man-
agement functions in 2010–2011. This analysis will form the foundation of an
• Number of complaints improved information and records management system.
the Office of the
• CBSA has to consult other institutions on 75 percent of the requests it receives.
Information
Commissioner • 13 percent of the extensions CBSA took in 2008–2009 were for more than
resolved 7** 120 days.
• CBSA submitted the required notices of extensions longer than 30 days to the
• Number of full-time
Office of the Information Commissioner 59 percent of the time.
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 20.9
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 25
Out of Time
Follow-up on 2007–2008
Deemed refusal rate, 2006 to 2008–2009
report card This graph shows the deemed
refusal rate for CBSA for the
80 last three reporting periods.
The Canada Border Services Agency’s
This is the percentage of carried
(CBSA) compliance with the Access to 60
Percentage
2008–2009 report card This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions CBSA reported to have taken in 2008–2009.
CBSA supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of the Access to
Information Act. CBSA submitted the notices 59 percent of the time in 2008–2009; the OIC expects this figure
CBSA continued to move toward full
to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
compliance with the Access to Information
Act in 2008–2009, achieving a deemed
refusal rate of just 4.7 percent, third deemed refusal rate was 33.5 percent. After receiving a first failing grade in
best among all the institutions surveyed The institution deserves praise for its 2006–2007, the institution made a
this year. This is a significant improve- turnaround. conscious effort to improve its compli-
ment from 2007–2008, when CBSA’s ance, developing an action plan to
26
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 500 18
16
2006–2007 to 2008–2009
400 14
These graphs show the number and outcome for two 12
types of complaint registered against CBSA in the last 300
10
three reporting periods: complaints about deemed 8
refusals (access to information requests that CBSA 40
6
delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and extended—
20 4
set out in the Access to Information Act) and complaints
2
about CBSA’s use of the time extensions allowed under
the Act. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC 0 0
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
finds to have merit and that the institution resolves to •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
CBSA went from generating 429 complaints about The number of time extension complaints increased over the
deemed refusals in 2006–2007 to only 4 in 2008–2009. last three years (3; 10; 16). The OIC found an increasing
number of these complaints to be not substantiated (0; 2; 5).
27
Out of Time
The vast majority of these requests CBSA was first part of the report card information management domains within
were actually privacy requests submitted process in 2006, and has made great the agency. This will act as the founda-
under the Access to Information Act strides since then in improving its tion for the implementation of processes
by individuals seeking reports on their compliance. The OIC will watch with and tools that will better equip the staff
interactions with the institution, for example, interest how the access to information to provide more timely and accurate
as a result of a stop at the border. office and the institution as a whole work search capabilities.
to sustain its high level of achievement.
The number of complaints to the OIC about
CBSA has decreased significantly in the 3. The Office of the Information
last three years—from 456 in 2006–2007 Recommendations Commissioner recommends that Canada
to 36 in 2008–2009—freeing up analysts Border Services Agency document and
to respond to access requests. 1. The Office of the Information review the criteria it uses for extensions
Commissioner recommends that Canada to ensure that the extensions are
CBSA has committed to improving its Border Services Agency strive to reduce reasonable and legitimate.
compliance rate in 2009–2010 and tackling its deemed refusal rate to zero.
several outstanding issues. Among these
Response
are the longer-than-necessary retrieval Response
time for records and the challenges CBSA supports this recommendation. It
CBSA supports this recommendation in has documented its criteria for exten-
associated with finding all the records
the context of the volume of requests we sions and incorporates those criteria in
relevant to requests. CBSA does not
receive. CBSA has improved its compli- ongoing advice, guidance and direction
have a centralized records management
ance with legislated timeframes compared to production staff. The criteria are
system, and the institution’s many older
to previous years. This was due to the reviewed on an ongoing basis and will
legacy systems are not integrated.
reduction of the backlog from previous also be examined annually in light of the
This means that records holders have
years, the introduction of new practices OIC report card.
difficulty quickly searching for and
and procedures (including further delega-
locating relevant records.
tion of responsibilities to team leaders),
Due to the subject matter, CBSA consulted and reorganization and growth of the 4. The Office of the Information
other institutions on more than 75 percent Access to Information and Privacy and Commissioner recommends that Canada
of the requests it received. For its part, Disclosure Policy Division. Taken together, Border Services Agency comply with the
CBSA has adjusted its procedure for we anticipate these measures will further Access to Information Act and notify the
handling incoming requests for consulta- reduce the number of deemed refusals. Office of the Information Commissioner
tions from other institutions. The access to of all the extensions it takes for more
information office now makes consultations than 30 days.
2. The Office of the Information
an equal priority to access requests, and
Commissioner recommends that Canada
employees are trained accordingly. Response
Border Services Agency identify and
CBSA supports this recommendation.
The OIC notes with concern that 13 percent implement the necessary enhancements
New staff directives and ongoing
of the extensions CBSA took in 2008– to records management systems to
reminders were implemented. In 2009–
2009 were for more than 120 days. ensure a quick and proper search of
2010, further training is being provided
records in response to an access to
to ensure consistent compliance with
CBSA reports that a tight fiscal situation information request.
this requirement.
has already meant that the access to
information office has lost support Response
positions and that there is less money CBSA supports this recommendation.
than might be ideal to carry out certain The Information Management Program
activities such as training. The OIC is within the Innovation, Science and
concerned that this diminished funding Technology Branch has committed, in
will compromise CBSA’s ability to comply 2010–2011, to completing its analysis
with the law. of the records management and
28
A Special Report to Parliament
• Deemed • Support for access to information from senior management has created a culture
refusal rate 3.6% *
of compliance across the organization.
• The access to information coordinator has full delegation, which is respected
• Average time throughout the institution.
to complete a
request (in days) 59 • Only three requests were completed after their due date, and each was closed
within 30 days of that deadline.
• Number of • The Office of the Information Commissioner resolved 2 out of 29 complaints,
consultation
requests 902 finding 14 of them to be not substantiated.
• The Department of Justice submitted notices of extensions of more than 30 days
• Number of complaints in 82 percent of cases.
registered with
the Office of
the Information
Commissioner 29
• Number of complaints
the Office of the
Information Commissioner
resolved 2**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 18.9
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and
extended) set out in the Access to Information Act.
(See Appendix B for the formula the Office of the
Information Commissioner used to calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves 29
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
Out of Time
Follow-up on 2007–2008 2008–2009 report card 3.6 percent of its requests falling into the
report card deemed refusal category. Moreover, it
The Department of Justice had another completed only three of the requests it
The Department of Justice Canada’s successful year in 2008–2009, with only received in 2008–2009 after their due
strong report card in 2007–2008 came
on the heels of several years of poor
ratings, starting in 2004. Through Deemed refusal rate, 2004 to 2008–2009 This graph shows the deemed
leadership at senior levels and by refusal rate for the Department
of Justice for the last five
implementing numerous process
reporting periods. This is the
improvements, the institution’s deemed 50
percentage of carried over and
refusal rate in 2007–2008 was just 40 new requests delayed each year
Percentage
4.4 percent, which put it among the top 30 beyond the deadlines (30 days
and extended) set out in the
institutions surveyed. A significant factor 20
Access to Information Act.
in any year for the institution is the 10
number of consultation requests it 0
receives; in 2007–2008, these outnum- 2004 2005 2006 2007–2008 2008–2009
This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions the Department of Justice reported to have taken
in 2008–2009. The institution supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of
the Access to Information Act. The Department of Justice submitted the notices 82 percent of the time in
2008–2009; the OIC expects this figure to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
30
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 16 16
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 14 14
12 12
These graphs show the number and outcome of two
types of complaint registered against the Department 10 10
of Justice in the last three reporting periods: complaints 8 8
about deemed refusals (access to information requests 6 6
that the Department of Justice delayed beyond the
4 4
deadlines—30 days and extended—set out in the
Access to Information Act) and complaints about the 2 2
Department of Justice’s use of the time extensions 0 0
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
allowed under the Act. Resolved complaints are those •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
that the OIC finds to have merit, and that the institution
resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. The number of deemed refusal complaints decreased There were two resolved time extension complaints in
significantly from 2006–2007 to 2008–2009 (from seven each of the first two reporting periods; there were none
to one). In 2008–2009, the Office of the Information in 2008–2009.
Commissioner found the one deemed refusal complaint
to be not substantiated.
31
Out of Time
candidates decided to remain with their Recommendations 2. The Office of the Information
current employer. Commissioner recommends that the
1. The Office of the Information Department of Justice Canada reduce
The Department of Justice reports Commissioner recommends that the its deemed refusal rate to zero.
frustration with other institutions for Department of Justice Canada cease
lengthy consultation processes on some suggesting to requesters that they Response
files, and continues to close partial eliminate potential Cabinet confidences
It has always been the Department of
release files, ensuring that applicants from their requests and follow due
Justice’s goal to reduce its deemed
are advised that more records may be process to ensure that requesters
refusal rate to zero. It will continue to
forthcoming, at which time complaint receive all the documents to which
strive to achieve that goal.
rights will still be in effect. In addition, they are legally entitled.
the institution suggests to requesters
that they could get their information Response 3. The Office of the Information
faster by not asking for records likely
The Department of Justice informs the Commissioner recommends that the
to contain Cabinet confidences. The OIC
applicant when the majority of the records Department of Justice Canada reduce its
has concerns about this practice, given
are subject to Cabinet confidences (i.e. draft average completion time for requests.
its potential to diminish the number of
bills and memoranda to Cabinet). This is
records requestors would otherwise
done with the assistance of the office of Response
have a right to receive or to compromise
primary interest within the department. It has always been the Department of
requestors’ rights. The Department of
Justice should exercise considerable Justice’s goal to reduce the average
In addition, the institution is being transpar-
caution if it chooses to continue this completion time. It will continue to strive
ent by giving requesters the opportunity to
practice. A better approach in the OIC’s to achieve that goal.
provide informed consent as to how to
view would be for it to follow the required proceed throughout the process. It also
procedure and consult with the Privy provides them with options when volume or 4. The Office of the Information
Council Office on records containing any search time is at issue. To assist request- Commissioner recommends that the
potential Cabinet confidences, bearing in ers, and as part of the “duty to assist,” an Department of Justice Canada comply
mind court decisions that require certain overview of the content of the records is with the Act and notify the Office of the
information, such as background material, provided up front. Moreover, this practice Information Commissioner of the
and analysis of problems or policy is consistent with our service standards, extensions it takes for more than
options, to be severed from records which are posted on the Department of 30 days.
containing Cabinet confidences. Justice website, under “Principles for
Assisting Applicants.”
The access to information community is Response
well aware of the Department of Justice’s It is the Department of Justice’s practice
success, and the OIC is encouraged to to notify the OIC of the extensions it
learn that federal institutions, as well as takes for more than 30 days. A reminder
their provincial counterparts in Quebec, will be sent to all employees of the
have approached the institution to find out access to information office.
more about its success. Initiatives such as
memoranda of understanding, service
standards for consultation turnaround
times and a streamlined approval
process—all within a very structured and
supported environment—position this
institution for continued success.
32
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of full-time • In light of its critical central role, DFAIT is working with central agencies to secure
equivalents in additional funding to fulfill its access to information obligations.
access to information • DFAIT submitted 9(2) notices in 95 percent of the cases in which it took exten-
office, as of
March 31, 2009 24.9 sions of more than 30 days.
Follow-up on 2007–2008 2008–2009 report card level the institution had not seen since
report card 2005. This is the worst record among
The situation at DFAIT went from bad to the institutions surveyed for the 2008–
Foreign Affairs and International Trade worse in 2008–2009, with its deemed 2009 report cards and suggests quite
Canada’s (DFAIT) ability to comply with refusal rate approaching 60 percent, a clearly that the institution’s compliance
the Access to Information Act in 2007–
2008 was severely hampered by its
overwhelming workload associated
with requests related to the mission in Deemed refusal rate, 2004 to 2008–2009 This graph shows the deemed
Afghanistan and mandatory consultations refusal rate for DFAIT for the last
70 five reporting periods. This is the
from other institutions. Consultation percentage of carried over and
60
requests have increased significantly new requests DFAIT delayed
Percentage
50
in recent years, to the point that they 40 each year beyond the deadlines
outnumber access requests. Clearly, 30 (30 days and extended) set out
20 in the Access to Information Act.
DFAIT did not have the internal capacity
10
to meet such demand in 2007–2008, 0
2004 2005 2006 2007–2008 2008–2009
given both its deemed refusal rate of
34.7 percent and its average completion
time for consultations of 75 days. The
How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
institution committed to continuing to
search for the permanent resources it 32% 41% DFAIT reported that it completed
needed to successfully handle both Overdue by 1–30 days 163 of the requests it received in
aspects of its workload and received Overdue by 31–60 days 2008–2009 after their due date.
funding to hire 12 full-time equivalents This graph shows how long these
Overdue by 61–90 days requests stayed open beyond that
in 2007–2008. The growth in workload, Overdue by more than 90 days 7% deadline. It is of concern that
however, more than outpaced the capacity 20% 59 percent of these requests
of even the augmented staff complement. were late by more than 30 days.
Despite the fact that DFAIT developed a
case management strategy and improved
Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
its rate for submitting notices under
120
subsection 9(2) of the Act, the Office of
the Information Commissioner (OIC) finds 100
Number of extensions
This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions DFAIT reported to have taken in 2008–2009.
The institution supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of the Access to
Information Act. DFAIT submitted the notices 95 percent of the time in 2008–2009.
34
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 45 45
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 40 40
35 35
These graphs show the number and outcome of
30 30
two types of complaint registered against DFAIT in
the last three reporting periods: complaints about 25 25
deemed refusals (access to information requests that 20 20
DFAIT delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and 15 15
extended—set out in the Access to Information Act) and 10 10
complaints about DFAIT’s use of the time extensions 5 5
allowed under the Act. Resolved complaints are 0 0
those that the OIC finds to have merit, and that the 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
•Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
institution resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
The number of resolved deemed refusal complaints The total number of complaints increased significantly
decreased from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009 (from 19 to from 2006–2007 to 2007–2008 (from 11 to 41), as did
10). However, the proportion of resolved complaints to the number of resolved time extension complaints (from
the total was high in each of the three years (88 percent; 7 to 12). The respective totals were about the same the
90 percent; 53 percent). following year (39; 11).
turnaround of consultation requests by promptly is the law and DFAIT must act requests. However, none of these
foreign governments. accordingly. The OIC believes that DFAIT improvements has yet had a dramatic
could take a more proactive approach to impact on DFAIT’s compliance rate or
Nearly every institution the OIC surveyed sharing information with Canadians, for processing time. DFAIT is also working
reported being extremely frustrated with example, in regard to its role in Afghanistan. with central agencies to secure funding
the lengthy turnaround times for consul- This could at least somewhat stem the for its access program; however, those
tations with DFAIT, particularly since they influx of requests, and eliminate the efforts had yet to come to fruition in the
are accountable for processing the duplication of work from responding to fall of 2009.
associated requests, yet powerless to similar applications by simply directing
hasten the consultation process. In response, requesters to an established resource. A development that may have greater
institutions have increased the length of In fact, in January 2008, the Independent impact in the short term is the compre-
the extensions they take. Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan hensive report on DFAIT’s access to
recommended that “the Government information operations that the institution
At the same time, DFAIT has been counsel- commissioned from the experienced
should provide the public with franker
ling other government institutions to consultant Andrée Delagrave. The report,
and more frequent reporting on events in
close files when there is the prospect of completed in May 2009, makes specific
Afghanistan, offering more assessments
certain exemptions under the Act. The recommendations for improved compli-
of Canada’s role and giving greater
OIC is concerned about this practice, ance with the Act. Unless DFAIT, which
emphasis to the diplomatic and recon-
since it might compromise requesters’ has been subject to the report card
struction efforts as well as those of
rights to records that might otherwise be process each year since it began in
the military.”
available to them. The OIC calls on DFAIT 1999, takes meaningful steps to
to cease this practice and instead follow DFAIT’s compliance translates into increased implement them, however, a continued
the mandatory consultation process in a complaints to the OIC. Although DFAIT lack of resources—both financial and
timely manner. provides good cooperation at the intake human—will undoubtedly hinder its
stage of a complaint when the OIC operations and, in turn, those of other
DFAIT stabilized its staff complement by
requests documents, collaboration in institutions into 2009–2010 and beyond.
funding permanently the 12 new staff
advancing investigations is very difficult.
members it brought on in 2007–2008,
For example, DFAIT will not provide
but this improvement was not adequate Recommendations
commitment dates to respond to requests
to manage the ballooning inventory of
that the OIC determines to be overdue.
requests. Consultants were hired to work When formulating the following recom-
The OIC also disagrees with two of
on the backlog to allow staff to concen- mendations, the OIC was mindful of the
DFAIT’s practices in responding to
trate on the new requests, and DFAIT pressures affecting DFAIT and has,
requests: taking lengthy extensions
reports that it processed 1,000 more consequently, limited its recommenda-
automatically (e.g. 180 days) and
files during the reporting period than the tions to those that DFAIT can immediately
refusing to waive fees after a request
previous year, as a result of the increased implement to reverse the increase in the
is overdue. DFAIT does not concur with
capacity. With this caseload, however, deemed refusal rate while officials
the OIC’s view of these practices.
