Access to Information Act – Annual Report to Parliament 2020-2021

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Administration of the Act
  • Departmental Mandate
  • Departmental Structure
  • Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP)
  • Delegation of Authority
  • Departmental Policies, Procedures and Business Processes
  • Training and Awareness
• Trends and Statistics
  • Highlights, Challenges and Trends
  • Requests Received Pursuant to the Access to Information Act
    • A. Formal Requests
    • B. Informal Requests
  • Disposition and Completion Time of Requests
  • Extensions of Time Limits
  • Exemptions and Exclusions Invoked
  • Other Government Department Consultations
  • Complaints, Audits and Investigations
  • Fees Collected
  • Operational Costs Associated with Administering the Act
• Annex A: Statistical Report
• Annex B: Delegation Order
• Footnotes

Introduction

The new legislation improves the way government information is provided to Canadians by:

• giving the Information Commissioner the power to make binding orders in relation to access to information requests, including the release of government records
• eliminating all fees apart from the $5 application fee
• requiring institutions to proactively publish specific information known to be of interest to the public, without the need for a request
• allowing government institutions within the same ministerial portfolio to work together to process requests more efficiently^{Footnote 1}

The Access to Information Act balances access to government information with exemptions and exclusions that protect important democratic values such as the need for the public service to provide full, free and frank advice to ministers, the protection of the confidentiality of Cabinet deliberations, the protection of personal information, and national security considerations. In accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public, the right to access is balanced against the legitimate need to protect sensitive information and permit effective functioning of government. Necessary exceptions should be limited and specific.

This annual report is tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and describes how Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) administered its responsibilities for the reporting period.

Administration of the Act

Departmental Mandate

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) was established in 1987 to promote the development and diversification of the economy of Western Canada and to advance the interests of the West in national economic policy, program and project development and implementation. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development is responsible for this organization.^{Footnote 2}

The Department operates under the provision of the Western Economic Diversification Act, which came into force on June 28, 1988. WD’s mandate allows the department to deliver a wide range of initiatives across the West and make strategic investments to build on regional competitive advantages. Its western base enables the department to foster strong partnerships with business and community organizations, research and academic institutions, Indigenous peoples, and provincial and municipal governments. These connections help WD reflect western perspectives in national decision-making.

Departmental Structure

WD employs 443 individuals across Western Canada and in Ottawa, including economists, commerce officers and policy analysts. Specialists in such areas as communications, corporate administration, financial management, human resources, information management & information technology, and procurement provide the policy and programs analysts with support.

WD is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, and organized into four regional units (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba), with offices located in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and an office in Ottawa.

Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP)

The Human Resources and Corporate Services unit (HRCS) is responsible for a broad range of services, including Access to Information and Privacy, administered by the unit’s ATIP Centre of Expertise. HRCS is part of the Finance and Corporate Management Directorate located in Edmonton, Alberta.

The ATIP Coordinator, who is supported by the Deputy ATIP Coordinator, one Corporate Services Advisor, and one ATIP Officer, oversees WD’s ATIP Centre of Expertise. The Coordinators fulfill their responsibilities in addition to numerous other functions within the department. The Corporate Services Advisor and ATIP Officer process all access and privacy requests.

The ATIP Centre of Expertise is responsible for the implementation and management of the Access to Information and Privacy programs and services for WD. Specifically, the ATIP Centre of Expertise:

• makes decisions on the disposition of access and privacy requests, and responds to all requests submitted under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act;
• conducts consultations with other federal government departments, other levels of government and third parties with respect to access to information and privacy issues, if required;
• promotes awareness of the legislation to ensure departmental responsiveness to statutory obligations;
• monitors and advises on departmental compliance with the Acts, regulations, procedures and policies; and
• acts on behalf of the Department when dealing with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Information Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner, and other government departments and agencies.

Other access to information-related activities undertaken by the ATIP Unit in 2020-2021, include:

*questions/reviews/emails/reports etc.

The ATIP Centre of Expertise monitors the processing of all access requests. In addition, procedures are in place with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Information and Privacy Rights Administration unit to advise on the disclosure of potentially sensitive requests for information if appropriate.

Delegation of Authority

The current delegation order was issued June 2016 in accordance with section 73 of the old Access to Information Act. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development delegated full powers, authorities and responsibilities to the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Management (ATIP Coordinator) and Manager, Corporate Administration (Deputy ATIP Coordinator). The delegation also extends limited authority to the ATIP Officer (Annex B).

