Access to Information and Privacy Statistical Report for the 2017 to 2018 Fiscal Year

From Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

The Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act both came into effect on July 1, 1983.

Paragraph 70(1)(c.1) of the Access to Information Act assigns responsibility to the President of the Treasury Board, as the designated minister, to collect statistics on an annual basis. These statistics are used to assess the performance of the Government of Canada’s access to information and privacy programs.

The Access to Information and Privacy Statistical report is an annual report of statistical information about the Government of Canada’s access to information and privacy programs.

The tables and figures in this report present data from the period of April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, provided by government institutions subject to the Acts. They also present cumulative data from July 1, 1983, to March 31, 2018.

The complete statistical dataset will be made available in open format on the Government of Canada’s Open Data Portal.

Each institution subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act tables an annual report in Parliament on the administration of each Act in their institution. These reports can be found on institutions’ websites.

Access to Information Act statistics for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year

Requests under the Access to Information Act

106,255 requests were received in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, an increase of 15.6% from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year.

Of the 125,329 requests that were either received in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year or outstanding from the previous fiscal year, 78% were closed. This is a decrease from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year: of the 105,973 requests received in the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year or outstanding from the previous fiscal year, 82% were closed.

10 government institutions received 85.5% of all new requests in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year.

Table 1: requests received and closed under the Access to Information Act, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Requests under the Access to Information Act	Number of requests
Outstanding from 2016 to 2017 reporting period^{table 1 note 1}	19,074
Received during 2017 to 2018 reporting period	106,255
Total	125,329
Closed during 2017 to 2018 reporting period	97,705
Carried over to 2018 to 2019 reporting period	27,624
Table 1 Notes Table 1 Note 1 Due to administrative errors, there are small inconsistencies between the data for the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and the data for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year regarding the number of requests or consultations left outstanding at the end of the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year. Return to table 1 note 1 referrer

requests received and closed under the Access to Information Act, from 2015 to 2016 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Text version below: — **Figure 1: requests received and closed under the Access to Information Act, from 2015 to 2016 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year**

Requests under the Access to Information Act	2015 to 2016	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Outstanding from previous reporting period	11,728	14,093	19,074
Received during reporting period	75,387	91,880	106,255
Closed during reporting period	72,581	86,908	97,705
Carried over to next reporting period	14,534	19,065	27,624

Table 2: Access to Information Act requests received in 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, top 10 institutions
Rank	Name of institution	Number of requests received	Requests received as percentage	Number of pages processed^{table 2 note 1}
1	Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada	64,234	60.5	3,713,374
2	Canada Border Services Agency	7,466	7.0	15,688,670^{table 2 note 2}
3	Royal Canadian Mounted Police	5,203	4.9	358,854
4	Canada Revenue Agency	2,750	2.6	1,641,339
5	National Defence	2,055	1.9	170,771
6	Environment and Climate Change Canada	1,999	1.9	110,138
7	Employment and Social Development Canada	1,942	1.8	970,992
8	Health Canada	1,806	1.7	374,021
9	Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada	1,700	1.6	236,699
10	Global Affairs Canada	1,680	1.6	141,778
Other institutions		15,420	14.5	4,129,700
Total		106,255	100.0	27,536,336
Table 2 Notes Table 2 Note 1 The number of pages processed for each institution represents the total processed pages for closed requests. It does not include the number of pages processed for requests that were carried over into the next reporting period. Return to table 2 note 1 referrer Table 2 Note 2 The number of pages processed by the Canada Border Services Agency rose significantly from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year due to 1 request involving approximately 14.8 million pages. Return to table 2 note 2 referrer

Table 3: sources of received Access to Information Act requests, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Source	Number of requests	Percentage of requests
Business (private sector)	48,806	45.9
Public	34,641	32.6
Media	7,808	7.3
Organization^{table 3 note 1}	5,059	4.8
Academia	3,657	3.4
Decline to identify^{table 3 note 2}	6,284	5.9
Total	106,255	100.0
Table 3 Notes Table 3 Note 1 The category “organization” includes, but is not limited to, associations, unions, non-for-profit and voluntary organizations, offices of members of Parliament, political parties and non-government organizations. It also includes requesters that selected “organization” when submitting their request. Return to table 3 note 1 referrer Table 3 Note 2 The category “decline to identify” includes requesters that selected “decline to identify” when submitting their request. It also includes instances where the requester did not select any of the available categories when submitting a hard-copy application. Return to table 3 note 2 referrer

sources of received Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Text version below: — **Figure 2: sources of received Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year**

