1. Introduction

2. Organization

3. Delegation Order

4. Statistical Report

5. Interpretation of the Statistical Report

6. Changes to the organization, programs, operations or policy

7. New policies or procedures

8. Education and training activities

9. Investigations by the Information CommissionerAd Hoc

Appendix A – Delegation, The Honorable Peter C. de Cory

Appendix B – Revocation of Delegation,

Appendix C – Delegation, The Honorable W. Andrew McKay

Appendix D – Delegation, OIC Nov 30 2007

Appendix E – Delegation, OIC Nov 10 2008

Appendix F – Statistical report

Appendix G – Discrepancies

Appendix H – Supplemental Reporting Requirements

1. Introduction

This report to Parliament describes the activities of the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) that support compliance with the Access to Information Act (ATIA) in accordance with section 72.1

The purpose of the ATIA is to provide Canadians with access to records under the control of federal institutions, except for records subject to limited and specific exemptions. The Act also specifies that any decisions on disclosure of information should be reviewed independently of government; the OIC therefore reports directly to Parliament.2

The Information Commissioner’s mandate is to investigate complaints from individuals who feel that their rights to access have not been respected by federal institutions. The Commissioner is also entitled to initiate a complaint if there are reasonable grounds to do so.

The period from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 was an event-filled time for the OIC on several fronts. Highlights in this report include:

• We increased the capacity of the ATIP Secretariat to process requests. The Treasury Board funding secured in 2008-2009, was used to hire two new ATIP analysts and purchase an electronic request processing system, which was implemented mid-year. An ATIP Assistant position was also filled from the existing budget.
• We experienced an increase of 20 percent in the volume of requests received and the volume of pages reviewed surged by 414 percent over the course of the year. Despite the increase in workload, the ATIP Secretariat maintained its previous rate of compliance.
• We made considerable strides in our information management, both in the ATIP Secretariat, and in the larger organization. Improvements such as network consolidation, business process transformation of IT procedures and a shift to electronic service delivery helped us operate more efficiently while at the same time improving our clients’ access to information.

Finally, in order to continue safeguarding the integrity of the complaints process, an independent, arms length ombudsman was contracted to investigate complaints against the OIC. For the first month of the review period, the Honourable Peter de C. Cory filled the duties of Information Commissioner Ad Hoc as he had done the previous fiscal year. Subsequently, the Honourable W. Andrew MacKay began operating under the same legislated functions and powers as the Information Commissioner in receiving and investigating complaints against the Office. Copies of the delegation order and the revocation order for Mr. de C. Cory and the delegation order for Mr. McKay are attached as Appendices A, B and C.

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2. Organization

The OIC has 82 full-time employees. It is divided into four main branches.

• The Complaints Resolution and Compliance Branch carries out investigations and dispute resolution efforts to resolve complaints.
• The Policy, Communications and Operations Branch assesses federal institutions’ performance under the Act, conducts systemic investigations and analyses, provides strategic policy direction for the Office, leads the Office’s external relations with the public, the government and Parliament, and provides strategic and corporate leadership in the areas of financial management, internal audit and information management.
• The Legal Services Branch represents the Commissioner in court cases and provides legal advice on investigations, as well as legislative and administrative matters.
• The Human Resources Branch oversees all aspects of human resources management and provides advice to managers and employees on human resources issues.

The ATIP Secretariat, which was established within the Policy, Communications and Operations Branch, administers and processes requests for OIC information under the ATIA. The staff of the Secretariat in 2008-2009 comprised four persons:

• the Director, Information Management Division, who, as institutional ATIP Coordinator also holds the full delegated authority under the ATIA;
• the Senior ATIP analyst who is responsible for the processing of complex and/or voluminous files, and the second review of completed requests;
• the Junior ATIP analyst who administers straightforward smaller volume applications under the ATIA; and
• the ATIP Assistant, who enters all applications into the electronic system, acknowledges requests, performs imaging services, produces reports and is responsible for other administrative tasks as required.