employee recruitment and retention has formulate a comprehensive, long-term
become even more of a challenge, which DFAIT did make a number of process and achievable plan to improve the
has had an impact on the access to improvements in 2008–2009, such as institution’s compliance with the Act.
information office’s overall operations reporting monthly access statistics at
and morale. 1. The deputy ministers of Foreign Affairs
executive meetings as a way to engage
and International Trade Canada must
the senior officials of each program area
DFAIT is an internationally focused federal immediately devote the necessary
in addressing their obligations, and DFAIT
institution, but it should be more respon- personnel and financial resources, both
reports improvements to internal response
sive to Canadians through rigorous in the access division as well as in the
times as a result of this. DFAIT also
support for access to information program areas, in order to comply fully
reports having streamlined its approvals
operations, fortified with stable resourc- with the Access to Information Act and,
and communication process for sensitive
ing. Responding to information requests more specifically, enable staff to deal
36
A Special Report to Parliament
with the backlog, new requests and 3. The Office of the Information 4. The Office of the Information
consultations alike. Commissioner recommends that Foreign Commissioner recommends that Foreign
Affairs and International Trade Canada Affairs and International Trade Canada
Response immediately cease counselling other adopt a collaborative approach with the
The department will continue its active government institutions to close files OIC to respond to complaints, in accor-
review of the allocation of resources to when there is the prospect of section 13 dance with the specific points enumerated
build the required capacity to meet all or section 15 exemptions, and follow by the OIC in DFAIT’s report card.
its legislative access obligations. To through instead with the mandatory
that end, the department did in fact consultation process in a timely manner. Response
increase its operational funds for The department will continue, as it has
access to information in 2008–2009 Response always done, to collaborate with the OIC
and as a result processed almost The department will continue its efforts in order to resolve complaints as expedi-
1,000 more access requests and to respond to consultations in a timely tiously as possible. Current access to
brought forward many other improve- manner and will no longer suggest to information office policy is to respond to
ments to the function. other institutions to close their files all calls and emails from the OIC within
when awaiting DFAIT’s recommendations 24 hours. In addition, the access office
Access officials will follow up with senior vis-à-vis sections 13 and/or 15 of the consistently meets the OIC’s 10-day
departmental officials to address the Act. We should add that DFAIT has always deadline for providing requested records.
ongoing need for long-term resource followed through on consultations received
commitments. from other government departments, but The access to information office will
that foreign governments sometimes continue to assess each complaint on a
take one to three years to respond and, case-by-case basis in order to come to a
2. The Office of the Information mutually agreeable solution. In addition, in
more importantly, are not legally obliged
Commissioner recommends that the cases in which the applicant responds to
to respond at all. As such, when consul-
deputy ministers of Foreign Affairs and the fee estimate and wishes to re-scope,
tations are anticipated to be lengthy due
International Trade Canada, as well as the access office will accept to continue
to the sensitive or complex nature of the
the appropriate assistant deputy ministers, with the processing of that initial request
issues, DFAIT will support other depart-
directors general and directors, comply if the applicant responds within the specific
ments’ interim partial release, where
with the Act, including their responsibility deadline in the fee notice. Should an
possible, to ensure the applicant’s
to respond to mandatory consultations, applicant respond after a file has been
legitimate request for information is
and that these responsibilities be included closed, the applicant will be invited to
met at the earliest possible time.
in their performance agreements. submit a new request to proceed with
The Access to Information and Privacy the modified text.
Response Division has already modified its response
The senior departmental officials will templates for other government depart-
continue their efforts to meet legislative ments accordingly.
obligations and will continue to have this
commitment reflected in senior management
performance management agreements
across DFAIT. We should add that the
introduction of Monthly ATIP Performance
Reports at the senior level did result in
improved turnaround times from the
program areas.
37
38
A Special Report to Parliament
Health Canada
Health Canada helps Canadians maintain and improve their health. In partner-
Some facts about access ship with provincial and territorial governments, Health Canada develops
to information operations health policy, enforces regulations, promotes disease prevention and
at Health Canada in enhances healthy living for all Canadians. It also ensures that health services
2008–2009 are available and accessible to First Nations and Inuit communities.
• Number of requests
carried over from
2007–2008 359 2008–2009 report card at a glance VV VV
D
• Number of new
requests 1,158 • The deemed refusal rate was 19.3 percent;
it has been approximately 20 percent since 2004.
• Average time • Health Canada submitted the required notices of extensions of more than 30 days
to complete a 72 percent of the time.
request (in days) 132 • Until November 2009, Health Canada had a protracted approval process and
delayed the release of records deemed to be of “high sensitivity.” Health Canada
• Number of reported that it eliminated this process in November 2009.
consultation
requests 204 • More than half (52 percent) of all the extensions Health Canada took were under
paragraph 9(1)(a) and 31 percent of these were for more than 90 days.
• Number of complaints • The access to information office had a 50 percent staff turnover in 2008–2009.
registered with
the Office of • Health Canada senior management endorsed the three-phase Access to
the Information Information Transformation Action Plan in February 2009.
Commissioner 43 • An early intake unit was created in the access to information office in late
2008–2009.
• Number of complaints
the Office of the • Health Canada is in the process of implementing a number of institutional records
Information management initiatives.
Commissioner
resolved 9**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 19.5
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 39
Out of Time
Health Canada
Follow-up on 2007–2008 end of 2008–2009, the OIC was still not 2008–2009 report card
report card satisfied that Health Canada has ceased
to delay the processing of files its dubs Despite the promise of various initiatives,
Health Canada’s compliance with the “high sensitivity.” Health Canada’s deemed refusal rate slipped
Access to Information Act has been
below average in recent years, following
two years of good grades (2002 and Deemed refusal rate, 2004 to 2008–2009 This graph shows the deemed
2003). The institution managed a slight refusal rate for Health Canada
for the last five reporting
improvement in 2007–2008, which
periods. This is the percentage
brought its deemed refusal rate down to 25
of carried over and new requests
16.6 percent, the lowest in four years, 20 Health Canada delayed each
Percentage
40
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 35 35
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 30 30
to 19.3 percent for 2008–2009, Number and outcome of complaints to the OIC, 2006–2007 to 2008–2009
negating the gains of the previous year. This table sets out the number and outcome of the complaints the OIC registered against Health Canada in each
More disturbing is the institution’s of the last three reporting periods. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC finds to have merit and that the
inability to make any significant improve- institution resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
ment on that figure. Health Canada’s Not
Resolved Discontinued Pending Total
deemed refusal rate has been around substantiated
20 percent since 2004. 2006–2007
Administrative 38 5 0 0 43
A backlog of access to information
requests continued to hamper Health Refusals 8 3 1 2 14
Canada’s ability to improve its compli- Cabinet 0 0 1 0 1
ance. The institution did clear the confidences
backlog of its oldest files (from 2004 Total 46 8 2 2 58
to 2006) in 2008–2009 but must now 2007–2008
to the deputy minister for review. Prior a number of initiatives to improve Response
to November 2009, the release package records keeping. Since February 2009, senior management
could be sent out only after receiving at Health Canada has been fully engaged
the approval of the deputy minister. The access to information office adopted
in access to information issues in the
Health Canada reported that this process a new business model that saw the
department. Senior Management Board’s
was abolished as of November 2009; creation of an intake unit late in 2008–
endorsement of an access to information
senior management no longer approves 2009. Health Canada designed this new
action plan for the department, and its
releases, except in exceptional unit to take over the front-end administra-
continual support of the access to
circumstances. tive functions associated with access
information function, clearly illustrate
requests, which would leave analysts to
that access to information is a priority
The OIC notes two problems with Health focus on files. While Health Canada was
for the department.
Canada’s use of extensions under optimistic about the efficiencies this
paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Access to would bring, it was too early to have Since February 2009, Health Canada’s
Information Act. First, these extensions measurable results in 2008–2009. senior management has been actively
account for 52 percent of all extensions. supporting the transformation of access
According to access to information The OIC is especially concerned that
to information at Health Canada and
officials, this stemmed from analysts’ Health Canada has gone many years
ensuring that key compliance issues are
large workloads and the effects of the showing only limited improvements
being addressed in a truly transformative
backlog. Officials acknowledged that they in its compliance with the Access to
and collaborative fashion.
should not have taken such extensions, Information Act. The OIC questions
and have stopped the practice. Second, whether there is a clear message coming
the OIC was concerned that 31 percent from the senior levels of Health Canada 2. The Office of the Information
of extensions under paragraph 9(1)(a) that access to information must be Commissioner recommends that Health
were for more than 90 days—a sign that a priority. However, Health Canada’s Canada strictly follow the delegated
the institution was not able to manage senior management endorsed a three- authority of the access to information
the volume of requests in 2008–2009, year plan to transform the access to coordinator and eliminate additional
which Health Canada attributed to a information function at the institution in levels of approval.
50 percent turnaround in staff that February 2009. The OIC expects that the
year. The institution has since made it a implementation of this plan will bear fruit
Response
priority to document all justifications for in terms of improved compliance in the
Health Canada continues to follow the
extensions, including reasons for their coming years.
delegated authority of the access to
length. Extensions taken under para- information coordinator and has elimi-
graph 9(1)(a) now require approval,
Recommendations nated additional levels of approval.
typically from a team leader.
1. The Office of the Information Health Canada eliminated the HI-SENS
Information management continues to approval process. This practice has been
Commissioner recommends that the
be a challenge for Health Canada. replaced with a notification process that
deputy minister of Health Canada
Access officials noted that employees results in overall improved compliance.
continue to take a strong leadership role
at all levels rely heavily on email and
in establishing a culture of compliance
common drives to store documents,
throughout the institution. Such a role
which makes locating relevant records
requires the unwavering endorsement of
difficult. The access to information office
the minister.
is actively working with the institution’s
information management group to
strengthen proper information manage-
ment practices. Health Canada as a
whole is in the process of implementing
42
A Special Report to Parliament
3. The Office of the Information 5. The Office of the Information 6. The Office of the Information
Commissioner recommends that Health Commissioner recommends that Health Commissioner recommends that Health
Canada develop a clear plan to tackle the Canada identify and implement the Canada strive to reduce its deemed
backlog of access requests. necessary enhancement to records refusal rate to zero.
management systems to ensure a quick
Response and proper search of records in response Response
Health Canada continues to address to an access to information request. Health Canada continues to strive to
its backlog of access requests via a reduce its deemed refusal rate to zero.
two-fold approach: Response
Health Canada is in the process of Since the fall of 2008, the department
• Health Canada has maintained its implementing a number of departmental has seen an 85 percent increase in files
concentrated effort on the closure of records management initiatives. These closed year-to-date, compared to last
all outstanding 2007 files. It began would support more efficient search and fiscal, closing 1,072 files between April 1,
the fiscal year with 73 outstanding retrieval responses for records related to 2009, and January 8, 2010, compared
files and now has only 17 files left access to information requests and to 579 files the previous year.
to complete. include the following:
The access to information office has
• Health Canada has established a
• a storage management strategy, in also experienced a significant drop,
fast-track request processing stream,
line with the Government of Canada from 50 percent to 10 percent, in
and will be dedicating a resource to
information management guidelines; turnover of operations staff (projected
access to information timelines
to be 20 percent by year-end).
management. • testing of a powerful search engine in
These efforts will decrease the number of January 2010 that, if supported, may Health Canada developed the three-phase
new deemed refusals and will provide the increase office of primary interest Access to Information Transformation
continued concentrated effort required to search capability; Action Plan. Implementation began in the
tackle the growth of the backlog. • building a new business enterprise fall of 2008.
software that has single instance
The action plan addresses challenges
storage and a potential file classifica-
4. The Office of the Information in meeting legislative requirements
tion system for data over the next
Commissioner recommends that Health and includes governance of access to
two years; and
Canada document and review the criteria information at Health Canada, partner-
• implementing the Directive on ships with both internal clients and
it uses for extensions to ensure that the
Recordkeeping announced other government institutions, supporting
extensions are reasonable and legitimate.
by Treasury Board of Canada release readiness and teamwork, integra-
Secretariat/ Library and Archives tion of collaborations with offices of
Response
Canada. primary interest, and the need to
Health Canada has examined and strengthen the access to information
reviewed the criteria it uses when invoking operations workforce.
extensions to ensure that they are
reasonable and legitimate.
43
44
A Special Report to Parliament
National Defence
National Defence complements the role of the Canadian Forces and is
Some facts about access responsible for policy, resources, interdepartmental coordination and
to information operations international defence relations. The Canadian Forces command, control
at National Defence in and administer all military strategy, plans and requirements.
2008–2009
• Number of requests
carried over from VV VV
2007–2008 674 2008–2009 report card at a glance
D
• The deemed refusal rate was 15.8 percent, which
• Number of new
requests 1,669 is only a slight improvement from 2007–2008.
• The average time to complete a request was 125 days.
• Number of
• National Defence took extensions under subsection 9(1) of the Access to
requests
completed 1,761 Information Act for 66 percent of the requests it received in 2008–2009.
76 percent of the extensions DND took were under paragraph 9(1)(a) of the
• Deemed Act; 80 percent of the extensions were for more than 90 days.
refusal rate 15.8%* • 80 percent of the complaints the Office of the Information Commissioner regis-
tered against National Defence in 2008–2009 were delay-related (about either
• Average time requests completed late or problems associated with time extensions).
to complete a
request (in days) 125 77 percent of these were about time extensions.
• National Defence decreased its backlog by 34 percent.
• Number of
• National Defence fully complied with the requirement to submit a notice to the
consultation
requests 440 Office of the Information Commissioner each time it took an extension of more
than 30 days.
• Number of complaints • The Information Support Team review process was streamlined and shortened;
registered with however, it still adds time to the processing of requests.
the Office of
• National Defence continues its good practice of listing topics of previously
the Information
Commissioner 226 released records on the Internet and allowing requestors to access these
records informally.
• Number of complaints • Access officials and senior management support ongoing efforts to increase
the Office of the compliance, such as training and hiring more staff.
Information
Commissioner
resolved 81**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 61
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 45
Out of Time
National Defence
Follow-up on 2007–2008 2008–2009 report card its deemed refusal rating dropping to
report card 15.8 percent. National Defence com-
National Defence’s compliance with the pleted 220 more requests in 2008–2009
National Defence faced a significant increase Act improved slightly in 2008–2009, with than it did in the previous year. It also
in workload in 2007–2008, at a time when
the nature and sensitivity of its files were
already causing the institution to add Deemed refusal rate, 2004 to 2008–2009
This graph shows the deemed
layers to the access to information refusal rate for National Defence
20
process and, consequently, increasing for the last five reporting periods.
the time it took to respond to requests. 15 This is the percentage of carried
Percentage
250
taking them. National Defence agreed
that its use of extensions had increased 200
46
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 70 160
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 60 140
50 120
These graphs show the number and outcome of two
100
types of complaint registered against National Defence 40
in the last three reporting periods: complaints about 80
30
deemed refusals (access to information requests that 60
National Defence delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days 20
40
and extended—set out in the Access to Information Act) 10 20
and complaints about National Defence’s use of the time
extensions allowed under the Act. Resolved complaints 0 0
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
are those that the OIC finds to have merit and that the •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
institution resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
The number of delay complaints hit a three-year high of The number of time extension complaints increased
60 in 2007–2008 and then decreased to 42 in 2008–2009. significantly over the three years (41; 105; 138). The
Similarly, the number of resolved delay complaints was number of resolved time extension complaints also rose
highest in 2007–2008 at 49 and then decreased to 13 (18; 51; 66).
the subsequent year.
47
Out of Time
National Defence reported two factors Access to information officials and senior In terms of completing extended
related to records retrieval that contributed managers at National Defence noted requests on time, it should be noted that
to delays and the need for extensions on ongoing efforts to continue to reduce National Defence was late for only 51
occasion. First, bulk requests for similar the backlog (it decreased 34 percent in extension requests that were completed
records resulted in certain recipient sectors 2008–2009), hire more staff to decrease in this reporting period out of a total of
being overwhelmed, and contributed to workload, and train employees to promote 1,097 extensions.
legislative deadlines being missed. For efficiency. The OIC hopes that these
instance, between May and August 2008, efforts bear considerable fruit; however, The access to information office’s
one sector received approximately National Defence, which has been part tasking team is undertaking training to
125 requests from a single requestor. of the report card process since the better hone their skills at estimating
Second, record holders involved in beginning, was only able to make a small appropriate extensions as part of
military operations were not always able dent in 2008–2009 in its increased ongoing initiatives to improve
to retrieve records in a timely manner, deemed refusal rate from 2007–2008. performance.
although National Defence reported The OIC expects much more substantial
National Defence will strive to improve
that this was not a frequent problem. progress next year.
conditions that result in unreasonable
National Defence reduced to four the interference with the operations of the
number of days that its dedicated Recommendations institution and that result in unnecessary
Information Support Team has to review searches through a large volume of
files related to military operations. 1. The Office of the Information records. Initiatives will include efforts to
National Defence facilitated this by Commissioner recommends that National continue to reduce the backlog of access
having its access to information office Defence carry through on its commit- requests, increase staff levels to reduce
collate all the returned records and ment to review the criteria for taking workload and conduct training with the
prepare a consolidated release package extensions, reduce the number of those tasking team. This training will aim to
containing only records it deemed extensions and implement process improve the team’s ability to identify
necessary for the team to review. This improvements to ensure that extended requests that do not comply with section 6
improvement is encouraging, since one requests are completed on time. of the Act [which requires requests to be
of the OIC’s recommendations in its in writing and in sufficient detail] and
2007–2008 report card was aimed at Response appropriately assist requesters to
the additional delay caused by consulta- re-scope requests so that they are
National Defence has conducted a review
tions with the Information Support Team. manageable by the institution and
of the criteria for taking extensions.
accurately reflect the records sought
National Defence uses the criteria of the
This is certainly a step in the right by the requester.