Source	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Business	38,319	48,806
Public	31,030	34,641
Media	8,838	7,808
Organization	4,631	5,059
Academia	3,452	3,657
Decline to identify	5,610	6,284

Timeliness

76.2% of requests were closed within established timelines (that is, closed within the statutory deadline of 30 days or within an extension period provided for in the Act). The comparable figure in the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year was 80.7%.

Of 97,705 requests closed in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, 54,143, or 55.4%, were closed within the initial statutory deadline of 30 days.

Table 4: status of closed Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Status of closed requests	Requests as percentage		Number of requests
Status of closed requests	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Closed within statutory deadline, including extensions	80.7	76.2	70,128	74,453
Closed beyond statutory deadline, including extensions	19.3	23.8	16,780	23,252
Total	100.0	100.0	86,908	97,705

Access to Information Act requests closed within established timelines, from 2013 to 2014 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Text version below: — **Figure 3: Access to Information Act requests closed within established timelines, from 2013 to 2014 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year**

Status of closed request	2013 to 2014	2014 to 2015	2015 to 2016	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Closed within statutory deadline, including extensions	86.0%	87.5%	85.9%	80.7%	76.2%
Closed beyond statutory deadline, including extensions	14.0%	12.5%	14.1%	19.3%	23.8%

Table 5: disposition and time required to close Access to Information Act requests, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Disposition of requests (including requests for which extensions were required)	Closure time^{table 5 note 1}
	0 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	14,963	6,436	1,787	478	456	313	24,433
Disclosed in part	27,077	14,245	8,118	2,611	2,382	2,019	56,452
All exempted	316	105	120	54	64	9	668
All excluded	186	53	72	21	10	6	348
No records exist	5,412	894	441	143	138	61	7,089
Request transferred	718	11	4	1	0	0	734
Request abandoned^{table 5 note 2}	5,235	340	258	144	422	1,306	7,705
Neither confirmed nor denied^{table 5 note 3}	236	19	10	5	2	4	276
Total number of requests	54,143	22,103	10,810	3,457	3,474	3,718	97,705
Total as percentage	55.4	22.6	11.1	3.5	3.6	3.8	100.0
Table 5 Notes Table 5 Note 1 The number of days to close requests or consultations refers to calendar days. Return to table 5 note 1 referrer Table 5 Note 2 An abandoned request is a request that has been formally withdrawn by the requester, or the requester did not respond to a notice indicating that the request will be closed if they do not respond within a specified time period. Return to table 5 note 2 referrer Table 5 Note 3 The category “neither confirmed nor denied” relates to requests for which subsection 10(2) of the Access to Information Act was invoked: “The head of a government institution may but is not required to indicate under subsection 10(1) whether a record exists.” Return to table 5 note 3 referrer

Table 6: time required to close Access to Information Act requests in 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, according to time period
Closure time	Requests as percentage		Number of requests
Closure time	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
0 to 30 days	64.5	55.4	56,084	54,143
31 to 60 days	18.0	22.6	15,616	22,103
61 to 120 days	9.5	11.1	8,248	10,810
121 to 180 days	2.7	3.5	2,359	3,457
181 to 365 days	2.6	3.6	2,275	3,474
More than 365 days	2.7	3.8	2,326	3,718
Total	100.0	100.0	86,908	97,705
Note: The Access to Information Act provides for the extension of the time limit to respond to a request beyond 30 days if: it involves a large number of records or necessitates a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the institution; external consultations are necessary and cannot reasonably be expected to be closed within the original time limit; or notice to a third party is required to advise the third party that their information is the subject of a request. The data in this table reflects all closed requests, including requests for which extensions were taken.

