Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act - 2022-23

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (ATIA) gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and all individuals and corporations present in Canada the right of access to records under the control of a government institution subject to the Act. This increases the accountability and transparency of federal institutions and supports an open and democratic society.

Shared Services Canada (SSC) is pleased to submit to Parliament its twelfth Annual Report on the Administration of the Act. This report is prepared and tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. It covers the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

Institutional Mandate

SSC was created in 2011 to transform how the Government of Canada managed and secured its information technology (IT) infrastructure.

SSC supports the Government of Canada’s digital vision to expand and improve the scope of digital service capacity, accelerate the pace of digital modernization and strengthen the ongoing support for digital tools, systems and networks government-wide.

In carrying out its mandate, SSC is supporting the Digital Operations Strategic Plan and the Government of Canada Cloud Adoption Strategy. It is also working in partnership with public-and private-sector stakeholders, implementing enterprise-wide approaches for managing IT infrastructure services and employing effective and efficient business management processes.

Delegated Authority

The Minister of Public Services and Procurement is responsible for handling requests submitted under the Access to Information Act. Pursuant to subsection 95(1) of the Act, the Minister has delegated full powers, duties and functions to members of the Department’s senior management, including the Director and the Deputy Directors of the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division, hereafter referred to as the ATIP Division (refer to Annex A).

ATIP Division Structure

The ATIP Division is part of the Corporate Secretariat, which is overseen by the Director General, Corporate Secretary and Chief Privacy Officer, situated in the Strategy and Engagement Branch (SEB).

The Division administers the ATIA and the Privacy Act, led by a Director who acts as the ATIP Coordinator for the Department. Two units carry out the work under two Deputy Directors, one leading the Operations Unit and the other, the Policy and Governance Unit. While an average of 23 person years was dedicated to the ATIP program, 17 person years were dedicated to the administration of the ATIA. These person years include full time equivalents, casual employees and students.

The Operations Unit is responsible for processing requests under both Acts. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Liaising with subject-matter experts within SSC
• Performing line-by-line reviews of records requested and conducting external consultations as required to balance the public’s right of access and the government’s need to safeguard certain information in limited and specific cases
• Providing briefings to senior management as required on matters relating to requests and institutional performance
• Acting as the main point of contact with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) with respect to the resolution of complaints related to requests under both Acts

The Policy and Governance Unit is responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

• Providing policy advice and guidance to the senior management team on access to information (ATI) and the protection of personal information
• Developing ATIP policy instruments and tools.
• Assisting program officials in conducting privacy impact assessments and drafting personal information-sharing agreements
• Preparing and delivering training and awareness sessions throughout the department
• Coordinating SSC’s annual reporting requirements
• Publishing an updated version of SSC’s Info Source chapter.
• Acting as the main point of contact with the OIC and OPC with respect to various audits, reviews, systemic investigations and privacy breaches

The ATIP Division’s administration of the Acts is facilitated at the branch and the directorate level of SSC. This would not be possible without the large number of employees across the Department who identify and review information to respond to requests.

SSC was not party to any service agreements under section 96 of the ATIA during the reporting period.

Proactive Publications

SSC publishes documents on a monthly basis to the Open Government website, including:

• Titles of memorandums to the President
• Titles of memorandums to the Minister
• Monthly summaries of ATIP requests

These documents are published within 30 days of their creation. Before publication, the ATIP Director and the Chief Information Officer must approve the documents.

Proactive Publication Under Part 2 of the ATIA

SSC is a Government of Canada institution listed in Schedule I.1 to the Financial Administration Act.

SSC proactively discloses information on a wide range of important subjects for Canadians as per Part 2 of the ATIA, including:

• Contracts
• Travel and hospitality expenses
• Briefing materials
• Expense reports
• Mandate letters

The ATIP Division routinely monitors and reviews documentation to be proactively released. The Division had 100 percent compliance rate with reporting requirements on the Open Government website.