Access to Information Act, including
direction, but the OIC still has fundamental
“interference with operations” and “large
concerns about the Information Support
volume of records,” along with Treasury
Team, since its review adds time to the 2. The Office of the Information
Board Implementation Report No. 67 as
release process. Commissioner recommends that National
guidance.19 National Defence and the OIC
Defence begin immediately to apply
National Defence has been at the forefront remain in disagreement on the interpreta-
paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Access to
of providing informal ways for requesters tion of “large volume of records” as well
Information Act properly—by taking
to access previously released records. It as whether the workload of the access to
extensions under this provision only when
continues to post on its website a list of information office can be considered as a
it can justify both the interference with
selected topics on which records have factor in determining extensions pursuant
operations and the large volume of pages
been released. Requesters interested in to paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Act.
to review.
these topics can request the records free
National Defence takes extensions as
of charge and without making a formal Response
necessary based on the above criteria,
access request.
and this will likely continue as long as National Defence does apply paragraph
National Defence has significant over- 9(1)(a) properly. Both requirements of the
seas operations. Act—unreasonable interference as well
19 http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/atip-aiprp/impl-rep/impl-rep2000/67-imp-mise-eng.asp
48
A Special Report to Parliament
Response
National Defence has streamlined the
Information Support Team (IST) review
process considerably since it first began.
The turnaround time has improved
considerably, and cooperation in balancing
security and speed of review continues.
49
50
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of • All but the most routine requests are held up in the minister’s office.
consultation
170
• NRCan introduced a graduated progression program to recruit and retain staff.
requests
• NRCan reports that its information management structure is strong, allowing for
• Number of complaints ease of records retrieval.
registered with • With additional funding for three new positions, NRCan believes it is now staffed
the Office of adequately for the workload.
the Information
Commissioner 11
• Number of complaints
the Office of the
Information
Commissioner
resolved 1**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 5.6
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 51
Out of Time
Follow-up on 2007–2008 There were four coordinators and a months, requiring senior management to
report card 50 percent staff turnover in two years. step in. The coordinator’s position was
At one point, the access to information subsequently reclassified downward,
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) spent office was without a coordinator for two from director to manager.
2007–2008, the year of its first report
card, trying to cope with a several-year
increase in requests of 79 percent without Deemed refusal rate, 2007–2008 to 2008–2009
a corresponding increase in capacity. The This graph shows the deemed
25 refusal rate for NRCan for the
institution ended the year with a deemed last two reporting periods.
20
refusal rate of 10.7 percent. The increase This is the percentage of carried
Percentage
in requests was due in part to the Chalk 15 over and new requests delayed
River nuclear reactor issue and the growing 10 each year beyond the timelines
set out in the Access to
public and media interest the environment. 5 Information Act.
NRCan committed to reviewing its entire 0
2007–2008 2008–2009
process in light of the Office of the
Information Commissioner’s (OIC)
concern about the surge in numbers of
requests deemed “highly sensitive” and How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
also to find efficiencies in its cumbersome
approval process. It was imperative that 8% 54%
17% NRCan reported that it completed
Overdue by 1–30 days
NRCan improve its zero notification rate 76 of the requests it received in
Overdue by 31–60 days 2008–2009 after their due date.
to the OIC of extensions of more than
Overdue by 61–90 days This graph shows how long these
30 days. The OIC is not satisfied that an 21%
Overdue by more than 90 days requests stayed open beyond
overall, meaningful effort was undertaken that deadline.
to improve compliance with the Access
to Information Act, in response to the
recommendations in the 2007–2008
report card.
Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
12
52
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 5 5
2006–2007 to 2008–2009
4 4
These graphs show the number and outcome of two
types of complaint registered against NRCan in the last 3 3
three reporting periods: complaints about deemed
refusals (access to information requests that NRCan 2 2
delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and extended—
set out in the Access to Information Act) and complaints 1 1
about NRCan’s use of the time extensions allowed
under the Act. Resolved complaints are those that the 0 0
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
OIC finds to have merit and that the institution •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
There were very few deemed refusal complaints against There were very few time extension complaints against
NRCan in the last three reporting periods (0; 1; 2). NRCan in the last three reporting periods (4; 3; 4). All
of these complaints were either not substantiated or
discontinued in 2007–2008 and 2008–2009.
Administrative 1 3 0 0 4
Despite these considerable challenges,
NRCan was able to complete about half Refusals 1 1 3 4 9
of the new requests it received in Cabinet 1 0 0 1 2
2008–2009 in fewer than 30 days and confidences
reduce its average completion time for Total 3 4 3 5 15
a request to 65 days, from 88 days in 2007–2008
53
Out of Time
a graduated progression program. In 2. The Office of the Information 4. The Office of the Information
recent months, the staffing situation Commissioner recommends that the Commissioner recommends that Natural
has stabilized, with an almost full staff deputy minister of Natural Resources Resources Canada reduce its deemed
complement and a new coordinator in Canada allocate the necessary human refusal rate to zero.
place in the fall of 2009. and financial resources, both in the
access to information office, as well as Response
NRCan reports a strong information in the program areas, in order to comply While staffing has stabilized, it occurred
management structure, including a with the Access to Information Act. late in this fiscal year. The trend in
Wiki-type central registry for administra-
compliance will likely continue into
tive documents, to which access to Response the next report card cycle before the
information staff have access, and
The Access to Information and Privacy improvement from this stabilization will
from which records can be retrieved.
Secretariat is now adequately resourced be noted. NRCan will continue to strive
Access staff acknowledge that it will take for the volume of requests that it receives. to improve its compliance rate.
time to make access to information a Additional funding for three positions was
priority at NRCan. The OIC notes that this provided in 2008–2009. NRCan is closely
should not be at the expense of request- monitoring resources levels. 5. The Office of the Information
ers. It will monitor NRCan’s compliance Commissioner recommends that Natural
carefully, and look for improvement in Resources Canada comply with the Act
the coming years. 3. The Office of the Information and notify the Office of the Information
Commissioner recommends that Commissioner of all the extensions it
Natural Resources Canada continue takes for more than 30 days.
Recommendations to reduce its average completion
time for requests. Response
1. The Office of the Information
Unfortunately, this administrative issue
Commissioner recommends that the Response was not identified until late this fiscal year,
Natural Resources Canada minister’s
Completion time has been reduced so this issue is likely to continue to be
office strictly follow the delegated
substantially. Further reductions in noted in next year’s report card process.
authority order in order to eliminate
processing time will require a commitment This will be corrected immediately.
inappropriate levels of approval.
from other departments to complete the
consultation process in a timely fashion.
Response
NRCan will continue its commitment to
Briefing sessions have been held with processing requests as quickly and
the minister’s staff on the Access to effectively as possible. Recommendations
Information Act. NRCan is reviewing its will be provided to the departmental
processes to ensure maximum efficiency. senior management committee before
the end of the fiscal year.
54
A Special Report to Parliament
Follow-up on 2007–2008 apprised of potential issues and are often questions, rather than having to go to
report card able to respond to access staff about PCO-CCC for interim advice. Further,
technical concerns and in response to PCO-CCC reported that the historical and
25
and new requests PCO-ATIP
Commissioner (OIC) would expect from 20
delayed each year beyond the
the institution that is at the centre of 15
timelines set out in the Access
10
government. PCO-ATIP undertook a 5
to Information Act.
reorganization, staffing actions, and 0
2004 2005 2006 2007–2008 2008–2009
process and software improvements,
none of which appear to have been
accomplished completely. It committed
to continuing to streamline its processes How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
and upgrade its technology, although the PCO-ATIP reported that it
latter effort was significantly delayed due 44% 20%
completed 50 of the requests it
Overdue by 1–30 days
to concerns about software and its applicabil- received in 2008–2009 after their
Overdue by 31–60 days due date. This graph shows how
ity to PCO’s case management needs. 18%
Overdue by 61–90 days long these requests stayed open
Overdue by more than 90 days beyond that deadline. It is of
Cabinet confidences counsel 18% concern that 80 percent of these
requests were late by more than
30 days.
The OIC recommended that PCO’s Cabinet
confidences counsel office (PCO-CCC)
develop a tool to track the progress of Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
its consultation requests for section 69 80
exclusions, and the institution responded 70
Number of extensions
56
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 18 120
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 16
100
14
These graphs show the number and outcome of two 12 80
types of complaint registered against PCO-ATIP in the 10
60
last three reporting periods: complaints about deemed 8
refusals (access to information requests that PCO-ATIP 40
6
delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and extended—set
4
out in the Access to Information Act) and complaints 20
2
about PCO-ATIP’s use of the time extensions allowed
0 0
under the Act. Resolved complaints are those that the 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
OIC finds to have merit and that the institution •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
The OIC resolved all but 1 of the 16 deemed refusal The number of time extension complaints increased
complaints in 2006–2007, 3 of this type of complaint in each year (20; 84; 108), although many of these
2007–2008, and 3 out of 6 in 2008–2009. complaints were discontinued in both 2007–2008 and
2008–2009 (56; 83).
The total number of complaints more than doubled between 2006–2007 and 2007–2008 (from 107 to 232) but
Due to its central role, it is not uncom-
decreased the subsequent year (198). The total number of administrative complaints increased significantly over
mon for PCO-ATIP to need to consult the three years (39; 100; 119); however, there were a large number of pending files at the end of 2008–2009 (71)
upwards of 15 institutions for their and 106 files the OIC discontinued at the request of complainants.
57
Out of Time
representations pertaining to a single had 17 full-time staff, despite the fact that it Cabinet confidences counsel
request. Not surprisingly, the immediate is approved to 27 full-time equivalents. The
impact on requesters is that the request institution reports, however, that it is difficult PCO-CCC certifies Cabinet confidences
process has to stop until consultations to attract and retain competent staff and, contained within the records held by
are complete. PCO-ATIP extended nearly despite ongoing efforts to maintain a full institutions. Its operations remain challenged
three quarters of all requests it received complement, it finds itself habitually by staffing issues because of the unique
to consult with other institutions. In understaffed. combination of qualifications it requires
addition, 61 percent of extensions were its staff to have related to the access
for more than 120 days beyond the initial Employee turnover is constant through- to information legislation and broader,
30-day deadline. PCO-ATIP also took out the rest of the organization, as well, legal capabilities to determine Cabinet
more than 30 days to complete 80 percent to the extent that an estimated one third confidences.
of its 50 overdue requests. It took 90 days of its staff is in transition at any given
time. PCO-ATIP recognizes that solid As of the fall of 2009, there were only
to complete nearly half of them.
comprehension of access to information four staff to manage the entire workload.
PCO-ATIP insists that its priorities are within the operations groups is paramount Most federal institutions have reported
Canadians’ priorities, yet the case must to its success and has a dedicated continued frustrations with the review
be made that Canadians value govern- training manager to provide awareness process, in terms of procedures and delays.
ment transparency by virtue of the fact sessions. PCO-ATIP gave formal training
PCO-CCC reviews documents for the
that they file access requests and expect and awareness sessions on access to
application of Cabinet confidences in
records to be forthcoming in a timely information to 267 staff in 2008–2009.
strict accordance with guidelines
manner. PCO-ATIP’s average completion Total indeterminate staff in the institution
established by Treasury Board in 1993.
time for requests in 2008–2009 was is 849.
These guidelines specify that the
157 days.
PCO-ATIP has recently switched to required consultations be managed
When it comes to Cabinet confidences, electronic scanning of records, reducing through an institution’s legal representa-
PCO-ATIP has to consult PCO-CCC to its paper burden and realizing production tive, a requirement that is criticized by
have these vetted. Both groups within efficiencies. Given its responsibility for many institutions as overly bureaucratic
PCO reject the suggestion of a protocol the flow of Cabinet documents, PCO as and resulting in added administrative
that would recognize the central role of a whole has a disciplined and localized burden. However, PCO-CCC reports that
PCO and facilitate faster turnaround time information management capacity, which it has significantly improved the quality
for requests at the centre of government. enhances its efficiency in responding of the schedules institutions submit to
to requests. PCO-CCC. The OIC is of the view that, given
The OIC is concerned that PCO’s access the dissatisfaction with the consultation
to information delegation order accords The Office of the Information Commissioner process, PCO-CCC should review the
more power to senior management in the registered 198 complaints against consultation process with the access to
branches than it does to the director of PCO-ATIP in 2008–2009, but resolved information community. It should also
the access to information office. PCO-ATIP only 8 and found 13 to be not substanti- show greater flexibility in responding to
reports no evidence of delay from this ated; 106 were discontinued (mostly consultations from other institutions.
structure. The delegation order was at the request of one complainant) and
updated in June 2008, but does not 71 were pending at year-end. PCO-CCC has a triage system whereby
concentrate authority with the director each incoming request is reviewed on
of PCO-ATIP, as officials said it would PCO-ATIP reports that it has vastly the day it arrives to determine whether
during testimony to the House of improved its processes, and felt over- further research and documentation is
Commons Standing Committee on audited as it responded to another required to certify whether the records
Access to Information, Privacy and edition of the OIC report card. The OIC contain Cabinet confidences. PCO-CCC
Ethics in June 2005. will continue to assess this office, largely estimates the turnaround time for
due to its central role in the access to submitted documents; however, it
Staffing issues affected PCO-ATIP as information system, and as long as its reported that factors such as litigation
much as other institutions, and not only deemed refusal rate and average comple- and multi-institutional involvement make
in the access to information office. PCO-ATIP tion time do not dramatically improve. it difficult to do so with a consistent level
58
A Special Report to Parliament
59
Out of Time
4. The Office of the Information decision-making process routinely arise and allows for time extensions. As noted
Commissioner recommends that in the review of PCO records. in the response to recommendation 4,
PCO-ATIP document and review the extensions are determined in compliance
criteria it uses for extensions to Further to the issue of extensions and with the guidance provided by the Act,
ensure that the extensions are the “Length of Extension” graph, PCO’s Treasury Board, the OIC and past experience.
reasonable and legitimate. database indicates that during 2008–
2009 a total of 355 extensions under The report card notes that “approxi-
Response section 9 were taken: 54 under paragraph mately one in three requests to PCO’s
9(1)(a), 276 under paragraph 9(1)(b), and access to information office results in
The Access to Information Act, Treasury
25 under paragraph 9(1)(c). “Volume” a complaint,” which implies that all
Board guidance, annual reports by the
extensions during 2008–2009 were complaints are well-founded, which is
Information Commissioner and past
taken less than 15 percent of the time. not the case. Also, as the OIC has
experience shape the criteria for PCO
This conflicts with the impression given previously reported, complaints are
in its use of extensions. As reported by
by the report. There is also no compari- increasing for all departments, up by
PCO in the 2007–2008 OIC report card,
son of these statistics with other years. 80 percent in 2007–2008.
extensions taken are backed by written
rationales. PCO extensions are designed The majority of complaints against PCO Referencing the report card table, of
to provide clients with a realistic expectation have related to extensions taken. The the total of 198 complaints received in
of when their requests will be complete. department has explained to the OIC why 2008–2009, 13 were not substantiated
extra time was necessary, and the OIC and 106 were discontinued, with 71, or
PCO fully complies with OIC guidance
has largely supported these extension 90 percent, pending.
such as its 1999–2000 annual report,
rationales in its complaint findings, and
in which the OIC acknowledged that
found in PCO’s favour.
experience and judgment should inform 6. The Office of the Information
the use of extensions, stating that “the Commissioner recommends that
duration of extensions should be consis- 5. The Office of the Information PCO-ATIP comply with the Act and
tent with historical experience in the Commissioner recommends that notify the Office of the Information
institution in processing similar requests.” PCO-ATIP reduce the average completion Commissioner of all the extensions
time for requests. it takes for more than 30 days.