time required to close Access to Information Act requests, from 2013 to 2014 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Text version below: — **Figure 4: time required to close Access to Information Act requests, from 2013 to 2014 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year**

Closure time	2013 to 2014	2014 to 2015	2015 to 2016	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
0 to 30 days	61.0%	65.1%	64.1%	64.5%	55.4%
31 to 60 days	18.0%	19.6%	21.3%	18.0%	22.6%
61 to 120 days	10.4%	8.0%	7.5%	9.5%	11.1%
121 days or more	10.6%	7.3%	7.1%	8.0%	10.9%

Note: Before the 2011 to 2012 reporting period, only 4 time periods for closing requests were recorded. The data for the 2011 to 2012 reporting period onwards has therefore been consolidated for time periods of more than 121 days. The data for the 2013 to 2014 reporting period for 121 days or more indicated in previous years 10.7%, this was an administrative error. The correct amount is 10.6%.

Table 7: principal reasons for Access to Information Act requests closed beyond the statutory deadline including extensions, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Principal reason	Total number of requests closed beyond the statutory deadline including extensions (deemed refusal)
Workload	21,273
External consultation	463
Internal consultation	365
Other^{table 7 note 1}	1,151
Total	23,252
Table 7 Notes Table 7 Note 1 Other reasons include the unavailability of key officials, difficulties in obtaining relevant records, labour disputes and lengthy power outages. Return to table 7 note 1 referrer Note: The information in this table reflects requests that were neither closed in the initial 30 days nor closed within the timeframe covered by an extension. These requests are referred to as “deemed refusals.”

Table 8: number of days past deadline for Access to Information Act requests closed beyond the statutory deadline including extensions, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Number of days past deadline	Number of requests past deadline where no extension was taken	Number of requests past deadline where an extension was taken	Total requests closed beyond the statutory deadline including extensions	Total as percentage
1 to 30 days	9,658	1,115	10,773	46.3
31 to 60 days	2,189	489	2,678	11.5
61 to 120 days	2,271	568	2,839	12.2
121 to 180 days	1,293	365	1,658	7.1
181 to 365 days	1,534	611	2,145	9.2
More than 365 days	2,195	964	3,159	13.6
Total	19,140	4,112	23,252	100.0

Disposition

Records were disclosed either in full or in part for 83% of closed requests. This is an increase compared with the previous period.

Table 9: disposition of closed Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Disposition of closed requests	Requests as percentage		Number of requests
Disposition of closed requests	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
All disclosed	19.8	25.0	17,176	24,433
Disclosed in part	61.2	57.8	53,170	56,452
All exempted	1.0	0.7	870	668
All excluded	0.5	0.4	403	348
No records exist	7.5	7.3	6,483	7,089
Request transferred	0.7	0.8	646	734
Request abandoned	9.1	7.9	7,886	7,705
Neither confirmed nor denied	0.3	0.3	274	276
Total	100.0	100.0	86,908	97,705

disposition of closed Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Text version below: — **Figure 5: disposition of closed Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year**

Disposition of closed requests	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
All disclosed	17,176	24,433
Disclosed in part	53,170	56,452
All exempted	870	668
All excluded	403	348
No records exist	6,483	7,089
Request transferred	646	734
Request abandoned	7,886	7,705
Neither confirmed nor denied	274	276

Complexity

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, government institutions processed about 27.5 million pages for closed requests, an increase of about 11.5 million pages over the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year; 87.7% of pages were disclosed either in full or in part. The significant increase in number of pages processed was largely due to a single request involving approximately 14.8 million pages.

Government institutions undertook outside consultations in 8.1% of all closed requests.