The ATIP Centre of Expertise is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of policies, guidelines, systems and procedures to manage the department’s compliance with the Acts. Compliance is also facilitated by an ATIP Liaison Officer, in each regional office and corporate business unit, who report to an Assistant Deputy Minister, Executive Director, or Director, to liaise with the ATIP Centre of Expertise concerning enquiries.

Each of these offices is responsible for searching and retrieving records responsive to access requests received under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. The ATIP Centre of Expertise, however, is legally responsible for implementing and managing the ATIP program and services for WD, including all decisions on the disclosure or non-disclosure of information pursuant to the legislation.

Departmental Policies, Procedures and Business Processes

To improve the administration of the ATIP program within the department, and to ensure that Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) ATIP-related policies and directives are respected and implemented, the ATIP Centre of Expertise regularly reviews and updates its various internal guidelines, procedures and business practices.

Updates reflect new advice and guidance from TBS or as a result of issues raised by the Office of the Information Commissioner or other agents of Parliament. The department publishes summaries of its closed access to information requests on Open Information Portal.

Training and Awareness

The following training activities were administered by WD’s ATIP Officer in the reporting period:

• A structured access to information (ATI) training session was provided to the Alberta Region Policy, Planning and External Relations (PPX) team on ATI request processing and exemptions and exclusions.  Ten people attended the session, which was provided through MS Teams.

There were also ad hoc, small group refreshers provided on particular topics:

• ATI request processing and consultation procedures
  • Provided to the Alberta Region Assistant Deputy Minister’s Office
  • Two attendees
• Office of Primary Interest feedback on records – exemptions and exclusions, general request process
  • Provided to the Deputy Minister’s Office
  • Four attendees
• Notice of release and approval process, applying exemptions and exclusions
  • Alberta Region and the Policy and Strategic Direction business group
  • Twelve attendees

Trends and Statistics

Highlights, Challenges and Trends

The following chart outlines the trends related to Western Economic Diversification Canada’s access to information caseload over the past 5 years.

*includes cases which were carried over from previous fiscal year and closed during this reporting period

• The implementation of proactive disclosure requirements for briefing note titles has resulted in requests for the actual briefing notes listed in those proactive disclosures. This, in turn, accounts for a significant portion of the increase in access to information requests overall.
• The number of access to information requests received have increased by 24% over the previous reporting period and the number of pages processed decreased by 59% over the same period.
• There has been a 62% decrease in the number of access consultations received, over the previous reporting period.

The following overview provides an interpretation and analysis of the statistical details found in the department’s 2020-2021 statistical report (Annex A: Statistical Report).

Requests Received Pursuant to the Access to Information Act

A. Formal Requests

The department received eighty-three (83) requests for information pursuant to the Access to Information Act during the reporting period. This represents a twenty-four (24) percent increase from fiscal year 2019-2020. There were an additional seven (7) requests carried forward from 2019-2020 as well.

Seventy-eight (78) requests were completed during the reporting period. Of these, fifteen (15) requests were abandoned and no records existed for one (1) other.

The accompanying chart shows the comparison of the number of formal requests received by the department over the past 5 years.

The categories of requestors for 2020-2021 are broken down as follows:

• 88% from media
• 1% from business
• 7% from organizations
• 4% from the public

The accompanying chart shows a 5-year comparison of sources of access requests to WD.

The accompanying chart represents the overall percentage of requestors by category.

B. Informal Requests

WD processed two requests for copies of previously disclosed information which represents a decrease of four informal requests from 2019-2020. Both informal requests, for this reporting period, were completed in less than fifteen (15) days.

The accompanying chart reflects a 5-year comparison in the number of informal requests received.

Disposition and Completion Time of Requests

Seventy-three (73) percent of requests completed by WD were done so in thirty days or less, including fifteen (15), which were abandoned, and one (1) for which no records existed. Due to extensive consultations with third parties and other government departments on the remaining twenty-seven (27) percent of the requests, completion times extended beyond the original 30-day timeline.

The disposition and completion times of the requests completed in 2020-2021 are broken down as follows:

Extensions of Time Limits

Section 9 of the Act provides for the extension of the statutory time limits if the request is for a large volume of records or necessitates a search through a large volume of records and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the department or, if consultations are necessary.