By maintaining a working dialogue with
its consultation partners, PCO also follows
Response Response
the OIC recommendation in its 2007–
2008 report card that “ideally this PCO is committed to the timely comple- PCO’s data indicates a 100 percent
[extension for consultation] is consensually tion of access requests. It further compliance rate in providing written
determined with the consulted institution.” acknowledges that any on-time perfor- notifications of extensions in 2008–
mance rate of less than 100 percent 2009. Written notification to the OIC on
Media requests represent the majority is unacceptable. The department will extensions taken is a standard procedure
of PCO’s access to information volume, continue to work towards this goal using in the PCO access to information process.
at 56 percent, followed by requests all available resources, although factors This procedure has been in place since
from the public at 17 percent and from that are government-wide, such as rising the reorganization and renewal of the
business at 9 percent. It is PCO’s workload, staffing challenges and the Access to Information and Privacy
experience that media requests tend heavy traffic of consultations, will have Division in 2007.
to be complex and multi-departmental an impact.
in scope, driving up requirements for
consultation and for attendant exten- The statement that “PCO-ATIP’s average
sions. Considerations of national completion time for requests in 2008–
security, international affairs, federal- 2009 was 157 days” requires context.
provincial relations and the government’s The Access to Information Act addresses
60
A Special Report to Parliament
Response
PCO-CCC is working on recruiting qualified
personnel. As previously stated, however,
there is a scarcity of personnel across
government with the acquired skill set to
do the work at the level required. In
addition, there have been further staffing
issues surrounding the hiring of skilled
support staff for this very technical work,
61
62
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of new
requests 584 2008–2009 report card at a glance VVVVV
• Number of B
requests • Deemed refusal rate was 4.5 percent.
completed 611 • Average completion time was 92 days, which is high in light of its otherwise
improved compliance.
• Deemed
refusal rate 4.5%* • Strong leadership from the deputy minister and the commitment of access to
information officials helped to dramatically improve PWGSC’s compliance.
• Average time
• A three-year action plan to improve access to information operations brought
to complete a
request (in days) 92 numerous benefits. For example, PWGSC’s carry-over of overdue requests has
gotten steadily smaller in the past three years.
• Number of • Status of access to information as a program rather than a corporate service has
consultation
requests 245 brought stable funding and autonomy.
• Stability among key staff, successful recruitment and retention, and a man-
• Number of complaints ageable workload enabled PWGSC’s access to information office to meet its
registered with obligations.
the Office of • PWGSC has enhanced its career development program.
the Information
Commissioner 52 • PWGSC submitted notices to the Office of the Information Commissioner of
extensions of more than 30 days 60 percent of the time.
• Number of complaints
the Office of the
Information
Commissioner
resolved 16**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 18
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 63
Out of Time
Follow-up on 2007–2008 action plan that was developed in There were other factors that contributed
report card 2007–2008. This plan was instrumental to PWGSC’s accomplishment, namely
in this turnaround. starting off 2008–2009 with no backlog
PWGSC proposed a comprehensive
three-year action plan to address its
below average compliance in 2007–2008
(see pp. 130–133 of the 2007–2008 Deemed refusal rate, 2004 to 2008–2009
This graph shows the deemed
special report).20 Of note, PWGSC hired 25 refusal rate for PWGSC for the
a number of consultants to clear its 20 last five reporting periods. This
Percentage
80
70
60
2008–2009 report card 50
40
PWGSC’s dramatic improvement in 30
20
compliance in 2008–2009 illustrates 10
what is possible through a combination 0
of planning, commitment, execution and 31–90 days 91–120 days 121–150 days 151–180 days More than Unspecified
180 days
leadership. The institution achieved a This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions PWGSC reported to have taken in 2008–2009.
deemed refusal rate of 4.5 percent in PWGSC supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of the Access to Information
2008–2009 (compared to 22.6 percent Act. PWGSC submitted the notices 60 percent of the time in 2008–2009; the OIC expects this figure to be
100 percent in 2009–2010.
in 2007–2008), mid-way into its three-year
20 http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr_spe-rep_rap-spe_rep-car_fic-ren_2007-2008_24.aspx
64
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 30 30
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 25
25
65
Out of Time
PWGSC has been part of the report card Time extensions are therefore required to Through its Quality Circle, the Directorate
process since 2002, and its compliance undertake the necessary consultations will continue to review issues and
has varied over the years. The OIC with client departments and third parties suggestions raised by access to
acknowledges PWGSC’s considerable in order to obtain their representations information management and staff to
improvement in compliance in 2008– prior to making final disclosure decisions improve its systems and processes.
2009, particularly within the context under the Act.
of increased scrutiny of government
stewardship of public funds, and calls Based on the volume of records to be 4. The Office of the Information
on the institution to take all possible reviewed, the number of parties to be Commissioner recommends that Public
measures to maintain that achievement. consulted and/or the operational Works and Government Services Canada
realities, it is believed that the time strive to reduce its deemed refusal rate
extensions taken are reasonable and to zero.
Recommendations legitimate. When an extension is 90 days
or more, the requester is assured in the Response
1. The Office of the Information notice of extension that a response will
While the departmental compliance
Commissioner recommends that Public be provided earlier than anticipated if the
target has been set at 95 percent for
Works and Government Services Canada consultations and document review are
2009–2010, we are very pleased with
continue to follow its three-year plan completed before the extended due date.
our performance since April 2009,
and revise it, if necessary, with specific
The reasons for the time extensions having attained 98.2 percent compliance
initiatives that respond to emerging
are documented in the case manage- as of December 31, 2009. This is an
issues to ensure continued top perfor-
ment system. improvement of 2.7 percent compared
mance and compliance with the Act.
to last fiscal year.
The Directorate will review and document
Response The department will strive to reduce deemed
the criteria for time extensions. For
PWGSC is continuing to adjust and example, for X number of pages, Y days refusals and sustain a compliance rate of
implement the activities outlined in its plan. are required; for consultations with 95 percent or more. However, the complex-
department Z, Y days are required. ity and number of requests make it
The Access to Information and Privacy difficult to attain 100 percent compliance.
The best practices of other institutions
Directorate will revise the plan to include
demonstrating ideal compliance in this
the actions needed to respond to this The Directorate will continue to
regard will also be examined.
report card, and any other activities closely monitor the department’s
deemed appropriate, with a view to performance and report regularly
further improving the access to informa- to senior management.
3. The Office of the Information
tion program.
Commissioner recommends that Public
Works and Government Services Canada
5. The Office of the Information
reduce the average completion time
2. The Office of the Information Commissioner recommends that
for requests.
Commissioner recommends that Public Works and Government Services
Public Works and Government Services Canada comply with the Act and notify
Canada document and review the criteria Response the Office of the Information Commissioner
it uses for extensions to ensure that the The Directorate makes every effort to of all the extensions it takes for more
extensions are reasonable and legitimate. ensure that requests are completed in an than 30 days.
efficient and timely manner. As a result,
Response the average number of days taken for all Response
requests completed to date in this fiscal
Given the nature and mandate of the The Directorate has procedures in place
year is 66 days. This is a 28 percent
department, the records requested in this regard, and a cc to the OIC is
decrease compared to 2008–2009.
generally concern procurement-related already included on its extension notice
activities and contain sensitive government templates. The process consists of
and/or third party commercial information. sending a notice letter by mail to the OIC.
66
A Special Report to Parliament
67
68
A Special Report to Parliament
Follow-up on 2007–2008 2008–2009 report card The institution brought its deemed refusal
report card rate down to 18.3 percent. Moreover,
The RCMP is moving in the right direction access to information officials reported
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police on most access to information fronts.
(RCMP) continued to improve its compli-
ance with the Access to Information Act
in 2007–2008, although with a deemed Deemed refusal rate, 2005 to 2008–2009 This graph shows the deemed
refusal rate of 49.5 percent, it was still refusal rate for the RCMP for the
last four reporting periods. This
far from being fully compliant. As part of 90
80 is the percentage of carried over
ongoing efforts to improve compliance, 70 and new requests the RCMP
Percentage
40
times. Since the RCMP’s deemed refusal 35
rate was 79 percent in 2005 (its first 30
25
year being subject to the report card
20
process) and the institution has subse- 15
quently made steady progress lowering 10
5
it, the Office of the Information Commis
0
sioner (OIC) watched its progress with 31–90 days 91–120 days 121–150 days 151–180 days More than Unspecified
180 days
interest in 2008–2009, in the hope that
it continued. The OIC is satisfied with the This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions the RCMP reported to have taken in 2008–2009.
RCMP’s response to the recommenda- The RCMP supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of the Access to
Information Act. The RCMP submitted the notices 49 percent of the time in 2008–2009; the OIC expects this
tions in the 2007–2008 report card. figure to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
70
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 45 45
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 40 40
35 35
These graphs show the number and outcome of two 30 30
types of complaint registered against the RCMP in the 25 25
last three reporting periods: complaints about deemed 20 20
refusals (access to information requests that the RCMP 15 15
delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and extended—
10 10
set out in the Access to Information Act) and complaints
5 5
about the RCMP’s use of the time extensions allowed
0 0
under the Act. Resolved complaints are those that the 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
OIC finds to have merit and that the institution •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
The number of deemed refusal complaints decreased The number of time extension complaints increased
significantly each year (40; 15; 7). The proportion of each year (1; 8; 21); however, the proportion of resolved
resolved complaints to the total was high each year time extension complaints to the total number of such
(100 percent; 67 percent; 86 percent) complaints decreased significantly over the same period
(100 percent; 75 percent; 5 percent).
The RCMP received 21 percent more This table sets out the number and outcome of the complaints the OIC registered against the RCMP in each of the
access requests in 2008–2009 than it last three reporting periods. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC finds to have merit and that the institution
resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
did the previous year, while continuing to
tackle its backlog. The OIC notes that Not
Resolved Discontinued Pending Total
the RCMP was successful in processing substantiated
these requests without allowing the 2006–2007
71
Out of Time
The RCMP has developed a new process 2. The Office of the Information
to ensure prompt records retrieval: the Commissioner recommends that the
detachment commander and/or records Royal Canadian Mounted Police comply
manager are responsible for responding with the Act and notify the Office of the
to requests for records within 48 hours, Information Commissioner of all the
regardless of staff availability. extensions it takes for more than
30 days.
With its deemed refusal rate on a solid
downward track, the RCMP is clearly
Response
doing something right. The OIC encour-
The RCMP agrees with this recommenda-
ages the RCMP to work to bring that rate
tion. In 2009, the Access to Information
down to zero.
and Privacy Branch developed a new
systematic process that automatically
Recommendations alerts the analyst to the notification
requirement for all the extensions he or
1. The Office of the Information she takes for more than 30 days. The
Commissioner recommends that the Royal RCMP is confident that this will consider-
Canadian Mounted Police strive to reduce its ably boost our compliance in that regard.
deemed refusal rate to zero.
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A Special Report to Parliament
73
Out of Time
Institutions assessed
in 2008–2009
74
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of • CRA cited the increasing volume of pages to review (650,000 pages in 2008–
consultation 2009) and the impact on operations of bulk requesters as enormous challenges.
requests 125 • CRA is introducing an intake unit to triage requests, dedicating new resources
to the backlog and exploring technological innovations, such as a common
• Number of complaints information platform for easy information records storage and retrieval, to
registered with improve compliance.
the Office of
the Information
Commissioner 302
• Number of complaints
the Office of the
Information
Commissioner
resolved 110**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 44
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 75
Out of Time
2008–2009 report card Although the current practice at CRA and assistant directors of the access to
is to have the access to information information office.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was coordinator and sub-delegates sign off
assessed as part of the report card on the majority of access requests, the The OIC is concerned with CRA’s use of
process each year from 1999 to 2004 August 2009 delegation order gives extensions under paragraph 9(1)(a) of
and achieved various rates of compliance signing authority to a long list of senior the Act, which allows an institution to
with the Access to Informaton Act during officials, including the commissioner, extend the deadline for responding to an
that time. In response to recommenda- deputy commissioner, assistant commis- information request that involves a large
tions contained in the Office of the sioners, deputy assistant commissioners, volume of records (or a search through
Information Commissioner’s (OIC) 1999 chief audit executive, director general of a large volume of records) such that
report card, CRA began to improve its program evaluation, and the directors meeting the 30-day limit would impose
compliance through concerted attention,
resources and effort. The institution
reported that a change in culture, the
addition of substantial and permanent How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
human resources, sound technology and
training initiatives were key to its success 10% 58%
CRA reported that it completed
in achieving optimal compliance ratings Overdue by 1–30 days 11%
92 of the requests it received in
from 2003 through 2005. Fast forward Overdue by 31–60 days 2008–2009 after their due date.
21%
to 2008–2009 and, given some challeng- Overdue by 61–90 days This graph shows how long these
requests stayed open beyond
ing circumstances, the institution’s Overdue by more than 90 days
that deadline.
compliance worsened, such that its
deemed refusal rate in 2008–2009 was
15.1 percent. To compound the problem,
the backlog of requests grew rapidly,
with CRA carrying 920 requests over into Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
2009–2010 (representing 808,000 pages).
180
76
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 30 100
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 25
80
12
These graphs show the number and outcome of two 20
10
types of complaint registered against CRA in the last
three reporting periods: complaints about deemed 15 8
refusals (access to information requests that CRA 6
10
delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and extended— 4
set out in the Access to Information Act) and complaints 5 2
about CRA’s use of the time extensions allowed under
0 0
the Act. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
finds to have merit and that the institution resolves to •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
The number of deemed refusal complaints increased The number of time extension complaints rose from
significantly from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009 (11; 24). 12 in 2007–2008 to 96 in 2008–2009. The proportion
The proportion of these complaints that the OIC resolved of these that the OIC resolved was high in each of the
was high each year (100 percent; 73 percent; 63 three years (100 percent; 58 percent; 93 percent).
percent) but was decreasing.
21 http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/atip-aiprp/impl-rep/impl-rep2000/67-imp-mise-eng.asp
77
Out of Time
to information offices in Vancouver and 2. The Office of the Information “The interference with your
Montréal. Away from the National Capital Commissioner recommends that the institution’s operations may be
Region, these have stable staffing Canada Revenue Agency review and considered ‘unreasonable’ if
situations, which could be a model for continue to document the criteria it uses processing the request within
other institutions. for extensions taken under paragraph 30 days would require …
9(1)(a) of the Access to Information Act such a high proportion of the
to ensure that the extensions are resources of the ATIP office
Recommendations reasonable and legitimate. that it would have a significant
negative impact on the
1. The Office of the Information
Response processing of other requests.”
Commissioner recommends that the
Minister of National Revenue amend the CRA agrees that extensions taken under
The access to information office will
delegation order to ensure greater paragraph 9(1)(a) should be reasonable
scrutinize the use of paragraph 9(1)(a)
autonomy of the access to information and legitimate, and will continue to explore
to ensure the extensions are reasonable
coordinator. the means of reducing the use of these
and legitimate, and to examine whether
extensions.
improvements can be made to existing
Response processes and procedures to expedite
The access to information office recog-
CRA recognizes that the delegation order nizes that extensions of greater length the processing of requests. In particular,
may lead to the assumption that all those were claimed in 2008–2009; however, access to information officials will consult
listed in the schedules exercise their the use of extensions is in large part with the OIC to discuss ways to mitigate
delegations. However, in practice, those attributable to the exponential growth in the impact of bulk requests, which currently
who exercise this delegation are limited the page volume of requests over the strain our operations and impact our ability
to those directly involved in access to past several years. In the first six months to comply with the Act within legislated
information operations, namely, the access of the current fiscal year, for instance, the timeframes. Moreover, the access office
to information director, assistant directors pages equivalent to the access requests will closely monitor the effectiveness of
and managers, and the assistant commis- received exceeded one million—greater new initiatives, such as the introduction
sioners of the Pacific and Quebec regions, than the total pages (more than 650,000) of an intake unit, to make any necessary
the two regions where CRA’s access to received in 2008–2009. adjustments to its operations.
information satellite offices are located.
CRA believes that putting aside other
The access to information office will critical work in order to direct all possible 3. The Office of the Information
review the delegation order in light of efforts to avoid time extensions would Commissioner recommends that
the OIC’s comments to determine interfere unreasonably with the process- the Canada Revenue Agency develop
whether it should be amended. Following ing of other requests and addressing a clear plan to tackle the backlog of
this review, the office will bring forward other legislated requirements. access requests.
the analysis to senior management for a
decision regarding appropriate delega- It should also be noted that the use of Response
tions. The OIC will then be provided with extensions under section 9 in such CRA agrees with this recommendation,
our assessment for their feedback. circumstances has been legitimized by and notes that it has already taken
the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat concrete steps to address the backlog
in Appendix A of Implementation Report with notable success. In October 2009,
No. 6722, which states the following: the access to information office diverted
22 http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/atip-aiprp/impl-rep/impl-rep2000/67-imp-mise-eng.asp
78
A Special Report to Parliament
two full-time employees and dedicated 4. The Office of the Information 5. The Office of the Information
two additional temporary resources to Commissioner recommends that the Commissioner recommends that the
processing the backlog. As a result of Canada Revenue Agency strive to reduce Canada Revenue Agency comply with the
these measures, of the 920 backlog files its deemed refusal rate to zero. Access to Information Act and notify the
noted in this report, 515 have been Office of the Information Commissioner
closed—a reduction of 56 percent. Response of all the extensions it takes for more
CRA will continue to strive to reduce its than 30 days.