Table 10: relevant pages processed and disclosed regarding Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Disposition of requests	Number of pages processed		Number of pages disclosed		Number of requests^{table 10 note 1}
Disposition of requests	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
All disclosed	3,165,256	17,088,864	3,116,170	17,005,921	17,176	24,433
Disclosed in part	10,200,570	9,201,216	6,832,982	7,010,977	53,170	56,452
All exempted	389,436	295,304	0	0	870	668
All exclude^{table 10 note 2}	16,497	37,052	0	0	403	348
Request abandonedb	2,275,487	912,900	51,976	126,599	7,886	7,705
Total	16,047,246	27,536,336^{table 10 note 3}	10,001,128	24,143,497	79,505	89,606
Table 10 Notes Table 10 Note 1 The total number of requests for each reporting period reflects the total number of requests closed in each period with the exception of those categorized as “no records exist,” “request transferred” or “neither confirmed nor denied.” Return to table 10 note 1 referrer Table 10 Note 2 Some records may have been disclosed to the requester before the request’s abandonment. Return to table 10 note 2 referrer Table 10 Note 3 The number of pages processed rose significantly from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year due to 1 request involving approximately 14.8 million pages. Return to table 10 note 3 referrer

number of pages processed regarding closed Access to Information Act requests, 2013 to 2014 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Text version below: — **Figure 6: number of pages processed regarding closed Access to Information Act requests, 2013 to 2014 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year**

	2013 to 2014	2014 to 2015	2015 to 2016	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Total number of pages processed	13,080,637	9,919,349	9,025,729	16,047,246	27,536,336

Note: The number of pages processed rose significantly compared to the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year due to 1 request of approximately 14.8 million pages.

Table 11: other considerations regarding complexity of closed Access to Information Act requests
Disposition	Consultation required	Assessment of fees	Legal advice sought	Other^{table 11 note 1}	Total
All disclosed	843	15	11	472	1,341
Disclosed in part	6,603	21	332	1,155	8,111
All exempted	160	0	22	32	214
All excluded	116	0	19	18	153
Request abandoned	234	12	19	185	450
Neither confirmed nor denied	1	0	1	7	9
Total	7,957	48	404	1,869	10,278
Table 11 Notes Table 11 Note 1 Other considerations include requests for the contents of a database, requests to process audio or video recordings, high-profile subject matter, instances in which records are located in another region or country, and instances in which the records are in a language other than English or French. Return to table 11 note 1 referrer

Extensions

42.3% of all extensions taken for closed requests cited paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Access to Information Act as a reason for the extension, relating to interference with government operations. 21.4% of all extensions taken for closed requests were for 30 days or less, and 90.4% were for 120 days or less.

Table 12: reasons for and length of extensions regarding closed Access to Information Act requests
Length of extensions^{table 12 note 1}	9(1)(a) - Interference with operations	9(1)(b) - Consultation		9(1)(c) - Third-party notice	Total
Length of extensions^{table 12 note 1}	9(1)(a) - Interference with operations	Section 69^{table 12 note 2}	Other^{table 12 note 3}	9(1)(c) - Third-party notice	Total
30 days or less	2,211	137	1,244	161	3,753
31 to 60 days	1,946	185	3,410	1,504	7,045
61 to 120 days	2,225	604	1,936	274	5,039
121 to 180 days	487	65	298	66	916
181 to 365 days	426	27	123	50	626
365 days or more	117	0	28	1	146
Total	7,412	1,018	7,039	2,054	17,523
Table 12 Notes Table 12 Note 1 The timelines associated with extensions begin at the end of the initial 30-day response period. Return to table 12 note 1 referrer Table 12 Note 2 Section 69 of the Access to Information Act states that the Act does not apply to confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. Return to table 12 note 2 referrer Table 12 Note 3 “Other” includes consultations with one or more of the following: other federal government institutions, provincial and municipal governments, foreign states, international organizations of states, Aboriginal governments, non-governmental organizations or individuals. Return to table 12 note 3 referrer

Exemptions^{Footnote 1}

The tables that follow indicate exemptions applied under the Access to Information Act to requests closed during the reporting period.