Performance 2022–2023

The Statistical Report (Annex B) on the administration of the ATIA provides a summary of ATI requests and consultations processed during the 2022–2023 reporting period.

Requests Received

SSC processed 441 ATI requests, which represents an increase of 8 percent from the previous year. In 2021-2022, SSC saw a 113 percent rise in requests received. This represents a cumulative increase of 121 percent over two years. For the fourth consecutive year, SSC has seen an increase in the number of requests. This sustained increase has an impact on SSC operations given time and resources required to identify and review documents related to requests.

A total of 118 active ATI requests were carried over to the next reporting period:

• 178 requests received in 2022–2023 are within the legislated timeline, and 6 requests are beyond the legislated timeline.
• 10 active requests received in the previous reporting period of 2021–2022 are within the legislated timeline, and 2 requests are beyond the legislated timeline.

Three specific areas within SSC have been the subject of 68 percent of all requests during the reporting period:

• Networks and Security Services Branch (NSSB) (18 percent) is responsible for the planning, design and operations of the Government of Canada (GC) IT network infrastructure and the management of cyber and IT security services that protect government data and technology assets.
• Enterprise IT Procurement and Corporate Services Branch (EITP-CSB) (29 percent) enables SSC to follow a strategic sourcing and procurement plan through the centralization of contract administration, and the acquisition of IT and other goods and services.
• The Strategy and Engagement Branch (SEB) (21 percent) supports SSC in the delivery of digital services to the public service by aligning policy, planning and communications to reflect SSC’s enterprise approach to departmental business.

The annual report demonstrates a decrease in the number of pages processed at 263,594 pages for this reporting period compared to last year. It is important to note that the reduction in pages processed is due to voluminous legacy files which were closed during that previous period. It is also essential to highlight that SSC achieved a compliance rate of 99.4 percent, which is a nearly 2 percent increase from 2021–2022. This is well above the community average.

SSC carried forward 118 requests from 2021–2022 for a total of 559 requests for the reporting period. The ATIP Division continues to ensure it monitors its turnaround times in processing requests on a regular basis, and tracks the timeliness of their completion.

Access to information requests – Text version

Fiscal Year	Received	Processed
2022-23	441	375
2020-21	191	161
2019-20	159	137
2018-19	312	332
2017-18	257	285

Informal Requests

SSC posts summaries of completed ATI requests pertaining to corporate records on the Open Government Portal. During the reporting period, the ATIP Division received and processed 257 informal requests for previously released documents. This represents an increase of 47 percent from the previous reporting period.

Internal Consultations

Branches within SSC send documents to the ATIP Division to be reviewed in the spirit of the Act. These documents are typically complex in nature and may include labour relations documents, audit reports, documents to be proactively disclosed and consultations related to internal policies. In 2022–2023, SSC completed 35 internal consultations and reviewed a total of 2,066 pages. This represents an increase of 31 percent for completed requests and a decrease of 57 percent in pages reviewed.

Challenges

The ATIP Division continued working full-time during the third reporting period of the pandemic. Our accomplishments included the following:

• We adapted and improved on processes to continue to respond to requests from the Canadian public.
• All backlog files are being actioned.

The ATIP Division was able to achieve these accomplishments while facing many challenges. Listed below are some of the major challenges faced by the Division, and what was done to overcome them:

• SSC ATIP kept using the legacy software Connect (formerly ePost) to provide requesters with their response packages. The poor performance of the tool caused delays in answering requesters. SSC is currently working on procuring new ATIP software that will include the capability to send packages directly to requesters, providing an additional option to deliver information.
• Secret records must flow through the secure network, which is only accessible at certain areas in the office. Therefore, processing records above Protected B is still challenging. SSC is working on upgrading its infrastructure to handle records with a Secret security classification more easily.
• Recruiting and retaining employees is a challenge. The Division is looking into different innovative ways to recruit and retain employees.

