Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act - 2018-2019

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Purpose of the Access to Information Act
  • Mandate of the Institution
  • Organizational Structure
  • Delegated Authorities
  • Highlights of the report
• 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
  • New or Revised Policies, Guidelines and Procedures
  • Complaints, Audits and Investigations
  • Monitoring Processing Times
• Annex A: Designation Order
• Annex B: Global Affairs Canada 2018-2019 Statistical Report

Introduction

We are pleased to table the Annual Report to Parliament on the administration of the Access to Information Act (the Act) for fiscal year 2018-2019, as required under section 72 of the Act.

NOTA: The Department is referred to in this report as Global Affairs Canada. Its legal name, however, remains the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, as set out in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act.

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

Global Affairs Canada is Canada’s face 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. 18, 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;
• manage 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, SC 1992, 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 (ATIP) Division is responsible for the administration of the Act, including the processing of requests and consultations. The Director of the ATIP Division reports to the Corporate Secretary, who in turn reports to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In 2018-2019, the ATIP Division employed 57 Full-Time Equivalents to fulfill the Department’s obligations under both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. During most of the fiscal year, the Division’s staff included up to five consultants and one student.

The Division’s structure consists of a Director, five Deputy Directors, eight Team Leaders, one Senior Advisor, one Manager, one Administrative Assistant, forty-five Analysts, two System Administrators, and seven Clerks. This list includes the Privacy Policy and Governance Team which is comprised of a Team Leader and three Analysts who work exclusively on the application of the Privacy Act. It also includes one Team Leader and five Analysts dedicated to the Intake Team pilot project, which was launched in November 2018. Not all positions in the Division were staffed during the reporting period.

Delegated Authorities

Consistent with Section 73 of the Access to Information Act, the Minister’s authority is delegated to the Deputy Ministers, to the Corporate Secretary, to the Director of the ATIP Division, and to the Deputy Directors of the ATIP Division.

Highlights of the report

NUMBER OF REQUESTS:

The number of Access to Information requests submitted to the Department has decreased by 22% compared to the previous reporting period. When compared to the previous three reporting periods, the number of requests submitted has decreased by 2%. The number of requests completed by the Department decreased by 21% compared to the previous reporting period and by 8% compared with the average of the previous three reporting periods.

DEEMED REFUSAL RATE:

The Department’s deemed refusal rate in 2018-19 (i.e., the percentage of Access to Information requests that received a response beyond the deadline required under the Act) was 34%. This means that 66% of the Department’s responses to Access to Information requests were provided to requesters on time. The deemed refusal rate for the reporting period increased by 12% compared to the 22% rate for the previous period.

STAFFING:

In 2018-19, the Division had approximately 50 Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) working exclusively on Access to Information requests. This represented an 8% decrease over the previous reporting period. The Department took measures to improve its performance by staffing the ATIP Division with additional resources.

INNOVATION TO IMPROVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY:

During the reporting period, the ATIP Division continued the process of reviewing and streamlining its operations. A very significant result of this process has been the Intake Team pilot project. The purpose of this team is to triage incoming requests and consultations, re-scope the requests and retrieve the relevant documents in order to alleviate the overall administrative burden for analysts. Early statistics indicate that analyst productivity will be increased by over 30%. The project was launched in November 2018 and is ongoing.

Administration of Requests

The following section explains key elements of the Statistical Report to the Treasury Board Secretariat provided in annex B.

Access to Information Requests

In 2018-2019, the Department received 1,308 requests for information under the Access to Information Act. In addition, 408 requests were carried over from the previous fiscal year, for a total of 1,716 active requests.

During the reporting period, 1,245 requests were completed. As a result, 471 active files were carried over to the next reporting period..

Requestor Sources

The sources of Access to Information requests received during the reporting period were as follows:

Disposition of Completed Requests

The disposition of requests completed during the reporting period was as follows:

Exemptions and Exclusions

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

Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed

During the reporting period, the Department disclosed 81,775 pages of the 125,471 relevant pages processed.

Extensions

During the reporting period, the Department claimed 168 extensions pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(a), 659 pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(b), and 35 pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(c).

Fees and Costs

For the reporting period, the Department collected $4,640 in fees, and waived $1,645 in fees.

Consultations Received from Other Institutions

When a request addressed to a Department contains records that are of interest to another government institution, the Department consults the ATIP Coordinator of that institution accordingly.

Given its mandate and various responsibilities at the international level, the Department played a key role under the Act on behalf of other institutions of the Government of Canada. Specifically, the Department consulted foreign governments and organizations on behalf of other federal government institutions when the latter needed to determine whether they could release records that originated abroad. During the reporting period, the Department received 882 consultations from other government institutions, comprising over 56,758 pages. Most consultations originated from federal institutions subject to the Access to Information Act. However, a small percentage originated from other governments in Canada and abroad.