Diverting resources within the office to
deemed refusal rate. Our continued efforts
address the backlog must continually be
to reduce our backlog will, over time, result Response
balanced with the need to respond to
in a reduction in our deemed refusal rate. CRA fully agrees with this recommenda-
incoming requests. Within this context, the
Given the exponential increase in pages tion and will put further processes in place
office will continue to explore innovative
being processed, however, CRA recog- to ensure complete compliance with this
ways to reduce the backlog, including
nizes that progress towards this goal will recommendation. It is our understanding
process and technology improvements.
be incremental. Under the circumstances, that the OIC calculated our compliance
Towards this end, CRA will consult with
the access to information office will rate for 2008–2009 to be 85 percent;
other access to information offices
strive to ensure that the deemed refusal however, according to our records, our
across government to consider best
rate does not increase. compliance rate is 91 percent. CRA will
practices for possible implementation
work with the OIC to clarify why the CRA
within its office. CRA will also work with By reducing the backlog, as outlined and OIC calculations are based on
the OIC to seek innovative means to above, the office will incrementally different methodologies, in order to
mitigate the impact of bulk requesters reduce the deemed refusal rate. Within rectify this discrepancy.
upon our operations. this context, the office will continue to
explore innovative ways to maximize The access to information office will
In its review of the delegation order, the
efficiencies through process, procedural consult with the OIC to ensure the
access to information office will explore
and technology improvements. Towards reporting methodology used by both
the feasibility of expanding delegations
this end, the CRA will consult with other institutions is synchronized. As well,
within the office to expedite the process-
offices across government to consider internal processes and procedures will
ing of the backlog.
best practices for possible implementa- be reviewed, and best practices will be
The office recognizes that reducing the tion within the office. implemented and communicated to staff
backlog will, in part, depend on having through a variety of communication
As well, in its review of the delegation vehicles. CRA will implement necessary
the necessary staff to undertake the
order, the office will explore the feasibility measures to ensure that it is fully
processing in a timely manner. Towards
of expanding delegations within the office compliant with the Act in this regard.
this end, the office will undertake the
to expedite the processing of requests.
staffing processes outlined in its staffing
plan to ensure vacancies are quickly filled The office recognizes that reducing the
with candidates from the resulting pools. deemed refusal rate will hinge on ensuring
it has the necessary staff to process
Success of these actions will be carefully
requests in a timely manner. Towards
monitored, and regular updates on progress
this end, the office will undertake the
will be provided to senior management.
staffing processes outlined in its staffing
plan to ensure vacancies are quickly filled
with candidates from the resulting pools.
79
80
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of
requests
completed 327 2008–2009 report card at a glance VV VV
D
• Deemed refusal rate was 35.8 percent.
• Deemed
refusal rate 35.8%* • Average completion time was 50 days.
• Average time • CFIA submitted the required notices of extensions longer than 30 days to the
to complete a Office of the Information Commissioner 61 percent of the time.
request (in days) 50 • A series of crises, such as incidents of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) and listeriosis, overwhelmed CFIA’s access program, without an equivalent
• Number of increase in resources to respond efficiently. There had been no time extension
consultation
requests 74 complaints against CFIA in the two years preceding these crises.
• The backlog grew: CFIA carried 201 requests over into 2009–2010 (compared
• Number of complaints to 56 files from 2007–2008).
registered with • The delegation of authority was diffuse. All records on topics of great public
the Office of interest had to be approved by the president prior to release.
the Information
Commissioner 12 • Senior executives have subsequently taken a number of steps to
improve compliance:
• Number of complaints
– conducted internal and external reviews of access to information operations;
the Office of the
Information – allocated $500,000 to consultants to reduce the backlog;
Commissioner
resolved 3** – developed a multi-year plan to address problems raised in the external
review report;
• Number of full-time – revised the delegation order to streamline the approval process;
equivalents in
– upgraded software; and
access to information
office, as of – hired two new permanent staff members.
March 31, 2009 6
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 81
Out of Time
2008–2009 report card CFIA extended 175 of the 472 new In terms of human resources, CFIA needs
requests it received in 2008–2009. More more capacity in order to manage its
Interest in the information holdings of the than three quarters (78 percent) of the growing volume of requests. The
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) extensions it took were for third-party institution brought in consultants to
has increased in recent years, which has consultations. CFIA was only able to manage the backlog and regular
meant a significant and steady increase complete one third of its extended workloads, but this is not a sustainable
in the volume, size and complexity of requests within the longer time frame. strategy, both fiscally and in terms of
requests. This, combined with high- long-term compliance. In an attempt to
profile incidents of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) and listeriosis, led
CFIA to score an alarming 35.8 percent
deemed refusal rate for 2008–2009,
How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
when CFIA was subject to its first report
card. The backlog of requests also grew
rapidly, with 201 requests carried over CFIA reported that it completed
21% 53% 77 of the requests it received in
into 2009–2010. These numbers illustrate Overdue by 1–30 days
2008–2009 after their due date.
that CFIA was unable to meet its obliga- Overdue by 31–60 days This graph shows how long these
tions under the Access to Information Act. 8%
Overdue by 61–90 days requests stayed open beyond
The high deemed refusal rate resulted in Overdue by more than 90 days 18%
that deadline.
CFIA receiving the 2008 Code of Silence
award from the Canadian Association
of Journalists.
85
not report any delays resulting from this
approval process, the fact that the 6
82
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 7 7
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 6 6
5 5
These graphs show the number and outcome of two
types of complaint registered against CFIA in the last 4 4
three reporting periods: complaints about deemed
3 3
refusals (access to information requests that CFIA delayed
beyond the deadlines—30 days and extended—set out in 2 2
the Access to Information Act) and complaints about 1 1
CFIA’s use of the time extensions allowed under the
0 0
Act. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC finds 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
to have merit and that the institution resolves to the •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
Commissioner’s satisfaction.
In each of the last three years, the OIC resolved 50 percent In 2008–2009, the OIC found three out of the four
or more of the deemed refusal complaints registered complaints about time extensions to be not substantiated.
against CFIA (50 percent; 100 percent; 50 percent).
Administrative 3 0 0 0 3
Information management in general
Refusals 1 0 0 6 7
contributed to difficulty in retrieving
records, due in part to the remote Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
confidences
inspection operations across the
country and limited connectivity. Total 4 0 0 6 10
2008–2009
Senior management launched many Administrative 3 3 3 1 10
initiatives to improve compliance in
Refusals 0 0 0 2 2
2009–2010, such as undertaking a
comprehensive study of the institution’s Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
confidences
access operations. This was validated
through an external expert review Total 3 3 3 3 12
(completed in July 2009). CFIA also
The number of administrative complaints (including deemed refusal and time extension complaints) against CFIA
revised the delegation order to give full
increased significantly from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009 (from 3 to 10). However, CFIA’s record on resolved refusal
authority to the access to information complaints was good (only one in three years), suggesting that the institution applies exemptions under the Act well.
coordinator to approve the release of
83
Out of Time
records, and approved the staffing of 2. The Office of the Information ensure the agency’s ability to minimize its
additional permanent positions. Commissioner recommends that the deemed refusal rate.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
The Office of the Information formulate and implement a clear, Further to the report card recommenda-
Commissioner (OIC) anticipates a far comprehensive and multi-year plan tions, the access to information office is
more transparent approach to access to improve the delivery of access to currently revising its internal procedures
to information as a result of the new information services, eliminate the on extensions in order to ensure all
commitment of resources, and com- backlog and improve compliance, along extensions taken are more precise and
mends the demonstrated leadership the lines of the expert report commis- sufficient in length.
of CFIA to improve its compliance. sioned in 2009.
84
A Special Report to Parliament
Canadian Heritage
Canadian Heritage is responsible for national policies and programs
Some facts about access that promote Canadian content, foster cultural participation, active
to information operations citizenship and participation in Canada’s civic life, and strengthen
at Canadian Heritage in connections among Canadians.
2008–2009
• Number of requests
carried over from 2008–2009 report card at a glance VVVVV
2007–2008 93 • Deemed refusal rate was 40.8 percent.
F
• Number of new
requests 294 • The average time to complete a request was 107 days; 35 percent of requests
took more than 120 days to complete.
• Number of • Processing of records is delayed at the records retrieval and review stages,
requests due to a two-step review process. Moreover, this process involves assistant
completed 239 deputy ministers, who do not have delegated authority for access to information
at the institution.
• Deemed
refusal rate 40.8%* • The access to information function was funded on an ad hoc basis, which
contributes to instability.
• Average time • The access to information office was very short-staffed during the reporting
to complete a
request (in days) 107 period. Among other impacts, access officials were unable to take a proactive
approach to providing awareness training to Canadian Heritage employees.
• Number of • Canadian Heritage submitted the required notices of extensions longer than
consultation 30 days to the Office of the Information Commissioner 62 percent of the time.
requests 106 • The Office of the Information Commissioner resolved 13 out of the 25 complaints
• Number of complaints it registered against Canadian Heritage in 2008–2009. All the resolved com-
registered with plaints had to do with delays getting information to requesters.
the Office of • Recent developments are a step in the right direction:
the Information
Commissioner 25 – The access office brought in new employees on special assignments.
– Canadian Heritage is now reviewing the resources required for the
• Number of complaints access function.
the Office of the
– A senior analyst is now dedicated to closing requests in the backlog.
Information
Commissioner – In 2009–2010, access officials offered more access awareness sessions
resolved 13 **
than previously and are developing a plan for enhanced training throughout
the institution.
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 5.4
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 85
Out of Time
Canadian Heritage
2008–2009 report card input is sought concurrently, not consecu- resolved 13 of them. All the resolved
tively, as was formerly the case. The complaints had to do with delays getting
Despite the fact that access to informa- proposed disclosure package is also sent information to requestors.
tion is a statutory requirement, access to communications and the minister’s
to information officials at Canadian Heritage office for information purposes only. Access to information officials said that
reported during the interview for this Canadian Heritage funds the access to
report card that the function is given The Office of the Information Commissioner information office on an ad hoc, rather
considerably less priority than the (OIC) registered 25 complaints against than a fixed, basis, which compromises
institution’s mandate-related programs. Canadian Heritage in 2008–2009 and its stability.
35
requests and makes it harder to meet its
30
legislated deadlines. 25
20
This review process involving assistant 15
deputy ministers has too many layers and 10
is questionable in light of the delegation 5
order, which gives only the deputy 0
31–90 days 91–120 days 121–150 days 151–180 days More than Unspecified
minister, corporate secretary and director 180 days
of the access to information office full
delegated authority to approve and This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions Canadian Heritage reported to have taken in
release information. The one mitigating 2008–2009. Canadian Heritage supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2)
of the Access to Information Act. Canadian Heritage submitted the notices 62 percent of the time in
factor in terms of delays is that when
2008–2009; the OIC expects this figure to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
several assistant deputy ministers are
involved in reviewing documents, their
86
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 14 14
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 12 12
The access to information office was Number and outcome of complaints to the OIC, 2006–2007 to 2008–2009
very short of staff in 2008–2009 after
a complete turnover. Given the shortage, This table sets out the number and outcome of the Office of the Information Commissioner registered against
Canadian Heritage in each of the last three reporting periods. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC finds
a temporary staff member was hired to
to have merit and that the institution resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
work on the backlog, which Canadian
Heritage acknowledged was not a
Not
sustainable strategy but was necessary. Resolved Discontinued Pending Total
substantiated
2006–2007
The personnel shortage meant that access
officials were unable to take a proactive Administrative 3 6 0 0 9
approach to access awareness training Refusals 3 0 1 2 6
across the institution. This compounded the Cabinet
overall problem of compliance, since lack 0 2 0 0 2
confidences
of organizational awareness is detrimental Total 6 8 1 2 17
to the success of any access program. 2007–2008
Canadian Heritage’s access to information
Administrative 0 4 6 0 10
trainer reported that employees are
sometimes surprised when apprised of Refusals 0 0 1 1 2
their responsibilities under the Access Cabinet 0 0 1 0 1
to Information Act. confidences
Total 0 4 8 1 13
As a staffing strategy, Canadian Heritage 2008–2009
subsequently took advantage of a federal
Administrative 13 2 5 1 21
program (the Special Assignment Pay
Plan) to bring experienced public servants Refusals 0 0 0 4 4
into the access office on special assign- Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
ments to quickly augment the access confidences
staff team. Total 13 2 5 5 25
Canadian Heritage reports that it is taking Each year, administrative complaints, which include those about delays and time extensions, accounted for the
a number of steps to improve compliance majority of the complaints (9 of 17; 10 of 13; 21 of 25). The number of resolved administrative complaints rose
with the Access to Information Act. This sharply from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009 (from 0 to 13). In contrast, there were no resolved refusal complaints in
either 2007–2008 or 2008–2009.
is encouraging; however, the institution’s
poor compliance in 2008–2009, which
87
Out of Time
was the first year it was part of the report 3. The Office of the Information • creating a training session for
card process, indicates that there is an Commissioner recommends that program access to information
urgent need for further efforts to stream- Canadian Heritage develop and imple- and privacy liaisons; and
line the document retrieval and review ment a multi-year plan to improve
• establishing joint training sessions
process, to stabilize funding, and recruit compliance with the Act, with particular
with the department’s information
and train new staff. attention to eliminating its backlog.
management and information
technology groups for departmental
Response employees.
Recommendations
Canadian Heritage has initiated several
1. The OIC recommends that Canadian changes in procedures to improve
Heritage senior executives strictly follow compliance. 5. The Office of the Information
the delegated authority order to eliminate Commissioner recommends that
Several strategies to reduce the backlog Canadian Heritage comply with the Act
inappropriate levels of approval.
have been established. A senior officer is and notify the Office of the Information
dedicated full time to the backlog. Commissioner of all the extensions it
Response
takes for more than 30 days.
The delegated authority is followed by Processes will continue to be reviewed
the institution. for further streamlining possibilities.
Response
The program areas with their expertise in Timeliness of responses from program Notifying the Office of the Information
the subject matter review the material areas will continue to be closely monitored. Commissioner when extensions are taken
and provide recommendations; they do for more than 30 days is part of the
not approve the application of procedures of the Secretariat.
exemptions. 4. The Office of the Information
Commissioner recommends that The Secretariat will ensure that the
The communications branch and the Canadian Heritage develop a training procedures are followed.
minister’s office are provided with release plan for access to information staff
packages of requests for information and records holders.
purposes only.
Response
Canadian Heritage supports increasing
2. The Office of the Information
the awareness of the access to information
Commissioner recommends that the
and privacy legislation within the institution.
deputy minister of Canadian Heritage
allocate the necessary human and Staff in the Secretariat have learning
financial resources in order to comply plans and are encouraged to continu-
with the Access to Information Act. ously develop their skills.
88
A Special Report to Parliament
Canadian International
Development Agency
Some facts about access
to information operations The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) delivers
at CIDA in 2008–2009 Canada’s official development assistance around the world, working
to reduce poverty, promote human rights and support sustainable
• Number of requests
development.
carried over from
2007–2008 102
• Number of new
requests 150 2008–2009 report card at a glance VVVVV
F
• Number of • Deemed refusal rate was 37.7 percent.
requests
completed 168 • Average completion time was 157 days.
• All but the most basic disclosure packages are sent to the minister’s office
• Deemed for approval.
refusal rate 37.7%* • Lengthy extensions of more than 30 days were common: 45 percent were for
• Average time more than 90 days.
to complete a
157
• Difficulty retrieving records, due to the international scope of CIDA’s work, compli-
request (in days) cates the tasking process.
• Number of • A backlog of 102 cases had accumulated from the previous fiscal year, which
consultation CIDA reduced by 18 in 2008–2009.
requests 86 • The number of pages reviewed doubled in 2008–2009.
• Number of complaints • CIDA set up agreements with its key partners—Foreign Affairs and International
registered with Trade Canada, the Department of Justice Canada, National Defence and the Privy
the Office of Council Office—to facilitate timely consultations.
the Information
Commissioner 11 • Recognizing that its compliance was not satisfactory in 2008–2009, CIDA has
instituted a comprehensive action plan to address many of the issues that nega-
tively affected its compliance rate, including taking the following actions:
• Number of complaints
the Office of the – changing the approval process, such that the minister’s office will be informed
Information of a disclosure of documents 72 hours before release; and
Commissioner
resolved 4** – allocating additional resources for new staff to eliminate the backlog, reduce
individual workload and deliver training for access to information staff and
awareness sessions for employees.
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 8.29
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 89
Out of Time
2008–2009 report card The number of pages processed doubled, better domestically, since consultations
even though the number of requests with other federal institutions are so
Much of the effort of the new manage- stabilized. The nature of CIDA’s wide- prolonged that CIDA releases whatever
ment and staff in the access to spread, international operations sometimes records are ready and closes files before
information office at the Canadian makes finding records difficult. knowing the results of the consultations.
