Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act - 2015-2016

Table of contents

• Introduction
  • Purpose of the Access to Information Act
  • Mandate of the Institution
  • Organizational Structure
  • Delegated Authorities
• Administration of Requests
  • Access to Information Requests
  • Requestor Sources
  • Disposition of Completed Requests
  • Exemptions and Exclusions
  • Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed
  • Extensions
  • Fees and Costs
  • Consultations Received from Other Institutions
• Internal Operations
  • Training and Development
  • Complaints, Audits and Investigations
  • New or Revised Policies, Guidelines and Procedures
  • Monitoring Processing Time
• Annex A: Designation Orders
• Annex B: Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development 2015-2016 Statistical Report

Introduction

We are pleased to table the Annual Report to Parliament on the administration of the Access to Information Act (ATIA or the Act) for fiscal year 2015-2016, as required under section 72 of the Act.

Nota: The Department is referred to as Global Affairs Canada; however, the legal name remains the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as individuals and corporations present in Canada, the right to seek access to federally-controlled information and records.

Mandate of the Institution

On behalf of the Government of Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development is Canada’s face and voice to the world, working to advance Canada’s political and economic interests in the international community as well as to apply Canadian experience to help address global issues.

The Department's legal mandate, as set out in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act, SC 2013, c. 33, s. 174 is to:

• conduct all diplomatic and consular relations on behalf of Canada;
• conduct all official communication between the Government of Canada and the government of any other country and between the Government of Canada and any international organization;
• conduct and manage international negotiations as they relate to Canada;
• coordinate Canada’s international economic relations;
• foster the expansion of Canada’s international trade and commerce;
• foster sustainable international development and poverty reduction in developing countries and provide humanitarian assistance during crises;
• coordinate the direction given by the Government of Canada to the heads of Canada’s diplomatic and consular missions;
• have the management of Canada’s diplomatic and consular missions;
• administer the foreign service of Canada;
• foster the development of international law and its application in Canada’s external relations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is also responsible for the Export and Import Permits Act, RSC 1985, c. E-19, which authorizes the government to control and monitor the trans-border flow of specified goods, and for the Special Economic Measures Act, 40-41 Elizabeth II, c. 17, which authorizes the government to apply economic sanctions in response to a serious threat to international peace and security.

The Department also provides administrative support to other federal government institutions with personnel abroad.

Organizational Structure

The Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division (ATIP Office) is responsible for the administration of the ATIA, including the processing of requests and consultations. The Director of the ATIP Office reports to the Corporate Secretary, who in turn reports to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In 2015-2016, the ATIP Office staff fluctuated at around fifty-five to seventy (including consultants) to fulfill the Department’s obligations under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. As of March 31, 2016, the ATIP Office consisted of; a director, four deputy directors, seven team leaders, twenty nine analysts at various levels, seven clerical staff, seven consultants, 1 student, seven part-time and casual employees, and one systems administrator. The work ranges from processing complex and/or voluminous requests to more straightforward, routine requests and consultations from other government departments as well as providing advice to internal and external stakeholders and providing training to departmental staff.

Delegated Authorities

Under Section 73 of the Act, the Minister’s authority is delegated to enable the Department to meet its legislated requirements as well as exercise its powers. The Department is currently operating with two Delegation Orders (as a result of amalgamation between the former Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the former Canadian International Development Agency). Responsibility for all sections of the Act is delegated to the Deputy Ministers, to the Corporate Secretary, to the Director of the Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division, as well as to the Deputy Directors of the ATIP Office.

Administration of Requests

The following section explains in more detail the TBS statistical report as provided in Annex B.

Access to Information Requests

The Department received 1 086 requests for information under the Access to Information Act. 385 requests were carried over from the previous fiscal year for a total of 1 471 requests.

During the reporting period, 1 139 requests were completed and 332 active files were carried over to the next reporting period. Due to a multi-year initiative to focus on completing the oldest files and completing files in the shortest number of days possible, the active file “inventory” dropped to its lowest level in several years and efforts continue in this respect.

Requestor Sources

Access to Information requests received during this reporting period are as follows:

Disposition of Completed Requests

The distribution of requests completed during this reporting period is as follows:

Exemptions and Exclusions

The exemptions most commonly used by the Department during the period were sub-sections 15(1) [international affairs] and 19(1) [personal information] as well as paragraphs 21(1)(a) [advice] and 21(1)(b) [consultations and deliberations].

Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed

During this reporting period, the Department disclosed 82,943 pages of the 148,527 relevant pages processed.

Extensions

During the reporting period, the Department claimed extensions pursuant to paragraphs 9(1)(a), 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c): 132, 535 and 83 times, respectively.

Fees And Costs

For the reporting period, the Department collected $5 400 in fees, and waived $250 in fees.

Consultations Received from Other Institutions

When a request contains records that are of interest to another institution, the ATIP Office of that institution is consulted. Given its mandate and various responsibilities at the international level, the Department plays a key role under the ATIA on behalf of other Government of Canada institutions. As well, DFATD consults with foreign organizations abroad on behalf of other federal government institutions that are processing requests the responses of which contain records originating abroad.

During the reporting period, the Department received 758 consultations, comprising of over

41725 pages from other government institutions. Most requests originated from federal institutions subject to the Access to Information Act. However, a small percentage of consultations originated from other governments in Canada and abroad.

Internal Operations

Training and Development

During 2015-2016, the ATIP Office continued to provide analysts with the necessary training and tools to perform their jobs effectively via training sessions developed to meet the ATIP Office’s training needs. The Learning Roadmaps developed in a previous year have continued to be an effective tool to identify and formalize the training requirements for employees in the ATIP Division.