Source of Requests

The general public is the largest source of ATI requests, accounting for 78 percent. The media represented 1 percent of the requests received, while those from the private sector and sources that declined to identify themselves accounted for 4 percent and requests from organizations accounted for 1 percent. In 2022–2023, academic sources remained the same at 16 percent.

Source of requests – Text version

Source of requests	Percentage of requests received
Media	5%
Academia	71%
Private Sector	12%
Organization	5%
Public	343%
Decline to Identify	5%

Decline to Act

Section 6.1 of Bill C-58, which received Royal Assent June 17, 2019, states that the head of a government institution may call upon the OIC to investigate a request deemed vexatious, made in bad faith, or an abuse of the right of access. The Information Commissioner of Canada’s approval is needed to refuse the request for access to records.

During the reporting period, SSC submitted one application to the OIC under section 6.1. That application is still being considered by the OIC.

Disposition of Requests Completed

During the reporting period, SSC released records in full in 10 percent of files.

For 162 requests (43 percent) the Division invoked exemptions. Responsive records were entirely exempted or excluded in 2 requests (0.5 percent). In the processing of 167 requests (44.5 percent) either no records existed, the request was abandoned by the requester, or the request was transferred to other institutions. The existence of records for the 8 remaining requests (2 percent) was neither confirmed nor denied by SSC.

Extensions

Section 9 of the ATIA allows the statutory time limits to be extended if consultations are required, or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing within the original timeframe would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Department.

Extensions were necessary in 33 cases (7 percent) when SSC consulted with its Legal Services Unit and other departments prior to responding to the requester. The Division also invoked 22 extensions (5 percent) to conduct third-party notifications. In addition, extensions were taken in 130 instances (29 percent) to reduce impacts on daily operations, owing to a large volume of records. Some areas within SSC that are responsible for maintaining the IT infrastructure for the GC were more heavily impacted by surges in requests. These areas had to maintain daily operations while responding to a growing number of complex requests and subsequently required longer extensions to respond.

Completion Time

The ATIA sets timelines for responding to ATI requests. It also allows for extensions in cases where responding to the request requires the review of a large volume of information or where extensive consultations with government institutions or other third parties is needed.

SSC responded to:

• 222 requests (59 percent) within 30 days
• 46 requests (12 percent) within 31 to 60 days
• 33 requests (9 percent) within 61 to 120 days
• 28 requests (8 percent) within 121 to 180 days
• 27 requests (7 percent) within 181 to 365 days
• 19 requests (5 percent) requiring more than 365 days

Long description - Completion Time – Text version

Completion time	30 days or less	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days
Percentage of requests completed	59%	12%	9%	8%	7%	5%

Exemptions

Whenever SSC invoked exempting provisions, the principle of severability, as described in section 25 of the Act, was applied in order to release as much information as possible. Only 2 requests were exempted in their entirety.

While the majority of the operations at SSC, and subsequent records created within the Department, revolve around operations of government, it is important to note that the ATIP Division tries to limit the use of section 21 of the Act.

The ATIP Division has opted to highlight the following three provisions of the Act, as they are the most relied upon:

• Paragraph 16(2)(c), concerning security and the vulnerability of buildings, structures or systems: 78 instances
• Subsection 19(1), protecting personal information: 112 instances
• Paragraph 20(1)(c), protecting information that could lead to financial loss or gain to a third party: 78 instances

Paragraph 16(2)(c) is a discretionary exemption, while subsection 19(1) and paragraph 20(1)(c) are mandatory exemptions.

Exclusions

The ATIA does not apply to information that is already publicly available, such as government publications and material in libraries and museums (section 68). It also excludes material such as Cabinet Confidences (section 69). During 2022–2023, SSC excluded records based on section 68 on 12 occasions, and section 69 on 19 occasions.

Consultations

In order to limit inter-institutional consultations, the ATIP Division consults other institutions only when SSC does not have the contextual information it needs to make a decision on the release of the information. Whenever possible, the Division will conduct courtesy consultations to inform other institutions of the release of their information.