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3. Delegation Order

Under section 3 of the ATIA, the Commissioner as the head of the institution, is delegated the power to administer the legislation.

During the reporting period, two consecutive additional delegation orders were put in place that echoed changes in staffing within the organization. At the beginning of the year, the first delegation order provided that the Assistant Commissioner, Policy, Communications and Operations, the ATIP Coordinator, and the Senior Policy Analyst were entitled to administer the Act. The second order stipulated the delegation was held by the Assistant Commissioner, the Director, Information Management and the Director, Strategic Case Management.

Copies of both delegation orders are attached as Appendices D and E.

4. Statistical Report

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The statistical report is attached as Appendix F.

5. Interpretation of the Statistical Report

The statistical report details all aspects of the requests the ATIP Secretariat dealt with during the reporting period from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009. During the reporting the OIC received a total of 113 access requests. The three most common are:

1. Open or closed investigative files
2. Applications for records relating to human resources matters
3. Requests relating to OIC contracting activities

5.1 Sources of requests

As Table I shows, the OIC predominantly received access requests from the “business” category. On some occasions, multiple requests arrived within a short period of time, and in one instance, 24 applications were received within two days. Several of these applications were for a large volume of records (in excess of 5,000 pages each). The result was a yearly increase in the number of pages from 7,000 in 2007-2008, to approximately 40,000 pages in 2008-2009, a 414 percent increase in workload that is directly attributable to one source.

The impact on the ATIP Secretariat workload was considerable; however, we were determined to maintain perfect compliance with standard deadlines and only resort to time extensions when absolutely necessary and justifiable. As a result, despite the workload pressure, all requests from that source during that period were responded to within the legislated time frame, and extensions were only applied where absolutely necessary.

The second most frequent source of ATIP requests was the general public followed by the media.

5.2 Received during reporting period

Almost all the requests received were completed by the end of the fiscal year; those carried over had been received in the last days of the reporting period.

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5.3 Disposition of completed requests

The most frequent outcome of requests processed by the ATIP Secretariat was partial disclosure, full disclosure was the second, and the third level of disposition was all records being exempted.

5.4 Exemptions invoked

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This reporting period marked a change from the first year of ATIP operations, in terms of the application of exemptions, since the most frequent exemption during this reporting period was the severing of personal information under subsection 19(1). During the previous reporting period, the most frequent exemption cited was section 16.1, which was applied to protect records related to ongoing OIC investigations.

As indicated above, the most frequent exemption invoked was subsection 19(1) which was cited in 52 requests where the personal information of third parties was involved. The frequency of this exemption is directly related to the fact that the OIC received so many requests about HR processes such as staffing of positions, leave, administration and employee retention.

The second most frequently cited exemption was section 20, records that related to contracting, which contained the financial information of third parties. Consultations were undertaken with third parties to determine whether they would consent to the release of information prior to the application of section 20.

The third most frequent exemption applied was subsection 16(1), Law Enforcement and Investigations in relation to requests that concerned ongoing investigations in federal institutions, or where information related to the investigative process required protection.

5.5 Exclusions cited

There were two requests received during the reporting period in which all records were excluded under subsection 68(a) since the documents would be published within 90 days. Because of the “duty to assist” provisions in the legislation, the ATIP Secretariat monitored the publication process. In one instance, when publication was delayed, the draft records were provided to the requester with an explanation. In the remaining instance, as soon as publication occurred, the requesters were notified that the report was available and were provided with a copy.

5.6 Completion times

For the second year in a row, the ATIP Secretariat was successful in responding to the vast majority of access requests within the legislated timeframe of 30 days. The average completion time was 36.11 days. This result reflects the OIC’s commitment to ensure that extensions are only applied in exceptional cases and that even when consultations are required, every effort will be made to complete the request in a timely manner.