Table 13a: exemptions for information obtained in confidence
Provision	Number of requests
13(1)(a)	4,509
13(1)(b)	357
13(1)(c)	823
13(1)(d)	497
13(1)(e)	19

Table 13b: exemptions for federal-provincial affairs
Provision	Number of requests
14	604
14(a)	467
14(b)	168

Table 13c: exemptions for international affairs and defence
Provision	Number of requests
15(1)	1,060
15(1) International Affairs	11,416
15(1) Defence	1,605
15(1) Subversive activities	2,656

Table 13d: exemptions for law enforcement and investigations
Provision	Number of requests
16(1)(a)(i)	502
16(1)(a)(ii)	277
16(1)(a)(iii)	372
16(1)(b)	689
16(1)(c)	20,138
16(1)(d)	53
16(2)	1,482
16(2)(a)	28
16(2)(b)	99
16(2)(c)	2,754
16(3)	0
16.1(1)(a)	6
16.1(1)(b)	18
16.1(1)(c)	32
16.1(1)(d)	62
16.2(1)	14
16.3	16
16.4(1)(a)	1
16.4(1)(b)	0
16.5	13

Table 13e: exemptions for safety of individuals
Provision	Number of requests
17	691

Table 13f: exemptions for economic interests of Canada
Provision	Number of requests
18(a)	275
18(b)	413
18(c)	25
18(d)	313
18.1(1)(a)	52
18.1(1)(b)	32
18.1(1)(c)	4
18.1(1)(d)	57

Table 13g: exemptions for personal information
Provision	Number of requests
19(1)	38,145

Table 13h: exemptions for third-party information
Provision	Number of requests
20(1)(a)	142
20(1)(b)	2,850
20(1)(b.1)	44
20(1)(c)	2,224
20(1)(d)	541
20.1	3
20.2	0
20.4	0

Table 13i: exemptions for operations of government
Provision	Number of requests
21(1)(a)	4,680
21(1)(b)	5,195
21(1)(c)	927
21(1)(d)	427

Table 13j: exemptions for testing procedures, tests and audits
Provision	Number of requests
22	308
22.1(1)	66

Table 13k: exemptions for solicitor-client privilege
Provision	Number of requests
23	2,354

Table 13l: exemptions for statutory prohibitions
Provision	Number of requests
24(1)	2,155

Table 13m: exemptions for information to be published
Provision	Number of requests
26	203

Exclusions^{Footnote 2}

The tables that follow indicate exclusions applied under the Access to Information Act to requests closed during the reporting period.

Table 14a: exclusions for non-application (Act does not apply to certain materials)
Provision	Number of requests
68(a)	501
68(b)	6
68(c)	11
68.1	67
68.2(a)	8
68.2(b)	0

Table 14b: exclusions for Cabinet confidences
Provision	Number of requests
69(1)	114
69(1)(a)	234
69(1)(b)	13
69(1)(c)	52
69(1)(d)	176
69(1)(e)	435
69(1)(f)	42
69(1)(g) re (a)	1,167
69(1)(g) re (b)	23
69(1)(g) re (c)	588
69(1)(g) re (d)	415
69(1)(g) re (e)	724
69(1)(g) re (f)	296

Table 14c: exclusions for certificate under the Canada Evidence Act
Provision	Number of requests
69.1(1)	37

Consultations

The number of consultations between federal government institutions in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year increased by 13% from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year. However, the number of pages to review remained relatively consistent, decreasing by 0.1%.

Table 15a: consultations by other government institutions regarding Access to Information Act requests, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Consultations	Number of consultations		Number of pages to review
Consultations	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Received during reporting period	8,532	9,338	533,526	493,913
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	564	949	117,101	156,002
Total	9,096	10,287	650,627	649,915
Closed during the reporting period	8,101	8,880	409,929	433,559
Pending at the end of the reporting period	685	1,407	111,736	216,356

Table 15b: recommendations and closure time for consultations by other government institutions regarding Access to Information Act requests, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Recommendation	Number of days required to close consultation requests
Recommendation	1 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
Disclose entirely	3,738	800	233	49	55	17	4,892
Disclose in part	1,599	910	494	126	111	29	3,269
Exempt entirely	106	27	22	6	3	1	165
Exclude entirely	18	3	0	0	0	0	21
Consult other institution^{table 15b note 1}	108	32	13	6	1	2	162
Other	245	53	35	10	14	14	371
Total	5,814	1,825	797	197	184	63	8,880
Table 15b Notes Table 15b Note 1 “Consult other institution” refers to a government institution’s recommendation that the institution that consulted them contact additional government institutions subject to the Access to Information Act. Return to table 15b note 1 referrer

Fees and costs

The annual cost to administer the Government of Canada’s access to information program increased by 7.8% to $69.8 million in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, with the average cost per closed request declining by 4.1% to about $714 per request.