This reporting period, SSC received 74 consultations from other government institutions. The Department carried over 4 consultations within the negotiated timeline at the end of the reporting period.

Complaints

SSC received 43 complaints for this reporting period and 38 files were affected by complaint investigations under the ATIA. SSC received no reports of well-founded complaints from the OIC.

No audits involving SSC were completed by the OIC.

Monitoring Compliance

The ATIP Division is working toward proactively disclosing contracts, since they are often requested. Weekly reports indicating incoming requests and files being released are used to brief up management in order to identity trends and seek to always be more efficient to meet the growing demand for information.

When a group proactively releases information under Part 2, it consults the ATIP Division for a review before publishing.

The Division implemented various internal procedures to ensure that ATI requests are processed in a timely and efficient manner. For example, the team monitors workloads and progress on requests.

The ATIP Division provides reports to the Communications team and the President’s Office and meets on a weekly basis to discuss upcoming files. ATIP has a five-business-day service standard for records retrieval and tracks branch performance. In addition, the Division holds a meeting every quarter with branch liaison officers to identify any common issues and concerns, to help improve the retrieval and recommendations. This reporting period, 2 late files were reported. Consultations with Legal Services/other government departments and a large volume of pages processed were the main reasons for these late files.

Costs

For this reporting period, the ATIP Division spent a total of $1,657,605 for the administration of the ATIA, of which $1,263,584 was spent on salaries and $332,997 was spent on goods and services.

The notable increase in good and services is due to the purchase of the AtipXpress software, which is scheduled for implementation during the fall of 2023.

These costs do not reflect the total cost of administering the ATIA at SSC. Outside of the ATIP Division staff, a large number of SSC employees are responsible for identifying and reviewing documents to meet the information requested to support the administration of the Act.

Training and Awareness

The Division is dedicated to fostering a culture of ATIP excellence across SSC. As a result, the Division continues to develop and deliver training and awareness activities aimed at more openness and transparency throughout the Department. ATIP employees participated in many training sessions and conferences to broaden the knowledge of the entire Division.

Four employees attended the Canadian Access and Privacy Association Conference, and 15 employees attended a three-part training session about access to information, case studies and privacy impact assessments.

Mandatory Training

In order to ensure that all SSC employees, regardless of their position or level, are made aware of their responsibilities related to ATIP and that they gain an in-depth understanding of the related best practices and principles, SSC launched, in collaboration with the Canada School of Public Service, the online Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals course (I015) on July 14, 2016. While this course is optional for all federal public service employees through the Canada School of Public Service website, its completion has been made mandatory for all SSC employees. For this reporting period, 1,290 SSC employees successfully completed the course.

This represents a 37 percent increase from the previous reporting period where 1,069 SSC employees completed the course.

ATIP 101 Internal Training

The ATIP Division continued to adapt their training from in-person to online. The trainers delivered 4 internal training and awareness sessions to approximately 37 participants, which included SSC executives, managers and employees at all levels. The number of participants who received training this reporting period decreased by 86 percent. In the previous reporting period, 269 employees participated in training. The ATIP 101 training is not mandatory. The Division promotes training in various ways internally and deliver it when we have participants that have signed up for specific sessions. The ATIP Division endeavours to find ways to increase participation as training is an important contributor to the continued success of ATIP management at SSC.

Tasking Request Training

The ATIP Policy and Governance Unit developed Tasking Request training in the previous reporting period, which focuses on how to respond to a request by an office of primary interest. The purpose of this training is to educate all SSC employees on their roles and responsibilities related to ATIP requests. The trainers delivered 2 internal training and awareness sessions to approximately 15 participants in 2022–2023.

Mentoring

The ATIP Division takes innovation very seriously and focuses on the personal development of its employees. The Division has established learning sessions where a variety of topics are discussed. Experienced employees in the ATIP Division provide guidance and support to new employees by helping them navigate the culture, answering any questions and helping them learn the necessary skills to succeed. By investing in mentoring, we can improve employee retention and foster a culture of continuous learning and development.