5.7 Extensions

There were 19 extensions (76 percent) applied under section 9 to allow time to deal with volume and searching on requests for large volumes of records. The remaining six extensions were applied to allow time to consult with other federal institutions or third parties. When extensions of over 30 days were applied, notices were sent to the Information Commissioner Ad Hoc

The total number of extensions is not consistent with the total number of completed files, since in two instances, extensions were applied under all three paragraphs of section 9. In other words, extensions were applied on two requests for (1) dealing with the volume and searching requirements, (2) consultations with other federals institutions, and (3) third-party consultations.

5.8 Translations

There were no translations requested during the reporting period.

5.9 Method of Access

The method of access to records requested under the ATI fell into two categories during this time. For the first two quarters of the fiscal year, requesters were provided with paper copies and at times, photocopy fees were assessed prior to release. Alternatively, in an effort to avoid charging requesters, records were made available for review in the institutional reading room. In the third quarter, the ATIP Secretariat implemented electronic request processing software and applicants received the responses to their requests in CD-ROM format.

Applicants reacted immediately in a favourable and most positive way. Verbal feedback was received from applicants indicating a high level of satisfaction with the format, especially since it effectively eliminated any reproduction fees. Some requesters re-submitted former requests once they realized that the initial reproduction fees would no longer be applicable. In these cases, pursuant to the “duty to assist” provisions, all responsive records were carefully reviewed a second time to see whether, with the lapse of time, further information could possibly be released. Two requests that were treated in this manner did result in further disclosure.

5.10 Fees

As noted, in some instances, applicants who had previously been provided with access to records in the reading room, or who had abandoned their requests when fee estimates for reproduction were assessed, resubmitted their requests. To assist them, we created new files and waived the application fees in order to preserve the applicants’ right to complain to the Information Commissioner Ad Hoc about the new file. In particular, we informed a requester on two files that we would proceed in this way. When we realized that two files contained duplicate information, we merged them with the requesters’ consent, so that only one instance of the fee being waived is documented above.

5.11 Costs to administer the ATI program

5.12 Duty to Assist

We have also made every effort to fulfill our duty to assist requesters. Here are some examples of how we put this duty into action in the past year:

• We reviewed CD release packages to identify any information that could be misunderstood or unclear, and provided explanations to requesters.
• We discussed any potential time extensions with requesters prior to actually extending the timeline, and provided a clearly documented rationale for the additional time on the notice of extension, as well as the new due date.
• We negotiated the shortest possible turnaround time on consultations with federal institutions in order to provide the timeliest access possible, and released all records that did not require consultation within 30 days.
• We followed up on requests involving records not being disclosed under section 26 because of impending publication, and we responded to requesters once the records were published.
• We opened abandoned files as new requests, when necessary, and waived application fees, in order to preserve applicants’ right to complain.

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6. Changes to the organization, programs, operations or policy

Enhancing our information management capacity

Information management (IM) is critical to the success of our new business model. We produce a significant amount of documentation in the form of investigation files, legal opinions, memos, briefings, correspondence and other information. In turn, we receive a significant amount of information from external sources. To take best advantage of all this information, we must manage it in such a way that we can easily coordinate, re-use, re-purpose and distribute it in a useful, targeted and responsible manner.

In 2008–2009, we conducted a thorough assessment of our IM capacity. Consequently, we created a new IM division—regrouping the information technology (IT) function, the Records Centre, Library Services and the Access to Information and Privacy Secretariat—and developed a comprehensive long-term IM/IT strategy designed to make IM service delivery more proactive.

IM/IT renewal

In 2008–2009, we developed a five-year strategic plan aimed at positioning us as a leader in resolving access to information complaints and providing agile and enhanced service delivery. This plan identified a number of IM/IT renewal initiatives designed to enable us to create, manage, access and share information and knowledge with a seamless technology infrastructure. Our initiatives included the following:

• We established a new unit with a director and five IT professionals, who are responsible for implementing our IM/IT vision.
• We created a proactive service delivery model that anticipates business needs and identifies strategic solutions.
• We consolidated our IT infrastructure, with appropriate and up-to-date software and processes, including tools for project and change management.
• We updated or developed and implemented all the required policies and procedures.
• We increased security measures to protect data, both at rest and in transit across our network, according to their security classification while minimizing the impact of existing and emerging threats to the integrity of the information.