In 2020-2021WD required extensions as follows:

• On eight (8) occasions, WD took 30-day extensions
  • One (1) as per paragraph 9(1)(a)
  • Five (5) as per paragraph 9(1)(b)
  • Two (2) as per paragraph 9(1)(c)
• On eight (8) occasions, WD took 60-day extensions
  • Four (4) as per paragraph 9(1)(a)
  • Four (4) as per paragraph 9(1)(c)
• On one (1) occasion, WD took 90-day extension
  • One (1) as per paragraph 9(1)(c)

In total, seventeen (17) extensions were taken. None were taken for a period beyond ninety (90) days.

Exemptions and Exclusions Invoked

WD invoked exemptions in accordance with sections 13 through 23 of the Act as outlined in Annex A. Several exempting provisions can be applied to withhold information in response to one request; these are reported separately in the statistical report.  However, the same exemption invoked more than once in the same request is captured only once in the statistical report.

While the statistics make evident that the department invoked a broad range of exemptions during this reporting period, the following were applied the most often:

1. Paragraph 21(1)(a); advice or recommendations
2. Paragraph 20(1)(b); 3rd party - financial, commercial, scientific or technical information
3. Paragraph 21(1)(c); positions or plans developed for the purpose of negotiations
4. Paragraph 21(1)(b); consultations or deliberations
5. Paragraph 20(1)(c); 3rd party - result in financial loss or gain, or prejudice competitive position
6. Subsection 19(1); personal information
7. Paragraph 20(1)(d); 3rd party - interfere with contractual or other negotiations
8. Paragraph 13(1)(d); obtained in confidence from municipal or regional government

The Act does not apply to certain materials such as published material or material available for purchase by the public pursuant to Section 68 or confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council pursuant to Section 69.WD did not invoke any exclusions during the period of this report.

Other Government Department Consultations

In 2020-2021, WD received 28 consultations from other government departments. This represents a 62% decrease from 2019-2020. No consultations were carried over from the previous fiscal year and none were carried forward to 2021-2022.

• WD recommended full disclosure of information pertaining to our department on 24 of the 28 consultations processed. This represents 86% of the consultation requests.
• WD recommended partial disclosure of information pertaining to our department on 4 of the 28 consultations processed. This represents 14%.
• WD responded to all of the consultation requests within 30 days or less.

The accompanying chart shows the comparison of number of consultation requests received by WD over the past five years.

Complaints, Audits and Investigations

WD carried forward one complaint from 2017-18.

The complaint carried forward from 2017-18 is ongoing and follows up on an earlier complaint that was closed. The complainant is challenging the validity of exemptions, applied to additional third party records, which were provided to satisfy the original complaint.

There were no audits undertaken or concluded during the reporting period. Further, there were no appeals or applications submitted to the Federal Court.

Fees Collected

WD collected $85 in Access to Information application fees during this reporting period. $330 worth of fees were waived.

There has been a trend where media outlets will make a single request for multiple briefing notes and just submit a single $5 fee. In those cases, WD creates a file for each briefing note requested, and treats them as separate requests. The fee is applied to the first briefing note on their list and the rest are waived.

Operational Costs Associatied with Administering the Act

WD’s costs for administrating the Access to Information Act in the ATIP Centre of Expertise include a portion of the ATIP Coordinator’s and Deputy ATIP Coordinator’s salaries, and one hundred percent of the Corporate Service Advisor’s salary as well as one hundred percent of the ATIP Officer’s salary. The costs of the ATIP Liaisons from our regional offices, subject matter experts, ADM reviews and the implementation of the AccessPro software solution are also included. The implementation of AccessPro is a significant investment in the modernization of WD’s ATIP program, which required the efforts of WD’s IT/IM personnel and procurement team.

A total of 5.4 FTEs were calculated as having been allocated to WDs Access to Information program. Other costs pertaining to goods and services, including the costs of the case management system licensing and maintenance, have been included in the total cost reported at $581,725.

Annex A: Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Western Economic Diversification Canada

Reporting Period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

1.2 Sources of requests

1.3 Informal requests

Section 2: Decline to act on vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of right requests

Section 3: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

3.2 Exemptions

3.3 Exclusions

3.4 Format of information released

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

3.5.3 Other complexities

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting the statutory deadline

3.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

3.8 Requests for translation

Section 4: Extensions

4.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

4.2 Length of extensions

Section 5: Fees

Section 6: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

6.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Section 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 8: Complaints and Investigations

Section 9: Court Action

9.1 Court actions on complaints received before June 21, 2019 and on-going

9.2 Court actions on complaints received after June 21, 2019

Section 10: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

10.1 Costs

10.2 Human Resources

Annex B: Delegation Order