Right to Know Week

In 2022, Right to Know Week took place from September 26, 2022, to October 2, 2022. Right to Know Week has been celebrated for the past 18 years around the world. It is intended to raise awareness of an individual’s right to access government information, to promote freedom of information as an essential feature of democracy and good governance. The ATIP Division developed communiqués for SSC’s intranet page, published content on social media by senior leaders and promoted ATIP training through SSC’s internal communication.

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures

To maintain a high standard of excellence and to continuously improve client services under the ATIA, the ATIP Division, in collaboration with the Enterprise IT Procurement Directorate, is implementing procedures that will facilitate Proactive Disclosures of SSC contracts. The purpose of this initiative is to promote transparency by making contracts more readily available to the general public.

Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

• The ATIP Division believes diversity in the workplace can lead to a more inclusive and innovative environment where employees feel valued and respected for their unique perspectives and experiences. The Division is in the process of reviewing current written communication standards to be more inclusive.
• The ATIP Division started a new initiative to automate tasking processes and response sheets. At this time, we are in the testing phase. This new process will improve the retrieval experience for both ATIP and subject matter experts. This process will allow analysts and branches to interact in a single platform when sending and receiving tasking emails, filling response sheets, tracking retrieval status and reporting.
• Since January 2022, the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) bots have been running in production. The bots can import records on a 24/7 basis and are capable of accurately identifying duplicate records, which have historically required a significant amount of effort to process in large volume files. Each duplicate record that is identified by the bots is a record that is not reviewed by an analyst. As a result, the bots have greatly decreased the burden of importing and de-duplicating records. This allowed the ATIP Division to reallocate resources to more complex tasks to better serve Canadians. The Division continues to seek new opportunities to innovate to improve the ATIP process.
• The ATIP Division’s collaboration with TBS led SSC to be an early adopter of AtipXpress, an ATIP request processing software solution. This next-generation software manages the entire lifecycle of an ATIP request from the initial request to final delivery of documents, including request management, correspondence, document management, fee/payment, document review and redaction and reporting. This software will propel the Division forward in order to better address current and future ATIP challenges.

Summary of Key Issues and Action Taken on Complaints

The ATIP Division continues to work diligently to resolve complaints. From the time a request is received, the Division works with requesters to fully understand the request to reduce the processing time and ensure the relevancy of the records provided. In addition, the Department has taken diverse actions to keep the number of complaints received at a minimum. For instance, the Division regularly reviews its procedures to improve performance and reduce the response time to provide improved services to Canadians.

ATIP analysts receive ongoing training on the complaints process and the handling of complaints received from the OIC. The Division has established a streamlined process for handling complaints where the Deputy Director, Operations Unit, is responsible for providing representations to the OIC. The Director and Deputy Director, Operations Unit, continue to work closely with the OIC in resolving complaints.

Quarterly meetings between OIC and SSC ATIP management are held to monitor and manage ongoing complaints.

Most of the complaints received by SSC ATIP during this reporting period related to extensions. No other types of complaints received during the reporting period had been assigned to investigators at the OIC by the end of the reporting period. In order to resolve complaint issues, SSC ATIP provided rolling interim releases when possible to start providing requesters with information more rapidly.

Reporting on Access to Information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the ATIA, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act. The $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATI request.

During the reporting period, SSC collected $2,140 and waived $65 in application fees. In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, SSC waived all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.