Internal Operations

Training and Development

During fiscal year 2018-2019, the ATIP Division continued to provide its analysts with the necessary training and tools to perform their jobs effectively, notably by ensuring that all staff members had learning plans in their performance evaluation agreements.

The ATIP Division benefited from its Professional Development Program, which allows the Department to train and promote its analysts from junior to senior levels. This program has been very successful in addressing recruitment, retention, and succession planning issues. At the end of the fiscal year, 14 employees were in the program and further recruitment was underway.

The ATIP Division continues to develop tools and guidance material to assist and inform the Department. In an effort to foster meaningful dialogue with internal clients, a Departmental outreach event was held for Right to Know Week. In addition, during this reporting period, 685 employees completed an online interactive ATIP awareness tutorial, developed in collaboration with the Canadian Foreign Service Institute. Internal training initiatives for the ATIP Division also include the ATIP mentorship program, a legal workshop on jurisprudence, and guest speakers from the ATIP community.

To assist Consular officials in understanding their roles and responsibilities vis-à-vis the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act in the context of providing consular services to Canadians, a specific training program was delivered to 66 employees on Confidentiality and Personal Information.

In order to decentralize the responsibility of training among teams, the ATIP Division introduced guidelines for delivering ATIP training. This yielded benefits such as relationship-building between analysts and subject matter experts, skill-building opportunities for analysts in the Professional Development Program, and ensured continuous training offerings throughout the Department. During the reporting period, at least 25 formal ATIP training sessions were delivered to approximately 199 employees.

New or Revised Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

As a result of the Lean initiatives of 2017-18, efforts have been made to foster more effective dialogue between the ATIP Division and subject matter experts. A yearlong rationale campaign has included outreach initiatives, and the provision of helpful statistics in order to identify areas for improvement. For example, the monthly Bureau Performance Report is now circulated by the Corporate Secretary and encompasses all bureaus whose internal deadlines have been missed. This has yielded a significant response from bureaus, and a renewed awareness of tasking deadlines.

With the assistance of the Senior Policy and Governance Advisor, the Intake Team pilot project has centralized administrative functions, and allows analysts to focus their efforts on the review of records. The Intake Team also serves as a training unit and assists in the onboarding of new employees. Once new employees have completed their term with the Intake Team, they are transitioned to regular portfolios. Upon this transition, they are further supported by the ATIP Division’s Mentorship Program, another Lean initiative. The Department continued to place a heavy emphasis on educating departmental officials on their ATIP roles and responsibilities to ensure compliance and efficiencies.

Complaints, Audits and Investigations

During fiscal year 2018-2019, 58 complaints were made to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada regarding Access to Information requests to the Department. The reasons for the complaints were as follows:

Over the course of the reporting period, 58 complaints against the Department were closed. The findings on closed complaints were as follows:

The Department took the issue of complaints seriously and addressed any problems that were identified, notably through training. The Division had a dedicated officer dealing with the resolution of complaints.

Monitoring Processing Times

The Department monitored the processing time for requests and tracked their status. The tools in place for this purpose included:

• An Active Tasking Report (weekly): This report identified all current active taskings within the Department. For each tasking, it included the responsible area and bureau, type of tasking, a summary of the request, and the name of the assigned analyst. This report was provided to all Assistant Deputy Ministers and Directors General in the Department.
• A File Discussion (weekly): This meeting included all managers in the ATIP Division. It provided an opportunity to monitor the status of all active requests and resolve issues that could impede their timely completion.
• A new weekly report was designed to monitor analyst performance and help with workload distribution.
• The monthly Bureau Performance Report was introduced to increase management awareness of departmental areas experiencing longer delays in responding to ATIP tasks.

Annex A: Designation Order

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 sections of the Act set out after each position in the schedule. This designation replaces the designation dated October 2, 2009.

Schedule

Position

1. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (all sections)
2. Deputy Minister for International Trade (all sections)
3. Deputy Minister for International Development (all sections)
4. Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (all sections)
5. Director General, Corporate Secretariat (all sections)
6. Director, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division (all sections)
7. Deputy Directors, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division (all sections)

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P.
Ottawa, July 4, 2017

Annex B: Global Affairs Canada 2018-2019 Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution:
Global Affairs Canada

Reporting period:
2018-04-01 to 2019-03-31

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

Part 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.5 Complexity

2.6 Deemed refusals

Part 3: Extensions

Part 4: Fees

Part 5: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

Part 6: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Part 7: Complaints and Investigations

Part 8: Court Action

Part 9: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act