Fees waived or refunded decreased to $48,747. This decrease reflects that on May 5, 2016, the President of the Treasury Board issued the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, directing government institutions to waive all fees apart from the initial $5 application fee.

Table 16: fees and costs of Access to Information Act operations, 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Description	Amount
Description	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Cost of operations^{table 16 note 1}	$64,771,471.00	$69,810,554.00
Requests closed	86,908	97,705
Average cost per closed request^{table 16 note 2}	$745.29	$714.50
Pages processed	16,047,246	27,536,336
Average cost per processed page	$4.04	$2.54
Number of requests in which fees were collected	82,941	94,775
Fees collected	$442,956.00	$476,710.00
Average fees collected per request	$5.34	$5.03
Number of requests in which fees were waived or refunded	5,597	7,184
Fees waived or refunded	$229,955.00	$48,747.00
Average fees waived per request	$41.09	$6.79
Table 16 Notes Table 16 Note 1 Cost of operations includes salaries, overtime, goods and services, contracts and all other expenses specific to access to information and privacy offices. Costs associated with time spent by business areas searching for and reviewing records are not included here. Return to table 16 note 1 referrer Table 16 Note 2 This calculation uses the total cost of operations in the reporting period to obtain the average cost per closed request. However, in actuality, the total cost of operations reflects processing costs of some requests that will be carried over into the next reporting period, in addition to closed requests, so the calculation is an approximation. Return to table 16 note 2 referrer

Informal requests for government information

An informal request is a request for information made to a government institution subject to the Access to Information Act that is either not made or not processed under the Act.

Informal requests include:

formal requests that were discontinued in favour of providing information informally, in consultation with the requester
advising requesters when information is already publicly available online
the re-release of information made available through previously closed formal requests, summaries of which are found online.

Informal requests do not include:

responses to parliamentary questions or media enquiries
requests made internally within a government institution to share information between sectors

Unlike in the case of formal requests:

fees cannot be charged under the Act for informal requests
there are no deadlines for responding to informal requests
requesters have no statutory right of complaint to the Information Commissioner

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, 63.1% of informal requests were closed within 30 days, compared with 61.2% in the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year.

Table 17: time required to close informal requests, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
	0 to 30 days	31 to 60 days	61 to 120 days	121 to 180 days	181 to 365 days	More than 365 days	Total
	Closure time
Number of requests	11,415	2,051	1,135	501	2,589	411	18,102

Access to Information Act requests since 1983

The statistics that follow reflect the best available data since 1983. The categories have been adjusted in some cases in order to compare data across the years.

Table 18: number of Access to Information Act requests since 1983
Requests under the Access to Information Act	Number of requests
Requests received	979,531
Requests closed	946,856

disposition of closed Access to Information Act requests since 1983. Text version below: — **Figure 7: disposition of closed Access to Information Act requests since 1983**

Disposition of closed requests	Requests as percentage
All disclosed	25.7%
Disclosed in part	50.3%
Unable to process	18.9%
Withheld entirely	2.3%
Other	2.8%

In the preceding figure:

“Unable to process” includes the categories “no records exist,”^{Footnote 3} “abandoned”^{Footnote 4} and “requests that could not be processed.”^{Footnote 5}
“Withheld entirely” includes the categories “all exempted” and “all excluded.”
“Other” includes the categories “transferred,” “neither confirmed nor denied” and “treated informally.”