Proactive Publication Requirements Table

All government institutions as defined in section 3 of the Access to Information Act

Legislative Requirement	Section	Publication Timeline
Travel expenses	82	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Hospitality expenses	83	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Reports tabled in Parliament	84	Within 30 days after tabling

Government entities or departments, agencies, and other bodies subject to the Act and listed in Schedules I, I.1, or II to the Financial Administration Act

Legislative Requirement	Section	Publication Timeline
Contracts over $10,000	86	Q1-3: Within 30 days after the end of the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the end of the quarter
Grants & contributions over $25,000	87	Within 30 days after the end of the quarter
Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent	88(a)	Within 120 days after appointment
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent and received by their office	88(b)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received
Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent’s appearance before a committee of Parliament	88(c)	Within 120 days after appearance

Government institutions that are departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act or portions of the core public administration named in Schedule IV to that Act (i.e. government institutions for which Treasury Board is the employer)

Legislative Requirement	Section	Publication Timeline
Reclassification of positions	85	Within 30 days after the end of the quarter

Ministers

Legislative Requirement	Section	Publication Timeline
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for new or incoming ministers	74(a)	Within 120 days after appointment
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister and received by their office	74(b)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent and received by their office	74(c)	Within 30 days after last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister’s appearance before a committee of Parliament	74(d)	Within 120 days after appearance
Travel expenses	75	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Hospitality expenses	76	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement
Contracts over $10,000	77	Q1-3: Within 30 days after the end of the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the end of the quarter
Ministers’ offices expenses *Note: This consolidated report is currently published by TBS on behalf of all institutions.	78	Within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year

Annex A – Delegation Order

Shared Services Canada

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order

The Minister of Digital Government, pursuant to subsection 95(1) of the Access to Information Act and subsection 73(1) of the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Minister as the head of Shared Services Canada, under the provisions of the acts and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position.

This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Schedule

Position	Access to Information Act and Regulations	Privacy Act and Regulations
1. President	Full authority	Full authority
2. Executive Vice President	Full authority	Full authority
3. Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategy and Engagement Branch	Full authority	Full authority
4. Corporate Secretary and Chief Privacy Officer	Full authority	Full authority
5. Director, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division	Full authority	Full authority
6. Deputy Directors, Operations and Policy and Governance, Access to Information and Privacy Protection Division	Full authority	Full authority

Dated, at Ottawa,
this 6th day of January, 2023

The Honourable Helena Jaczek
Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Head of Shared Services Canada

Annex B — Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Shared Services Canada

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

-		Number of requests
Received during the reporting period		441
Outstanding from the previous reporting period		118
Outstanding from previous reporting period	108
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	10
Total		559
Closed during the reporting period		375
Carried over to the next reporting period		184
Carried over within legislated timeline	178
Carried over beyond legislated timeline	6

1.2 Sources of Requests

Source	Number of requests
Media	5
Academia	71
Business (private sector)	12
Organization	5
Public	343
Decline to identify	5
Total	441

1.3 Channels of Requests

Source	Number of requests
Online	429
E-mail	10
Mail	2
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	441

Section 2: Informal Requests

2.1 Number of Informal Requests

-		Number of requests
Received during the reporting period		257
Outstanding from the previous reporting period		0
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	0
Total		257
Closed during the reporting period		253
Carried over to the next reporting period		4

2.2 Channels of Informal Requests

Source	Number of requests
Online	109
E-mail	148
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	257

2.3 Completion Time of Informal Requests

Completion Time
1 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
247	6	0	0	0	0	0	253

2.4 Pages Released Informally

Less than 100 pages released		100-500 pages released		501-1000 pages released		1001-5000 pages released		More than 5000 pages released
Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2.5 Pages Re-released Informally

Less than 100 pages released		100-500 pages released		501-1000 pages released		1001-5000 pages released		More than 5000 pages released
Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released
181	3772	42	11572	15	10557	14	27128	1	10839

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

	Number of requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Sent during reporting period	1
Total	1
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Withdrawn during reporting period	1
Carried over to next reporting period	0

Section 4: Requests closed during the reporting period

4.1 Disposition and Completion Time

Disposition of requests	Completion time
	1 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
All disclosed	8	11	12	3	1	1	0	36
Disclosed in part	3	42	27	29	26	16	19	162
All exempted	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
No records exist	92	44	6	1	1	10	0	154
Request transferred	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Request abandoned	10	2	0	0	0	0	0	12
Neither confirmed nor denied	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	8
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	123	99	46	33	28	27	19	375