International Development Agency (CIDA) CIDA took steps to address this in 2009
in 2008–2009 was spent instituting CIDA frequently needs to consult with by setting up agreements with key
policies and procedures to reassure other institutions, other countries and partners to facilitate timely consultations.
members of the minister’s office about foreign agencies. The requests with
release packages in order to reduce an international scope are particularly CIDA has launched an action plan that
the level of approvals required for the time-consuming to process and contrib- leverages the full support of manage-
majority of them. The minister’s office ute to delays. The situation has been no ment to establish standards, and train
saw all but the most basic administrative
requests, amounting to about 98 percent
of the 150 requests CIDA received. The How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
fact that the minister’s office had to
CIDA reported that it completed
approve the release of documents had 13% 61%
3% 30 of the requests it received in
an impact on CIDA’s ability to meet its Overdue by 1–30 days 2008–2009 after their due date.
legislative deadlines and ran counter to Overdue by 31–60 days 23% This graph shows how long these
the access to information coordinator’s Overdue by 61–90 days requests stayed open beyond
that deadline.
fully delegated authority. CIDA access to Overdue by more than 90 days
information officials, however, reported
that they do not allot any extra time for
the minister’s approval. This institution
had a deemed refusal rate of 37.7 percent
in 2008–2009—its first year as part of Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
the report card process—along with an
12
average completion time of 157 days
and a backlog of 102 cases (although it 10
Number of extensions
than 90 days. 2
90
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 12 12
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 10
10
91
Out of Time
92
A Special Report to Parliament
Canadian Security
Intelligence Service
Some facts about access
to information operations The Canadian Intelligence Security Agency (CSIS) collects, analyzes and
at CSIS in 2008–2009 retains information and intelligence about activities that may threaten
the security of Canada, and reports to and advises the Government of
• Number of requests
Canada on these matters.
carried over from
2007–2008 37
• Number of new
requests 150 2008–2009 report card at a glance VVVVV
• Number of
D
• Deemed refusal rate was 20.9 percent.
requests
completed 140 • Average time to complete a request was 86 days.
• Staffing instability may have contributed to administrative errors, which negatively
• Deemed
refusal rate 20.9% * affected the compliance rate.
• CSIS submitted notices to the Office of the Information Commissioner about
• Average time extensions of more than 30 days 57 percent of the time.
to complete a
request (in days) 86 • The Office of the Information Commissioner resolved five out of six delay-related
complaints registered against CSIS in 2008–2009.
• Number of • CSIS receives more consultation requests than access to information requests.
consultation
requests 182 • CSIS has a strong information management structure.
• The access to information office was successful in recruiting new staff after a
• Number of complaints large turnover, despite high security requirements.
registered with
• One employee now plays a quality assurance role, overseeing both individual
the Office of
release packages and access operations in general.
the Information
Commissioner 13 • CSIS proactively releases regularly requested records.
• A software upgrade was scheduled for January 2010.
• Number of complaints
the Office of the • A compliance officer monitors the advancement of files and notifies the coordina-
Information tor, as required.
Commissioner
resolved 6** • CSIS carried eight overdue requests over into 2009–2010.
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 15
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 93
Out of Time
2008–2009 report card the organization for the access program The institution’s information management
will result in better staff retention. practices contribute positively to the
The Canadian Security Intelligence access to information function. CSIS
Service’s (CSIS) compliance with the CSIS has instituted a proactive approach employees must pre-code every record
Access to Information Act in 2008– to dealing with records that are requested they create—right down to each
2009, its first year as part of the report regularly, and has allotted a full-time email—for security and classification
card process, was disappointing. Its resource to this function. CSIS reports requirements. This facilitates easy
deemed refusal rate was 20.9 percent, that it has already seen its deemed retrieval in most cases.
and the average time to complete a refusal rate go down in 2009–2010.
request was 86 days. In addition, more
than one quarter of the requests CSIS
completed late were overdue by more
than 90 days. However, CSIS also How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
received more consultation requests
than access requests in 2008–2009,
27% 59% CSIS reported that it completed
essentially doubling the workload for the 22 of the requests it received in
Overdue by 1–30 days
15 full-time equivalents in the access to 2008–2009 after their due date.
Overdue by 31–60 days This graph shows how long these
information office.
Overdue by 61–90 days requests stayed open beyond
5%
Overdue by more than 90 days that deadline.
CSIS started the year with a significant 9%
staff turnover, but was able to recruit up
to nearly a full staff complement as the
year progressed. CSIS’s operating
environment requires access personnel Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
to have high security clearances. Access
officials reported that this hampers 25
recruiting efforts, which are already
Number of extensions
20
a challenge, given the shortage of
qualified candidates. 15
94
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 6 6
2006–2007 to 2008–2009
5 5
Administrative 5 0 1 0 6
Refusals 1 2 1 3 7
Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
confidences
Total 6 2 2 3 13
The overall number of complaints registered against CSIS increased in the last three years (6; 10; 13).
95
Out of Time
2. The Office of the Information In many instances, the content and The access compliance officer will
Commissioner recommends that the sensitivity of the records requested conduct regular audits to ensure that
Canadian Security Intelligence Service require extensive internal and external the OIC notifications are not overlooked
reduce its deemed refusal rate to zero. consultations. Although the access to in the future.
information office has some control over
Response the internal consultations, we do not set As an additional safeguard, the access
the priorities of other departments. coordinator will receive a weekly status
The carry over of eight outstanding
Nevertheless, efforts will be made to report from the access clerk on this
requests in deemed refusal from the
remind our partners to respond to our specific task.
2008–2009 reporting period has made
consultation requests in a timely manner.
it impossible to achieve the ideal OIC
compliance rate of less than five percent
in 2009–2010. Nonetheless, CSIS
96
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of • CIC extended five percent of requests for more than 30 days.
consultation
requests 161 • The number of administrative complaints that the Office of the Information
Commissioner resolved has decreased over the past three years.
• Number of complaints • Some record holders did not have sufficient resources to handle periodic
registered with instances of many requests arriving at the same time.
the Office of • 82 percent of extension notices were submitted to the OIC under section 9(2)
the Information
Commissioner 51 of the Act.
• Number of complaints
the Office of the
Information
Commissioner
resolved 5**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 45.65
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 97
Out of Time
2008–2009 report card CIC felt the effects of periodic instances institution, particularly since CIC reported
of certain missions, such as Chandigarh, having sent records using a variety of
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Beijing and New Delhi, receiving a large traditional means, including mail, courier
continued to receive the largest volume number of requests all at once. Addition and diplomatic bag, which, on occasion,
of access to information requests of any ally, some records holders (such as the could take weeks to reach Ottawa.
institution in 2008–2009. CIC received mission in Chandigarh) had limited
14,034 requests, nearly all (96 percent) resources and no specific funding for Access to information staffing levels
of which were requests for clients’ access to information and privacy duties. were adequate at the beginning of the
personal information—from consultants While recognizing the extent of CIC’s reporting period, but CIC reported that
and lawyers representing non-citizens overseas operations, the OIC is con- they were insufficient to effectively
who have had dealings with CIC on cerned about retrieval of records at the handle the 23 percent increase in
matters of immigration or citizenship.
98
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 12 12
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 10 10
Administrative 3 1 12 0 16
Refusals 2 4 3 22 31
Cabinet 0 0 0 4 4
confidences
Total 5 5 15 26 51
The number of resolved complaints as a proportion of overall complaints registered against CIC decreased each
year (50 percent; 22 percent; 10 percent).
99
Out of Time
Response
CIC is in a unique position, whereby many
of its records are located at missions
abroad. As a result of the remote
location, this is an obstacle that has
resulted in our inability to attain ideal
compliance. CIC currently uses scanners
in some of its high-volume missions, in
order to send information via email.
However, this is not always feasible,
depending on the size of the file being
sent over the system, the bandwidth
limitations and the classification level
of the documents. In addition, CDs have
been used to reduce the bulk of the
records and make them easier to transmit
100
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of full-time • CSC’s commissioner and assistant commissioner responsible for access have
equivalents in committed to taking steps to emphasize to senior management and staff the
access to information importance of respecting the provisions of the Access to Information Act, meet-
office, as of ing the legislated timelines and following correct procedures.
March 31, 2009 10.5 • CSC reports that measures it has taken recently have led to better compliance in
2009–2010. CSC is aiming for significant improvement within two years.
2008–2009 report card always make responding to access to the minister to clearly communicate the
information requests their top priority, importance of meeting these legislated
Access to information officials at the given other competing interests related requirements.
Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) to the safety and security of the public,
acknowledged that its unacceptably high offenders and employees. The OIC is CSC access to information officials
deemed refusal rate of 47 percent in concerned that these officials do not reported that they emphasize during staff
2008–2009 was due, in large part, to a understand their obligations under the access awareness sessions that access
reorganization of the access to informa- Access to Information Act, particularly to information responsibilities are governed
tion office. In addition, analysts worked related to releasing records on time, and by legislation and that access requests
on both privacy and access requests in looks to CSC’s senior management and are to be considered a priority.
2008–2009, and an increase in workload
associated with the former affected their
ability to process access requests in a
timely manner.
How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
The average completion time for
requests in 2008–2009 was 110 days. CSC reported that it completed
22% 48% 171 of the requests it received in
Moreover, almost 50 percent of the
Overdue by 1–30 days 2008–2009 after their due date.
requests CSC received and completed in
Overdue by 31–60 days This graph shows how long these
2008–2009 were still open beyond their 7% requests stayed open beyond
Overdue by 61–90 days
due date, and it took more than 90 days that deadline. It is of concern
Overdue by more than 90 days 23%
after that deadline to complete 22 that 52 percent of these requests
were late by more than 30 days.
percent of those requests. The Office
of the Information Commissioner (OIC)
is very concerned to see CSC letting a
large percentage of files become overdue Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
and then not completing those files quickly.
18
CSC’s access to information office did 16
Number of extensions
102
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 16 16
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 14 14
12 12
These graphs show the number and outcome of two
10 10
types of complaint registered against CSC in the last
three reporting periods: complaints about deemed 8 8
refusals (access to information requests that CSC 6 6
delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and extended— 4 4
set out in the Access to Information Act) and complaints
2 2
about CSC’s use of the time extensions allowed under
the Act. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC 0 0
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
finds have merit and that the institution resolves to the •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
Commissioner’s satisfaction.
There was a large increase in deemed refusal complaints CSC had no resolved time extensions complaints in
between 2006–2007 and 2007–2008 (from 2 to 14). the last three reporting periods, but three complaints
Although the total went down (to 9) in 2008–2009, it did were pending at the end of both 2007–2008 and
not return to the 2006–2007 level, and the proportion of 2008–2009.
complaints the OIC resolved remained large (89 percent
in 2008–2009).
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Out of Time
Recommendations 89 percent in the second and 92 percent the division’s management team and on
in the third. a monthly basis by the director general,
1. The Office of the Information rights, redress and resolution.
Commissioner recommends that the The assistant commissioner responsible
commissioner of the Correctional Service for access to information will issue a
of Canada continue to take a strong memorandum providing detailed instruc- 5. The Office of the Information
leadership role in establishing a culture tions on the procedures and timelines Commissioner recommends that the
of compliance throughout the to provide responses to the Access to Correctional Service of Canada comply
Correctional Service of Canada. Such a Information and Privacy Division to with the Act and notify the Office of the
role requires the unwavering endorse- achieve full compliance with the Act. Information Commissioner of all the
ment of the minister. extensions it takes for more than 30 days.
104
A Special Report to Parliament
Environment Canada
Environment Canada’s mandate is to preserve and enhance the quality of the
Some facts about access natural environment, conserve Canada’s renewable resources, conserve and
to information operations protect Canada’s water resources, forecast weather and environmental
at Environment Canada change, enforce rules relating to boundary waters, and coordinate environ-
in 2008–2009 mental policies and programs for the federal government.
• Number of requests
carried over from
2007–2008 276 2008–2009 report card at a glance V V
F
• Number of new
requests 892 • The deemed refusal rate was 36.9 percent.
• The average completion time was 97 days.
• Number of • It took an average of 26 days to retrieve records, due in large part to a
requests
completed 914 reorganization that led to the responsibility for records changing.
• 28 percent of overdue requests were completed more than 90 days late.
• Deemed
refusal rate 36.9%* • Environment Canada had a large backlog, although it did reduce it, through the
work of consultants.
• Average time • Environment Canada submitted notices of extensions of more than 30 days
to complete a
97
47 percent of the time.
request (in days)
• The total number of complaints increased significantly from 2007–2008 to
• Number of 2008–2009 (from 35 to 54), as did the number of administrative complaints
consultation (from 16 to 38).
requests 212 • An increase in interest in environmental issues has led to a corresponding
increase in requests and pages reviewed in recent years.
• Number of complaints
registered with • The access to information office is sufficiently resourced but was staffed at only
the Office of half of its capacity at times during the year. Environment Canada has created a
the Information professional development program to recruit and retain access staff.
Commissioner 54 • Senior management supports the access to information office by pushing for
continuous staffing actions and the hiring of consultants.
• Number of complaints
the Office of the • A new document collaboration and storage system is currently being implemented.
Information • Environment Canada no longer has to process access to information requests
Commissioner
resolved 20 ** on behalf of Parks Canada, since Parks Canada created its own access to infor-
mation office on April 1, 2009.
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 8.8
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 105
Out of Time
Environment Canada
2008–2009 report card instances the deadline for extending a Staffing affected Environment Canada’s
request had already passed before that compliance in 2008–2009; at times, only
Environment Canada’s access to became apparent. 9 of the available 18 positions in the
information office described the last access to information office were filled.
three years as challenging. This period The OIC resolved 18 delay-related In the view of access officials, finding and
coincides with an increase in public interest complaints (those about overdue retaining qualified access to information
in environmental matters, which translated requests and problems with time staff is the biggest challenge they face
in 2008–2009 into a 35 percent increase extensions) against Environment Canada to achieving better compliance. It should
in requests and a 55 percent increase in in 2008–2009. These accounted for all be noted that the office did complete
the number of pages reviewed from the but two of the resolved complaints for continuous staffing actions to address
year before. There was also a sizeable the year. these shortages. And, while it has so far
backlog of 276 files. The institution did
not have the internal capacity to meet its
legislated access to information obligations
on a consistent basis in 2008–2009. It had How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
a deemed refusal rate of 36.9 percent and
its average completion time was 97 days. Environment Canada reported
that it completed 147 of the
More than one quarter (28 percent) of 28% 44%
requests it received in 2008–2009
Overdue by 1–30 days
the overdue files were completed more after their due date. This graph
than 90 days after their original due Overdue by 31–60 days shows how long these requests
date. Finally, Environment Canada only Overdue by 61–90 days stayed open beyond that deadline.
8% It is of concern that 56 percent of
notified the Office of the Information Overdue by more than 90 days
20% these requests were late by more
Commissioner (OIC) of extensions of more than 30 days.
than 30 days 47 percent of the time.
25
to delays in searching for and locating
records. It took an average of 26 days to 20
10
The problems with records retrieval were
5
a major factor hampering Environment
0
Canada’s ability to achieve greater compli- 31–90 days 91–120 days 121–150 days 151–180 days More than Unspecified
180 days
ance. Access to information officials stated
that they probably should have claimed This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions Environment Canada reported to have taken
more time extensions under parag‑ in 2008–2009. Environment Canada supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2)
raph 9(1)(a) of the Access to Information of the Access to Information Act. Environment Canada submitted the notices 47 percent of the time in
2008–2009; the OIC expects this figure to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
Act than they did, but in too many
106
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 20 20
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 18 18
16 16
These graphs show the number and outcome for two 14 14
types of complaint registered against Environment 12 12
Canada in the last three reporting periods: complaints 10 10
about deemed refusals (access to information requests 8 8
that Environment Canada delayed beyond the dead- 6 6
lines—30 days and extended—set out in the Access to 4 4
Information Act) and complaints about Environment 2 2
Canada’s use of the time extensions allowed under the 0 0
2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
Act. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC finds •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
to have merit and that the institution resolves to the
Commissioner’s satisfaction. The total number of deemed refusal complaints The number of time extension complaints tripled
increased over the three years (4; 7; 17). The OIC between 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 (from 6 to 18);
resolved all of these complaints in 2006–2007 and however, the OIC found 12 out of the 18 time extension
2007–2008, and 76 percent of them in 2008–2009. complaints in 2008–2009 to be not substantiated.
Administrative 19 13 4 2 38
Refusals 1 4 1 9 15
Cabinet 0 1 0 0 1
confidences
Total 20 18 5 11 54
The total number of complaints increased significantly from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009 (from 35 to 54), as did
the number of administrative complaints (from 16 to 38). The number of resolved complaints was the same in
the first two years (13) but increased by 54 percent to 20 in 2008–2009.
107
Out of Time
108
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 18.8
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 109
Out of Time
2008–2009 report card aid retention of knowledgeable access to When certain key employees left records-
information staff, and completed several holding units last year, institutional
Access to information officials at staffing actions in 2008–2009. A portion knowledge (such as where records were
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) of the senior access to information staff located) was lost with them. The entire
stated during the report card interview time was spent training junior analysts in process for searching for records was
that access to information is endorsed 2008–2009. The institution has a strong compromised by such circumstances.
at all levels, starting with senior manage- access to information and privacy training DFO launched a three-year plan to improve
ment, yet it was unclear to the Office of committee to provide training to all DFO staff. the technology used in the access to
the Information Commissioner (OIC) information office, including its case
whether the institution has a concrete Information management was a challenge management software, as well as a five-year
plan in place specifically designed to for DFO in one regard. A portion of its plan to improve information management
achieve better compliance with the records are located primarily in the regions. systems across the institution.