The ATIP Office also continued to benefit from its ATIP Professional Development Program which allows the Department to “grow its own” ATIP Analysts due to the shortage of experienced ATIP Analysts within the federal ATIP Community. This program has been very successful in addressing recruitment, retention and succession planning issues. Thirteen employees are presently in the program and recruiting continues.

The Policy & Governance Team assists in addressing the ATIP training needs of the ATIP Office, the Department and other federal government institutions. The Policy and Governance Team also advises the Department regarding compliance with the Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act, their regulations and relevant Treasury Board of Canada policy requirements.

The ATIP Office continues to broaden its use of internal collaboration tools to share information, best practices, and facilitate cooperation across the Department. A structured, department-wide ATIP awareness program is in place and includes the following events: attendance at staff meetings, “Global Affairs Canada 101” courses which are designed for all employees, pre-posting training sessions in order to better prepare employees for their work at Canada’s missions abroad, and in sessions with subject matter experts during which records are reviewed in order to educate employees on the exercise of discretion when making recommendations. In addition, an online interactive ATIP awareness tutorial, developed in collaboration with the Canadian Foreign Service Institute, continues to be used.

To assist Consular Officers in understanding their roles and responsibilities vis-a-vis the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act in the context of providing consular services to Canadians, a specific training program is delivered using scenario-based practical exercises to better prepare employees for situations they may encounter in the course of their duties.

In all, during the reporting period, forty one formal training sessions were delivered to approximately five hundred and eighteen employees. The Department’s ATIP Division continuously strives to develop and refine its training tools through comments from employees participating in the various training session delivered.

Complaints, Audits, and Investigations

From April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016, 83 complaints were made to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) regarding access to information requests to the Department. The reasons for the complaints are as follows:

Furthermore, during fiscal year 2015-2016, 43 complaints were closed. The findings on closed complaints are as follows:

The Department takes the issue of complaints seriously and this is being addressed through numerous means including; using the ATIP Professional Development Program to recruit, train and promote employees, providing ATIP Awareness sessions throughout the Department, updating the Intranet ATIP web site, ensuring that new personnel receive appropriate training and can refer to a new online ATIP tutorial. The Division has also dedicated an officer to deal solely with complaint resolution.

New or Revised Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

While the workload has stabilized, it remains substantial and the Access to Information and Privacy Protection Office at the department is continually working to find efficiencies. In the past year, the division’s internal guidelines documents were converted to an “evergreen” electronic document.

The Department continued to place emphasis on educating departmental officials on their ATIP roles and responsibilities to ensure compliance and efficiencies.

Monitoring Processing Times

The Department monitors time to process ATI requests as well as tracks the status of requests.

• Active Tasking Report (bi-weekly): Identifies all the current active taskings within the Department, and includes for each tasking the responsible area and bureau, type of tasking, summary of the request and the name of the assigned analyst. These are provided to all Assistant Deputy Ministers and Director Generals in DFATD.
• Quarterly Performance Report to Executive Board: Departmental overview of each area’s compliance with ATIP taskings (number of extensions requested, percentage of completion on time, average response time). The Executive Board consists of: the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of International Trade and the Deputy Minister of International Development, two Associate Deputy Ministers, all Assistant Deputy Ministers, the heads of communications and of the Corporate Secretariat, and four senior Heads of Mission.
• A new « Weekly File Discussion » report allows Team Leaders and Deputy Directors to meet weekly to monitor the status of all active requests and resolves issues that could impede their timely completion.

Annex A: Designation Orders

Access to Information Act Designation Order

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons acting in those positions, to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs as the head of a Government institution under the Act. This designation replaces the designation dated March 11, 1998.

Schedule

Position

1. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
2. Deputy Minister for International Trade
3. Director General, Corporate Secretariat
4. Director, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division
5. Deputy Directors, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P.
Ottawa, October 2nd, 2009

Access to Information Act Designation Order

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions in the Canadian International Development Agency set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs as the head of a government institution under the Act. This designation replaces the designation dated August 11, 1993.

Canadian International Development Agency Delegation Schedule (Access to Information Act)

1. Position: President
   Section(s) of Privacy Act: All sections
2. Position: Secretary General
   Section(s) of Privacy Act: All sections
3. Position: Coordinator, ATIP
   Section(s) of Privacy Act: All sections
4. Position: Senior ATIP Advisor
   Section(s) of Privacy Act: 7(a), 7(b), 8(1), 9, 11(2)(3)(4)(5)(6), 27(1), 27(4), 28(1)(b), 28(2), 28(4), 35(2), 43(1), 44(2)

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, P.C., M.P.
Ottawa, October 2nd, 2009

Annex B: Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development 2015-2016 Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Global Affairs Canada

Reporting period: 2015-04-01 to 2016-03-31

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

1.2 Source of requests

1.3 Informal requests

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

Part 2 - Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

2.2 Exemptions

2.3 Exclusions

2.4 Format of information released

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.3 Other complexities

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

2.7 Requests for translation

Part 3 - Extensions

3.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

3.2 Length of extensions

Part 4 - Fees

Part 5 - Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other government institutions and organizations

5.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other government institutions

5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Part 6 - Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

6.1 Requests with Legal Services

6.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Part 7 - Complaints and Investigations

Part 8 - Court Action

Part 9 - Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

9.1 Costs

9.2 Human Resources

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.