4.2 Exemptions

Section	Number of requests	Section	Number of requests	Section	Number of requests	Section	Number of requests
13(1)(a)	0	16(2)	0	18(a)	0	20.1	0
13(1)(b)	0	16(2)(a)	1	18(b)	16	20.2	0
13(1)(c)	0	16(2)(b)	0	18(c)	0	20.4	0
13(1)(d)	0	16(2)(c)	78	18(d)	0	21(1)(a)	15
13(1)(e)	0	16(3)	0	18.1(1)(a)	0	21(1)(b)	36
14	0	16.1(1)(a)	0	18.1(1)(b)	0	21(1)(c)	9
14(a)	0	16.1(1)(b)	0	18.1(1)(c)	0	21(1)(d)	2
14(b)	0	16.1(1)(c)	0	18.1(1)(d)	0	22	6
15(1)	0	16.1(1)(d)	0	19(1)	112	22.1(1)	0
15(1) - I.A.*	1	16.2(1)	0	20(1)(a)	0	23	20
15(1) - Def.*	1	16.3	0	20(1)(b)	32	23.1	0
15(1) - S.A.*	7	16.4(1)(a)	0	20(1)(b.1)	0	24(1)	0
16(1)(a)(i)	0	16.4(1)(b)	0	20(1)(c)	78	26	20
16(1)(a)(ii)	1	16.5	0	20(1)(d)	3
16(1)(a)(iii)	0	16.6	0
16(1)(b)	2	17	0
16(1)(c)	4
16(1)(d)	0

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

4.3 Exclusions

Section	Number of requests	Section	Number of requests	Section	Number of requests
68(a)	12	69(1)	0	69(1)(g) re (a)	11
68(b)	0	69(1)(a)	0	69(1)(g) re (b)	0
68(c)	0	69(1)(b)	0	69(1)(g) re (c)	2
68.1	0	69(1)(c)	0	69(1)(g) re (d)	1
68.2(a)	0	69(1)(d)	0	69(1)(g) re (e)	5
68.2(b)	0	69(1)(e)	0	69(1)(g) re (f)	0
		69(1)(f)	0	69.1(1)	0

4.4 Format of Information Released

Paper	Electronic				Other
	E-record	Data set	Video	Audio
0	198	0	0	0	0

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed for Paper and e-Record Formats

Number of pages processed	Number of pages disclosed	Number of requests
263594	68672	220

4.5.2 Relevant Pages Processed per Request Disposition for Paper and e-Record Formats by Size of Requests

Disposition	100 pages or less processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages processed		1,001-5,000 pages processed		More than 5,000 pages processed
	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed
All disclosed	31	449	4	825	1	548	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	90	2248	32	7633	12	8440	21	47389	7	196029
All exempted	2	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	143	2730	36	8458	13	8988	21	47389	7	196029

4.5.3 Relevant Minutes Processed and Disclosed for Audio Formats

Number of minutes processed	Number of minutes disclosed	Number of requests
0	0	0

4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests

Disposition	Less than 60 minutes processed		61 – 120 minutes processed		More than 120 minutes processed
	Number of requests	Minutes processed	Number of requests	Minutes processed	Number of requests	Minutes processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.5 Relevant Minutes Processed and Disclosed for Video Formats

Number of minutes processed	Number of minutes disclosed	Number of requests
0	0	0

4.5.6 Relevant Minutes Processed per Request Disposition for Video Formats by Size of Requests

Disposition	Less than 60 minutes processed		61 – 120 minutes processed		More than 120 minutes processed
	Number of requests	Minutes processed	Number of requests	Minutes processed	Number of requests	Minutes processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.7 Other Complexities

Disposition	Consultation required	Legal advice sought	Other	Total
All disclosed	2	0	0	2
Disclosed in part	57	2	0	59
All exempted	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0
Total	59	2	0	61

4.6 Closed Requests

4.6.1 Number of Requests Closed Within Legislated Timelines

Number of requests closed within legislated timeline	373
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	99.46666667