Access to Information Act. The institution
has been assessed as part of the report
card process almost every year since How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
1999, and has never achieved the 4%
optimal level of compliance. DFO reported that it completed
15% 62% 27 of the requests it received in
In 2008–2009, DFO’s deemed refusal rate Overdue by 1–30 days 2008–2009 after their due date.
was 13.2 percent. DFO continued to Overdue by 31–60 days This graph shows how long these
19%
requests stayed open beyond
operate under the burden of a backlog of Overdue by 61–90 days
that deadline
access to information requests in 2008– Overdue by more than 90 days
2009. The files that remain are requests
for large volumes of records, or large
batches of requests from a single requestor.
It is commendable that DFO decreased Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
its backlog in 2008–2009 (and hopes to
eliminate it by the end of March 2010), 45
40
through the work of consultants. This is
Number of extensions
35
particularly noteworthy since DFO’s 30
average number of pages per request 25
is between 1,000 and 1,500. Furthermore, 20
DFO continued to process upwards 15
110
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 12 12
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 10 10
Recommendations Cabinet 0 2 0 1 3
confidences
1. The Office of the Information Total 9 9 5 11 34
Commissioner recommends that the 2008–2009
deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans Administrative 11 4 4 1 20
Canada continue to take a strong leader-
Refusals 0 1 2 10 13
ship role in establishing a culture of
compliance throughout the institution. Such Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
confidences
a role requires the leadership of the minister.
Total 11 5 6 11 33
Response
The total number of administrative complaints against DFO increased each year (8, 12, 20), and the number of
Agreed. DFO’s access to information resolved administrative complaints increased from 3 in 2007–2008 to 11 in 2008–2009.
office is fortunate to have the continuing
support of both the deputy minister and
the minister.
111
Out of Time
DFO’s training and awareness initiatives, processing capabilities; and should significantly reduce the depart-
targeting every level of the organization, ment’s average completion time.
• ensuring access to information staff
will highlight the importance the minister
have the tools they need to work
and deputy minister attach to this
efficiently and effectively.
commitment. 5. The Office of the Information
Commissioner recommends that
3. The Office of the Information Fisheries and Oceans Canada identify
2. The Office of the Information and implement the necessary enhance-
Commissioner recommends that
Commissioner recommends that ments to records management systems
Fisheries and Oceans Canada develop
Fisheries and Oceans Canada strive to to ensure a quick and proper search of
and implement a clear plan to tackle the
reduce its deemed refusal rate to zero. records in response to an access to
backlog of access requests.
information request.
Response
Response
Agreed. DFO has a strategy in place with Response
Agreed. DFO has been working system-
the objective of continuous improvement Agreed. Information management has
atically to reduce the backlog of requests
of our compliance rate and reducing our been recognized as a departmental
in deemed refusal and was in fact success-
deemed refusal rate. priority for 2010–2011.
ful in closing more than 20 overdue files
The ongoing strategy includes the following: last fiscal year, consisting of more than
DFO has established a five-year strategy
118,000 pages of records.
for information management and is planning
• a recruitment and retention program to adopt next-generation information
to address the shortage of trained DFO plans to continue the systematic
reduction of files in a deemed refusal solutions. The department’s vision for
analysts in the federal access to information is “Information used for
information community; DFO is state, and has invested additional
resources to do so. The Access to decision-making and program delivery
building its capacity in order to at DFO/Canadian Coast Guard is
achieve enduring results; Information and Privacy Secretariat is
working towards a goal of eliminating the accurate, relevant, comprehensive and
• a review and streamlining of process backlog by March 31, 2010. timely.” The strategy includes a strength-
flows; ened evaluation function to provide
advice on performance measurement
• a national training program for DFO
4. The Office of the Information and to evaluate the effectiveness of
staff across the department to build
Commissioner recommends that the programs producing objective informa-
awareness of access and privacy;
deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans tion for decision making. In addition, DFO
• a working group comprised of the has established a strategy for identifying
Canada devote the resources to meet the
department’s access to information, and addressing any gaps between its
time requirements of the Access to
information management, library current Info Source submission and
Information Act and reduce the average
services and communications groups annual report, and Treasury Board of
completion time.
to review and promote awareness of Canada Secretariat expectations.
information management and access
Response
to information, especially with respect
to record-keeping practices at DFO; Agreed. The deputy minister has
consistently supported the Access to
• the access to information and privacy Information and Privacy Secretariat
modernization three-year capital plan through the appropriate annual resource
initiated in 2009 to evaluate and levels, and the provision of additional
procure replacement software for resources when requested through a
current and obsolete case manage- substantiated business case.
ment and redaction system; it is
anticipated that the new system will DFO’s average completion time is mainly
allow such things as the provision of affected by delays in obtaining responses
records from the program electroni- from other government departments.
cally, and faster searching and Eliminating the backlog mentioned above
112
A Special Report to Parliament
2008–2009 report card requests, the Office of the Information that involve searches through or for a large
Commissioner (OIC) is encouraged to volume of records that result in “unreason-
Human Resources and Skills Development see that HRSDC sustained at least an able interference with operations.”
Canada (HRSDC) experienced an atypical average level of compliance; its deemed
year in 2008–2009: its access to refusal rate was 10.2 percent. However, The OIC is also concerned about
information office merged with that of the OIC is concerned that this may have HRSDC’s delegation order, which gives
Service Canada three months into the been possible through the use of time everyone from the deputy ministers to
year. The case of HRSDC illustrates the extensions under paragraph 9(1)(a) of the the director and manager of the access
challenges to an institution of a merger, Access to Information Act, which allow office the authority to release records,
particularly when there is little time to plan. institutions to take more time for requests which can cause delays. However, in
114
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 6 6
2006–2007 to 2008–2009
5 5
Administrative 1 1 3 0 5
Refusals 1 4 1 0 6
Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
confidences
Total 2 5 4 0 11
2008–2009
Administrative 3 1 1 0 5
Refusals 1 0 0 4 5
Cabinet 0 0 0 1 1
confidences
Total 4 1 1 5 11
The overall number of complaints against HRSDC varied little over the three years (9; 11; 11), as did the number
of resolved complaints (4; 2; 4), although there were 5 files pending at the end of 2008–2009.
115
Out of Time
116
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of
requests
completed 373 2008–2009 report card at a glance VVVVV
• Deemed C
refusal rate 11.6% * • Deemed refusal rate was 11.6 percent.
• Average time to complete a request was 102 days.
• Average time • INAC completed 47 percent of access to information requests in 30 or fewer
to complete a
request (in days) 102 days. 16 percent of requests took more than 120 days to complete.
• INAC submitted notices of extensions of more than 30 days to the Office of the
• Number of Information Commissioner 14 percent of the time, which is the worst rate among
consultation the institutions surveyed.
requests 139 • Records retrieval is hampered by documents being stored in a variety of media,
• Number of complaints including very old technology, such as microfiche.
registered with • Occasions of mid-manager-level resistance at the retrieval stage have also been
the Office of a problem; however, the access to information office has provided training to
the Information
13
emphasize the importance of a culture of openness at the institution.
Commissioner
• The deputy minister is committed to transparency and intends to increase the use
• Number of complaints of the Internet and the intranet to disseminate information.
the Office of the • INAC has successfully diverted requests from formal to informal request routes.
Information
• The access to information office is undergoing a workload analysis to look at
Commissioner
resolved 2 ** ways of streamlining its process.
• The institution is increasing the number of access to information awareness train-
• Number of full-time ing sessions offered to all employees, as well as the training provided to access
equivalents in to information staff.
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 13
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 117
Out of Time
2008–2009 report card situations inevitably led to delays in particularly because it is a legislated
getting records to the access to informa- obligation.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) tion unit. Access to information awareness
achieved an 11.6 percent deemed refusal sessions were delivered in an attempt to Access officials voiced concern about the
rate in 2008–2009—its first year as part overcome such resistance. This is a current state of the institution’s informa-
of the report card process. positive development; however, the OIC tion management systems, noting that
suggests that officials at the most senior certain types of records in its possession
INAC mirrored a trend across the federal are not easily searchable. In some cases,
levels, including the minister, make it clear
government in which a significant portion the institution continues to use difficult
that access to information should be a
of requests resulted in a very long response and archaic record systems, such as
priority for everyone in the institution,
time. For example, INAC completed only
46 percent of access to information
requests in 30 or fewer days. Furthermore,
16 percent of requests took more than How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
120 days to complete. INAC provided the
Office of the Information Commissioner INAC reported that it completed
(OIC) with notifications for extensions of 19% 43% 21 of the requests it received in
Overdue by 1–30 days
more than 30 days under subsection 9(2) 2008–2009 after their due date.
Overdue by 31–60 days 5% This graph shows how long these
in only 14 percent of cases, the worst
Overdue by 61–90 days requests stayed open beyond that
record among the institutions surveyed. 33%
Overdue by more than 90 days deadline. It is of concern that
57 percent of these requests were
INAC reported that it offers alternative late by more than 30 days.
methods to access certain types of
records informally. For example,
requesters were able to approach the
Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
genealogy unit directly, rather than
putting in a formal access to information 10
request. The institution also allows 9
individuals to request records informally
Number of extensions
8
7
for the purposes of claims research. 6
5
INAC officials emphasized that senior 4
management supports a culture of 3
openness and the efficient processing of 2
1
access requests. In those few cases in 0
which internal resistance was encountered, 31–90 days 91–120 days 121–150 days 151–180 days More than Unspecified
180 days
it usually involved a middle manager. Some
managers did not fully trust the access to This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions INAC reported to have taken in 2008–2009.
information staff’s expertise in determin- INAC supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of the Access to
Information Act. INAC submitted the notices 14 percent of the time in 2008–2009; the OIC expects this figure
ing what records could be released. Such to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
118
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 12 12
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 10
10
119
Out of Time
solving the information management 2. The Office of the Information 4. The Office of the Information
challenge and making other, larger Commissioner recommends that Indian Commissioner recommends that Indian
changes may be required to maintain that and Northern Affairs Canada strive to and Northern Affairs Canada comply
performance or, better, improve it. reduce its deemed refusal rate to zero. with the Act and notify the Office of
the Information Commissioner of all
Response the extensions it takes for more than
Recommendations 30 days.
INAC will ensure that access requests are
1. The Office of the Information processed in a timelier manner. Should
more extensions be required to avoid Response
Commissioner recommends that the
deputy minister of Indian and Northern being in a position of deemed refusal, they INAC agrees with this recommendation.
Affairs Canada continue to take a strong will be taken in accordance with the Act.
INAC will copy the OIC on all notices
leadership role in establishing a culture
To avoid deemed refusals, extension of of extension over 30 days effective
of compliance throughout the institution.
time to process requests may be immediately.
Such a role requires the unwavering
instituted more regularly.
endorsement of the minister.
In addition, INAC’s access to information 5. The Office of the Information
Response office is undertaking a workload analysis Commissioner recommends that Indian
INAC agrees that the deputy minister’s to examine the way we do our business and Northern Affairs Canada reduce its
and the minister’s active engagement are and will be increasing its training. average completion time for access
important in ensuring compliance with requests.
the Access to Information Act. Senior
management is apprised weekly on the 3. The Office of the Information
Response
administration of access requests. The Commissioner recommends that Indian
Reducing the completion time to process
minister continues to support full and Northern Affairs Canada identify and
access requests is impacted by various
compliance with access requirements. implement the necessary enhancements
factors (i.e. response time from program
to records management systems to
areas in providing records, complexity of
It is the intent of the department to look ensure a quick and proper search of
requests, number of qualified staff to
at improved measures of accountability, records in response to an access to
process requests, etc.). These chal-
including the finalization of a monthly information request.
lenges do not go unnoticed and are
report for the Senior Executive
examined on a regular basis by all
Committee regarding late responses Response
stakeholders.
from program areas. Records management is a challenge with
respect to the administration of the Act. INAC’s access office is conducting a
It is the intent to increase the use of the
INAC is currently looking at improving the workload analysis. This assessment will
Internet for disclosure of information
manner in which program areas provide examine the number of requests being
frequently requested through the access
records to the access information office processed by access staff and the time it
process. The deputy minister will use the
in a timelier manner. takes to process an average request with
intranet information website to convey
a view to identifying ways to streamline
notices on access matters. The access office will support the processing and reviewing. More opportu-
Information Management Branch in nities for access training will be provided
developing practices to better manage- to INAC employees.
ment program area information holdings.
120
A Special Report to Parliament
Industry Canada
Industry Canada’s mission is to foster a growing, competitive and knowledge-
Some facts about access based Canadian economy. Industry Canada works to improve conditions for
to information operations investment, improve Canada’s innovation performance, increase Canada’s
at Industry Canada in share of global trade, and build a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace.
2008–2009
• Number of requests
carried over from
2007–2008 118 2008–2009 report card at a glance VVVVV
B
• Number of new • Deemed refusal rate was 8.7 percent.
requests 660 • Average completion time was 46 days.
• Deemed • Industry Canada submitted notices of extensions it took for more than 30 days
refusal rate 8.7% *
83 percent of the time.
• Industry Canada is implementing a comprehensive information management
• Average time
agenda to enhance this capacity and facilitate efficient records retrieval.
to complete a
request (in days) 46 • Industry Canada has developed and implemented a number of practices for
records holders to facilitate the efficient retrieval of records and processing
• Number of of requests.
consultation
requests 135 • Industry Canada negotiates with applicants to streamline their requests and
thereby reduce costs. It also releases responses to requests on CD-ROM.
• Number of complaints
registered with
the Office of
the Information
Commissioner 79
• Number of complaints
the Office of the
Information
Commissioner
resolved 15**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 14
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 121
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Industry Canada
2008–2009 report card confirm the timing of consultations with To improve efficiency and clarity at the
certain key organizations. records retrieval stage, Industry Canada
Industry Canada’s compliance with the has records holders use a template to
Access to Information Act was good in Information management continues to be identify information requiring consultations
2008–2009, despite the institution’s a challenge at Industry Canada, since the and possible severances, and any other
having experienced a 93 percent institution has no central registry for its information germane to the request.
increase in requests. Its deemed refusal vast and diverse record holdings. Industry
rate was 8.7 percent and it took, on Canada is implementing a comprehensive It also asks records holders to write out a
average, 46 days to complete a request. information management agenda, designed rationale for any exemptions, consulta-
Industry Canada was able to complete to enhance its capacity in this area and tions or possible severances, rather than
58 percent of its requests within the improve access to information and records. simply quoting the relevant subject of the
30-day statutory time limit in 2008–
2009. However, it carried a backlog of
252 requests over into 2009–2010.
How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
A new delegation of authority as of
July 2009 added a layer of approval for Industry Canada reported that
access requests at the senior executive 50% 50% it completed only four of the
Overdue by 1–30 days requests it received in 2008–2009
level. Industry Canada assured the Office
Overdue by 31–60 days after their due date. This graph
of the Information Commissioner (OIC)
Overdue by 61–90 days shows that the institution closed
that, nonetheless, the authority to release two of them in fewer than 30 days
information packages remains with the Overdue by more than 90 days but that it took more than 90 days
director and managers of the access to close the other two.
program. The OIC is of the view that
delegation orders should be appropriate,
efficient and transparent. Industry Canada
Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
should ensure that any additional level of
approvals does not lead to delays. 70
60
Industry Canada reported being delayed
Number of extensions
50
by other federal institutions’ turnaround
times when doing mandatory consultations, 40
122
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 35 35
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 30 30
123
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124
A Special Report to Parliament
• Number of complaints
the Office of the
Information
Commissioner
resolved 4**
• Number of full-time
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 6.5
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction. 125
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2008–2009 report card the request been interpreted more federal institutions within the public safety
broadly. The access to information office portfolio (93 percent of all extensions
Public Safety Canada achieved a deemed challenged such narrow interpretations were taken under paragraph 9(1)(b) of the
refusal rate of 8.5 percent for 2008– and provided training to help employees Access to Information Act), as well as with
2009. This is a noteworthy achievement respond to access requests within the other federal, provincial and municipal
in its own right, since the volume of spirit of the Act. institutions, which is often time consum-
consultation requests Public Safety Canada ing: 61 percent of the extensions taken to
received was 84 percent of its request The access to information office uses consult with other institutions were for
volume. During the report card interview, time extensions under paragraph 9(1)(a) more than 90 days. In light of this, Public
access to information officials noted that of the Act in fewer than five percent of Safety Canada has adopted a firm stance
the number of requests it receives has cases. However, Public Safety Canada concerning consultations it sends to other
grown substantially over the past several officials said that they often consult other institutions when the other institution fails
years. The 2008–2009 deemed refusal
rate is also a considerable improvement
from the grades the institution’s predeces- How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
sor, Emergency Preparedness Canada,
received in the past. Public Safety Canada reported
10% 40% that it completed 10 of the
The authority to sign off on release Overdue by 1–30 days 50% requests it received in 2008–2009
Overdue by 31–60 days after their due date. This graph
packages remains with the deputy
shows that the institution closed
minister, the associate deputy minister, Overdue by 61–90 days
four of them in 30 or fewer days,
all assistant deputy ministers, and other Overdue by more than 90 days five of them in 31 to 60 days and
senior officials, as set out in the delega- one in more than 90 days.
tion order. The average completion time
of 75 days reflects a protracted approval
process. Public Safety Canada subse-
Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
quently gave authority for one type of
exemption to the access coordinator but 35
is still very clearly of the view that senior 30
Number of extensions
126
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 40 40
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 35 35
30 30
These graphs show the number and outcome of two types
25 25
of complaint registered against Public Safety Canada in the
last three reporting periods: complaints about deemed 20 20
refusals (access to information requests that Public Safety 15 15
Canada delayed beyond the deadlines—30 days and 10 10
extended—set out in the Access to Information Act) and
5 5
complaints about Public Safety Canada’s use of the time
0 0
extensions allowed under the Act. Resolved complaints are 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009
those that the OIC finds to have merit and that the •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending •Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
institution resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
The total number of deemed refusal complaints decreased The number of time extension complaints decreased
over the three-year period (15; 2; 2). All of the deemed from 2007–2008 to 2008–2009 (36; 11), while the
refusal complaints were resolved in 2006–2007 and number of resolved time extension complaints
2007–2008. decreased in all three years (15; 8; 3).