The results of our IM/IT renewal initiatives have been immediate and significant. The successful consolidation of the network and desktop environment has had a positive impact on our productivity while improving overall IT security, stability and management.

Records management

Since the Office of the Information Commissioner was founded in 1983, we have conducted thousands of investigations. Over the years, the volume of files associated with closed investigations increased to the point that we had to take decisive action to manage the overwhelming quantity of paper records. In 2008–2009, we developed our first Records Disposition Authority to determine how long we should keep present and future paper and electronic records created by investigators.

We also increased the capacity of our records section, in anticipation of the work we will have to do to develop and implement an institutional information management framework. Specifically, we created the positions of Manager, Information Management, and Manager, Records, to develop and maintain critical elements of the framework, such as a universal classification system, business rules and a concept of operations, as well as additional disposition authorities to cover all institutional records.

Access to Information and Privacy Secretariat

Since our organization became subject to the Access to Information Act in 2007, we have proactively managed our access to information program with the goal of achieving perfect compliance with the law. We used new funding obtained in 2007 to staff analyst positions and to purchase electronic request processing software. Electronic processing allows us to manage records associated with access and privacy requests more efficiently, maximize compliance with deadlines, and deliver records on CD-ROM, which effectively eliminates photocopy fees—a potential barrier to access.

The resulting improvement in information management has had several benefits:

• reproduction fees have been eliminated;
• packages of records are easily re-created, when necessary;
• statistical reporting is more accurate; and
• the overall quality of the packages of records we release is generally improved, in terms of organization of the records, legibility, contextualization of information and completeness and accuracy.

The impact of better information management has also allowed us to build our access to information and privacy capacity. Given the widespread shortage in qualified personnel across federal institutions, and the need for more junior staff to come up to speed quickly, having reliable electronic records keeping and accompanying processes means that we can spend less time on training than previously and allows for greater ease of succession.

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7. New policies or procedures

Since the OIC became subject to the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act, we also became subject to the Library and Archives Act. As a result, in 2008-09, the OIC developed its first submission to Library and Archives Canada under the Multi-Institutional Disposition Authority (MIDA) for the case files to deal with the paper and possible future electronic records being created and stored by the investigative function. Further submissions are envisaged to cover the remaining categories of institutional records.

8. Education and training activities

Consistent with the focus on information management activities within the OIC, training sessions were offered on the Records Disposition Authority (RDA) for the investigative files. Sessions focused on the Multi-Institutional Disposition Authorities from LAC, and the strategy for implementation of the OIC’s RDA. The training was offered to all investigators and their support personnel in both official languages.

A new training module was developed to assist OIC program officials in understanding their responsibilities in retrieving records and making recommendations. The module which will be offered early in the next fiscal year outlines the step by step process for officials to follow in carrying out their responsibilities under the ATIA. Analysts in the ATIP Secretariat will also receive section-specific training offered by the Treasury Board Secretariat as required.

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9. Investigations by the Information Commissioner Ad Hoc

In its second year of operations, 13 complaints were filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner Ad Hoc.

The majority of complaints filed with the Information Commissioner Ad Hoc concerned the withholding of information. There were 11 complaints (84.62 percent) regarding how exemptions were applied that withheld information from requesters. A further two complaints (15.38 percent) related to the length of extensions applied.

Seven investigations were completed during the reporting period. The Information Commissioner Ad Hoc found that of these seven, six were not well founded or were unsubstantiated, and one was resolved through further disclosure. In the case of the complaint that was resolved through further disclosure, an initial review of records pertaining to the re-organization of the OIC had resulted in portions of information being severed. With the passage of time these records became less sensitive and could then be released, leading the Information Commissioner Ad Hoc to find that the complaint was resolved. The remaining six were carried over into the new fiscal year.

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Appendix A

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Appendix B

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Appendix C

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Appendix D

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Appendix E

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Appendix F

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Appendix G

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Appendix H

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