4.7 Deemed Refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Principal reason
	Interference with operations/ Workload	External consultation	Internal consultation	Other
2	0	2	0	0

4.7.2 Number of Days Past Deadline

Number of days past deadline	Number of requests past legislated timeline where no extension was taken	Number of requests past legislated timeline where an extension was taken	Total
1 to 15 days	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	1	1
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
More than 365 days	0	1	1
Total	0	2	2

4.8 Requests for Translation

Translation requests	Accepted	Refused	Total
English to French	0	0	0
French to English	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for Extensions and Disposition of Requests

Disposition of requests where an extension was taken	9(1)(a) Interference with operations/workload	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-party notice
		Section 69	Other
All disclosed	12	0	2	3
Disclosed in part	101	3	28	15
All exempted	1	0	0	3
All excluded	0	0	0	1
Request abandoned	16	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0
Total	130	3	30	22

5.2 Length of Extensions

Length of Extensions	9(1)(b) Interference with operations	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-party notice
		Section 69	Other
30 days or less	30	0	7	3
31 to 60 days	20	1	8	15
61 to 120 days	18	1	13	3
121 to 180 days	11	1	1	1
181 to 365 days	49	0	1	0
365 days or more	2	0	0	0
Total	130	3	30	22

Section 6: Fees

Fee type	Fee collected		Fee waived		Fee refunded
	Number of requests	Amount	Number of requests	Amount	Number of requests	Amount
Application	428	$2,140	13	$65	0	$0
Other fees	0	$0	0	$0	0	$0
Total	428	$2,140	13	$65	0	$0

Section 7: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

7.1 Consultations Received from Other Government of Canada Institutions and Organizations

Consultations	Other Government of Canada institutions	Number of pages to review	Other organizations	Number of pages to review
Received during the reporting period	74	5616	0	0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	4	71	0	0
Total	78	5687	0	0
Closed during the reporting period	74	5616	0	0
Carried over within negotiated timelines	4	71	0	0
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines	0	0	0	0

7.2 Recommendations and Completion Time for Consultations Received from Other Government of Canada Institutions

Recommendation	Number of days required to complete consultation requests
	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
Disclosed entirely	52	12	1	0	0	0	0	65
Disclose in part	2	5	1	1	0	0	0	9
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	54	17	2	1	0	0	0	74

7.3 Recommendations and Completion Time for Consultations Received from Other Organizations

Recommendation	Number of days required to complete consultation requests
	1 to 15 days	16 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
Disclosed entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exempted entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Excluded entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 8: Completion time for consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages processed		1,001-5,000 pages processed		More than 5,000 pages processed
	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed
1 to 15	1	81	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	3	138	3	630	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	1	3	0	0	1	947	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	5	222	3	630	1	947	0	0	0	0

8.2 Requests with the Privy Council Office

Number of Days	100 pages or less processed		101-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages processed		1,001-5,000 pages processed		More than 5,000 pages processed
	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate	Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate	Section 35 Formal representations
9	26	3

9.2 Investigations and Reports of Finding

Section 37(1) Initial reports			Section 37(2) Final Reports
Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner	Received	Containing Recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 10: Court action

10.1 Court Actions on Complaints

Section 41
Complainant (1)	Institution (2)	Third Party (3)	Privacy Commissioner (4)	Total
0	0	0	0	0

10.2 Court Actions on Third Party Notifications Under Paragraph 28(1)(b)

Section 44 – under paragraph 28(1)(b)
0

Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated Costs

Expenditure		Amount
Salaries		$1,263,584
Overtime		$0
Goods and services		$393,997
Professional services contracts	$8,590
Other	$91,952
Total		$385,407
Total		$1,657,581

11.2 Human Resources

Resources	Person-years dedicated to Access to Information activities
Full-time employees	14.830
Part-time and casual employees	1.720
Regional staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	0.000
Students	0.190
Total	16.740

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.