Administrative 10 7 21 0 38
Refusals 7 4 1 7 19
Cabinet 0 1 0 4 5
confidences
Total 17 12 22 11 62
2008–2009
Administrative 3 2 8 0 13
Refusals 1 1 1 1 4
Cabinet 0 0 0 1 1
confidences
Total 4 3 9 2 18
The number of administrative complaints decreased over three years (47; 38; 13), as did the overall number of
resolved complaints (31; 17; 4).
127
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Recommendations practice of making timely access to The materials that form the basis of our
information performance a commitment training are also available to all depart-
1. The Office of the Information in the performance management mental employees on our intranet site.
Commissioner recommends that agreement of each executive in the Training for departmental officials having
the minister revisit the delegation order department. Public Safety Canada will delegated responsibilities is available
to ensure greater autonomy of the establish processes for ensuring upon request. Employees of the unit
access to information coordinator in the accountability for the completeness continually attend training, through
release of records and eliminate addi- of records retrieval and the interpretation Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
tional levels of approval. of requests. and other avenues, and funding for the
International Association of Privacy
Response Professionals’ Certification Program is
The minister revised the delegations in 3. The Office of the Information also made available. The unit has
2009. The new delegations clarify the Commissioner recommends that Public committed to delivering 10 awareness
administrative authorities for the access Safety Canada develop protocols with sessions over the current year
to information coordinator. The access other federal institutions to facilitate (2009–2010).
to information coordinator was also timely consultations.
given the authority to exempt personal
information in accordance with section Response 5. The Office of the Information
19 of the Act. Informal arrangements are already in Commissioner recommends that Public
place with many of the departments Safety Canada comply with
However, Public Safety Canada believes with which we consult on a regular basis. the Act and notify the Office of the
that the appropriate officials to exercise Public Safety Canada will examine the Information Commissioner of all
delegated authority for most exemptions feasibility of developing such protocols the extensions it takes for more
are the assistant deputy ministers respon- with agencies in the public safety than 30 days.
sible for the subject matter of the records. portfolio, and departments with which
we regularly consult. Response
Public Safety Canada has improved the
The unit has procedures in place to
timeliness of its approval process by
ensure notification to the Office of the
tracking approvals much more closely. 4. The Office of the Information Information Commissioner of extensions
This has resulted in fewer delays at the Commissioner recommends that Public beyond 30 days. The time extension
approvals stage. Safety Canada develop a training plan for template includes a copy to the Office
its employees. of the Information Commissioner. Public
2. The Office of the Information Safety Canada was unaware of any
Response deficiency in this area until receipt of the
Commissioner recommends that Public
Safety Canada strive to reduce its Public Safety Canada values access to OIC’s report. A reminder of this statutory
deemed refusal rate to zero. information training and sees it as an requirement has been issued to all
essential component in improving the employees of the unit.
Response quality and timeliness of our access to
information process. This fiscal year, the
The department has made significant
coordination of access to information
improvements since receiving a grade
training sessions is being managed through
of “F” in 2005, and has sustained
the department’s Learning and Development
90 percent on-time responses over the
Centre, ensuring the widest possible
past two reporting years. Public Safety
dissemination of the availability of this
Canada shares the goal of reducing
training within the institution. Since July
deemed refusals to zero and will continue
2009, the Access to Information and
to examine and refine its processes with
Privacy Unit has delivered training to
the ultimate goal of full compliance.
113 employees, 80 of whom received
Public Safety Canada will resume the
access training.
128
A Special Report to Parliament
Telefilm Canada
In partnership with the Government of Canada, Telefilm Canada provides
Some facts about
financial and other support to the Canadian film, television and new media
access to information
industries. Telefilm Canada meets the diverse needs of these industries
operations at Telefilm
through a wide range of programs to support the development to the
Canada in 2008–2009
marketing of finished products in Canada and abroad.
• Number of requests
carried over from
2007–2008 34
• Number of new
2008–2009 report card at a glance No Rating
requests 46 The Office of the Information Commissioner decided not to rate Telefilm
Canada on its compliance with the Act in 2008–2009, which was an
• Number of
requests atypical year for the institution. In particular, since 33 of the 39 com-
completed 65 plaints against Telefilm Canada were pending at the end of the year, the
Office of the Information Commission did not have a complete set of data
• Deemed on which to base its assessment.
refusal rate 0%* • The deemed refusal rate was 0 percent and the average completion time was
• Average time 117 days.
to complete a
request (in days) 117 • In the past two years, Telefilm Canada has received an exceptionally high number
of requests. The institution hired an external consultant as well as an additional
• Number of employee to deal with this increase.
consultation
5
• The institution required extensions for more than 43 percent of requests to
requests handle the volume and consult with other federal institutions.
• Number of complaints • The institution submitted a notice of extension of more than 30 days to the Office
registered with of the Information Commissioner 60 percent of the time.
the Office of • According to the 12 notices of extension the Office of the Information
the Information
Commissioner 39 Commissioner received, all extensions were for 180 days or more, with 660 days
being the maximum.
• Number of complaints • Telefilm Canada managed to cut its backlog in half by the end of the year.
the Office of the • At the end of 2008–2009, 33 complaints were pending. Consequently, the sam-
Information ple of resolved files was insufficient to determine Telefilm Canada’s compliance.
Commissioner
resolved 4** • The complexity of the requests received has grown in the past two years.
• The situation returned somewhat to normal in 2009–2010. Telefilm Canada aims
• Number of full-time to respond to most requests within the 30-day time limit.
equivalents in
access to information
office, as of
March 31, 2009 1.3
* Percentage of carried over and new requests
delayed beyond the deadlines (30 days and extended)
set out in the Access to Information Act. (See Appendix B for
the formula the Office of the Information Commissioner used to
calculate this rate.)
** A complaint is resolved when the Office of the Information
Commissioner finds it has merit, and the institution resolves
129
it to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
Out of Time
Telefilm Canada
2008–2009 report card (refusal complaints), followed by Telefilm Canada finds that the requests
complaints about extensions. By the it has been receiving recently are
Although Telefilm Canada has been end of the period, 33 complaints were increasingly complex, often requiring
subject to the Access to Information Act pending. Consequently, the sample of interpretation of multiple pieces of
since its enactment, this is the first time resolved files is insufficient to determine legislation, archival research and
a report card is being prepared for the Telefilm Canada’s performance. international consultations.
institution. Telefilm Canada is a small
Crown corporation that generally receives According to 12 notices of extension The past two years have been unusual
a low and steady number of access to the OIC received, all extensions were for Telefilm Canada in terms of the
information requests—20 or so per for 180 days or more, with 660 days volume of requests. The institution put in
year—that it deals with informally for being the maximum. The OIC received place temporary measures to offset this
the most part. However, the volume six complaints about extensions, surge. The situation returned to some-
doubled in 2007–2008, with most resolving four and with two pending at what normal at the beginning of 2009–2010,
requests originating from the same the end of the period. with a substantial drop in the number of
group of requesters. This increase requests. Telefilm Canada indicated that
The institution generally handles access its performance, particularly the average
slowed slightly in 2008–2009. Telefilm
requests informally and only responds time it takes to complete requests, will
Canada began the year with a consider-
formally to a handful per year. Telefilm improve in 2009−2010. Telefilm Canada
able backlog of requests, but managed
Canada submits that this approach aims to respond to most requests within
to cut it in half by the end of the year.
follows the “duty to assist” principle, the initial 30-day time limit. The OIC will
Telefilm Canada did not have sufficient since the institution attaches additional follow this progress with great interest.
staff to handle the surge in requests information to documents to provide
within the time limit set out by the clarity and to better serve the needs of
Act. As a result, the institution hired the requesters.
an external consultant as well as an
additional employee. To tackle this
significant challenge, Telefilm Canada Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
also required extensions for more than 10
43 percent of the requests received to 9
Number of extensions
8
consult with other institutions and to
7
offset the serious hindrance to its 6
operations as a result of the large 5
number of documents requested or 4
3
the extent of research required. 2
1
The Office of the Information Commissioner 0
(OIC) received 39 complaints in total 31–90 days 91–120 days 121–150 days 151–180 days More than Unspecified
180 days
against Telefilm Canada during the
This graph shows the number and length of extensions Telefilm Canada reported to have taken in 2008–2009.
reporting period, which accounts for
Telefilm Canada supplied this information in the notices it submitted to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of the Access
85 percent of the requests received by to Information Act. Telefilm Canada submitted the notices 60 percent of the time 2008–2009; the OIC expects this
the institution. Most of these complaints figure to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
pertained to exemptions under the Act
130
A Special Report to Parliament
0
2007–2008 2008–2009
•Resolved •Not substantiated •Discontinued •Pending
This table sets out the number and outcome of the complaints the OIC registered against Telefilm Canada in each
of the last two reporting periods. Resolved complaints are those that the OIC finds to have merit and that the
institution resolves to the Commissioner’s satisfaction.
Not
Resolved Discontinued Pending Total
substantiated
2007–2008
Administrative 0 0 0 2 2
Refusals 0 1 0 6 7
Cabinet 1 0 0 0 1
confidences
Total 1 1 0 8 10
2008–2009
Administrative 4 0 0 4 8
Refusals 0 1 1 29 31
Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
confidences
Total 4 1 1 33 39
Telefilm Canada did not receive any complaints in 2006–2007. In 2007–2008, the OIC received a total of
10 complaints; this jumped to 39 in 2008–2009. Most of the complaints (7 of 10; 31 of 39) pertained to
refusal of access (application of exemptions). Nearly all the complaints in 2008–2009 (33 of 39) were pending
at the end of the year.
131
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132
A Special Report to Parliament
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is responsible for transportation policies and programs.
Some facts about
It ensures that air, marine, road and rail transportation are safe, secure,
access to information
efficient and environmentally responsible. Transport Canada works with
operations at Transport
other government departments and jurisdictions, and with industry to
Canada in 2008–2009
ensure that all parts of Canada’s transportation system work well.
• Number of requests
carried over from
2007–2008 221
• Number of new
2008–2009 report card at a glance VVVVV
requests 1,069 • Deemed refusal rate was 17.6 percent.
D
Transport Canada
2008–2009 report card requests, they had to decline numerous that, even though they contact the institu-
requests from program branches for tions with which they must consult for an
Transport Canada achieved only average training. Access officials recognize the estimate of how much time it will take to
compliance with the Access to Information importance to their success of access review the records, these institutions often
Act in 2008–2009, with a 17.6 percent awareness at all levels of the institution, do not meet these deadlines. This affects
deemed refusal rate. However, this does and have sought additional resources to Transport Canada’s compliance rate,
not accurately reflect the current state of fund an educational component to meet since the institution does not close these
the institution’s access to information this important demand. files until it gets a response to its
program. Transport Canada acknowl- consultation request.
edges that its statistics are inflated Mandatory consultations with certain
because of “pleasure craft” requests, institutions are a source of frustration The access to information office is
which seek the identity of a boat’s owner for Transport Canada officials who report represented at Transport Canada’s senior
and are more straightforward to process
than other access requests. Consequently,
these requests substantially raised Transport How long requests completed late were overdue, 2008–2009
Canada’s “completed” request figure for
the first six months of the fiscal year, until Transport Canada reported that it
15% 52% completed 106 of the requests it
the institution stopped treating them as Overdue by 1–30 days received in 2008–2009 after their
access requests in September 2008. 11%
Overdue by 31–60 days due date. This graph shows how
Overdue by 61–90 days long these requests stayed open
Transport Canada faced serious human 22% beyond that deadline.
Overdue by more than 90 days
resource problems in 2008–2009, when
approximately half of the staff in its
access to information office departed.
Concerned with the reason for the
exodus, senior management conducted
Number and length of time extensions reported in 2008–2009
exit interviews. These identified office
morale as the predominant reason for 90
the departures. Subsequently, the access
to information office began recruiting
Number of extensions
80
new personnel from other areas of the
institution, focusing on pertinent skills 20
and competencies rather than technical
expertise in administering the Act. This 10
strategy will require significant training
of employees, yet simultaneously deliver 0
31–90 days 91–120 days 121–150 days 151–180 days More than Unspecified
the institutional knowledge lacking in new 180 days
access to information staff transferring in
This graph shows the number and length of the time extensions Transport Canada reported to have taken in
from other institutions.
2008–2009. Transport Canada supplied this information in the notices it sent to the OIC under subsection 9(2) of
the Access to Information Act. Transport Canada submitted the notices 47 percent of the time in 2008–2009;
As access staff dealt with a significant the OIC expects this figure to be 100 percent in 2009–2010.
backlog of requests in 2008–2009, in
addition to the usual stream of new
134
A Special Report to Parliament
Number and outcome of delay- Deemed refusal complaints Time extension complaints
related complaints to the OIC, 35 35
2006–2007 to 2008–2009 30 30
Administrative 22 2 13 0 37
Transport Canada was part of the Office
Refusals 6 1 1 4 12
of the Information Commissioner’s (OIC)
inaugural report card process in 1999, Cabinet 0 0 0 0 0
confidences
and in several subsequent years. It has
never fully complied with the Access to Total 28 3 14 4 49
Information Act, and its compliance in 2007–2008
The number of overall complaints decreased from 2006–2007 to 2007–2008 (from 49 to 41) but increased again the
following year to 52; the number of administrative complaints followed the same pattern (37; 21; 36). The proportion
of resolved complaints to total complaints decreased each year (57 percent; 39 percent; 15 percent).
135
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136
A Special Report to Parliament
Appendix A
137
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Status Update from Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat on Systemic Issues as of December 2009
138
A Special Report to Parliament
139
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140
A Special Report to Parliament
141
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142
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143
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144
A Special Report to Parliament
145
146
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Appendix B
147
Out of time
• Compliance with subsection 9(2) (85% and more of extensions beyond 30 days were notified
to the OIC)
• Appreciation of the overall use of time extensions and average completion time: deemed appropriate.
• Comprehensive set of good practices in place to ensure that access requests are responded
in a timely manner (proactive disclosure; informal disclosure; partial release; collaborative
instruments, absence of requests categorization or no delay created by it, focus on service to
the requesters, etc.)
• Others elements which may impact the institution’s capacity to comply with the Act and
measures taken to deal with them (for example, increase in the workload of the institution
and high volume of consultation requests received)
• Compliance with subsection 9(2) (85% and more of extensions beyond 30 days were notified
to the OIC)
• Appreciation of the overall use of time extensions and the average completion time: in most
instances, deemed appropriate
• Comprehensive set of good practices in place to ensure access requests are responded in a
timely manner
• Others elements which may impact the institution’s capacity to comply with the Act and
measures taken to deal with them
148
A Special Report to Parliament
• Compliance with subsection 9(2) (85% and more of extensions beyond 30 days were notified
to the OIC)
• Appreciation of the overall use of time extensions and the average completion time: to some
degree, deemed appropriate
• A number of good practices in place to ensure access requests are responded in a timely manner
• Others elements which may impact institution’s capacity to comply with the Act and measures
taken to deal with them
• Concerns with the overall use of time extensions and the average completion time
• Limited good practices in place to ensure access requests are responded in a timely manner
• Others elements which may impact institutions’ capacity to comply with the Act and measures
taken to deal with them
• 20% or more deemed refusals
VVVVV
(Unsatisfactory) • In the case of deemed refusals, we will look at the delay to respond to requesters: most
beyond 30 days
• Concerns with the overall use of time extensions and the average completion time
• Practices in place to ensure access requests are responded in a timely manner are insufficient
• Others elements which may impact institutions’ capacity to comply with the Act and measures
taken to deal with them
149
Out
Out of
of Time
time
Overdue requests
carried over into
2008–2009 47
Requests completed
after 30 days with
no extension 18
Requests completed
after their extension
expired 24
Overdue requests
carried over into
2009–2010 52
Total overdue
requests 141
Requests carried
over into
2008–2009 256
New requests in
2008–2009 1,259
Total open
requests 1,515