Table 19: disposition of closed Access to Information Act requests since 1983
Disposition of closed requests	Requests as percentage	Number of requests
Disclosed in part	50.3	475,838
All disclosed	25.7	243,025
All exempted	1.7	16,385
All excluded	0.6	5,623
No records exist	4.6	43,580
Abandoned	4.3	41,133
Transferred	1.2	11,253
Neither confirmed nor denied	0.1	1256
Treated informally	1.5	14,057
Requests that could not be processed	10.0	94,706
Total	100.0	946,856

Table 20: time required to close Access to Information Act requests since 1983
Closure time (including requests for which extensions were required)	Requests as percentage	Number of requests
0 to 30 days	60.2	570,356
31 to 60 days	19.0	179,965
61 days or more	20.8	196,535
Total	100.0	946,856

Table 21: fees and costs of Access to Information Act since 1983
Descriptions	Amount
Requests closed	946,856
Cost of operations^{table 21 note 1}	$936,745,424.70
Average cost per closed request^{table 21 note 2}	$989.32
Fees collected	$7,790,451.02
Average fees collected per closed request^{table 21 note 3}	$8.23
Fees waived	$3,651,146.94
Average fees waived per closed request^{table 21 note 4}	$3.86
Table 21 Notes Table 21 Note 1 The cumulative cost of operations since 1983 has not been adjusted for inflation. Return to table 21 note 1 referrer Table 21 Note 2 This calculation uses the total cost of operations to obtain the average cost per closed request since 1983. However, in actuality, the total cost of operations reflects processing costs of some requests that will be carried over into the next reporting period, in addition to closed requests, so the calculation is an approximation. Return to table 21 note 2 referrer Table 21 Note 3 This calculation uses the total amount of fees collected to obtain the average fees collected per closed request since 1983. However, in actuality, fees would not have been collected for every closed request. Return to table 21 note 3 referrer Table 21 Note 4 This calculation uses the total amount of fees waived to obtain the average fees waived per closed request since 1983. However, in actuality, fees would not have been waived for every closed request. Return to table 21 note 4 referrer

Privacy Act statistics for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year

Requests under the Privacy Act

67,967 requests were received in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, a decrease of 3.6% from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year.

Of the 89,171 requests that were either received in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year or outstanding from the previous period, 69.1% were closed. This is a decrease from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year: of the 86,916 requests received in the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year or outstanding from the previous period, 75.6% were closed.

10 government institutions received 93.1% of all new requests in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year.

Table 22: requests received and closed under the Privacy Act, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Requests under the Privacy Act	Number of requests
Outstanding from 2016 to 2017 reporting period^{table 22 note 1}	21,204
Received during 2017 to 2018 reporting period	67,967
Total	89,171
Closed during 2017 to 2018 reporting period	61,574
Carried over to 2018 to 2019 reporting period	27,597
Table 22 Notes Table 22 Note 1 Due to administrative errors, there are small inconsistencies between the statistical data for the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year and the statistical data for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year regarding the number of requests or consultations left outstanding at the end of the 2016 to 2017 reporting period. Return to table 22 note 1 referrer

requests received and closed under the Privacy Act, from 2015 to 2016 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Text version below: — **Figure 8: requests received and closed under the Privacy Act, from 2015 to 2016 fiscal year to 2017 to 2018 fiscal year**

Requests under the Privacy Act	2015 to 2016	2016 to 2017	2017 to 2018
Outstanding from previous reporting period	15,022	16,426	21,204
Requests received during reporting period	70,833	70,490	67,967
Closed during reporting period	70,079	65,713	61,574
Carried over to next reporting period	15,776	21,203	27,597

Table 23: Privacy Act requests by top 10 institutions, 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Rank	Name of institution	Number of requests received	Requests received as percentage	Pages processed^{table 23 note 1}
1	Canada Border Services Agency	13,429	19.8	684,231
2	Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada	13,368	19.7	873,279
3	Employment and Social Development Canada	8,852	13.0	798,436
4	National Defence	7,393	10.9	1,323,272
5	Correctional Service of Canada	6,211	9.1	505,801
6	Royal Canadian Mounted Police	4,996	7.4	523,160
7	Canada Revenue Agency	3,791	5.6	920,251
8	Immigration and Refugee Board	3,417	5.0	192,835
9	Veterans Affairs Canada	946	1.4	374,467
10	Canadian Security Intelligence Service	844	1.2	22,672
Other institutions		4,720	6.9	2,905,470
Total		67,967	100.0	9,123,874
Table 23 Notes Table 23 Note 1 The number of pages processed per government institution represents the total processed pages for closed requests. This does not include the number of pages processed for requests that were carried over into the next reporting period. Return to table 23 note 1 referrer