Backgrounder

Funding mechanisms for Agents of Parliament – Steps taken

  • In 2015, the Prime Minister requested the government house leader in his mandate letter to ensure that “agents of Parliament are properly funded and accountable only to Parliament, not the government of the day.”
  • In 2019, the Agents of Parliament sent a letter to the Clerk of the Privy Council, requesting PCO to engage with them on this issue as they were seeking an alternative to the existing funding mechanism process.

Funding mechanisms for Agents of Parliament – Pilot Project

  • In 2005, an advisory panel pilot project was launched to test a proposed new funding and oversight model for Agents of Parliament.
  • The advisory panel was initiated in response to concerns that independence from government may be compromised by the fact that Treasury Board determines the amount of funding available to the Agents of Parliament.
  • The Corbett report published in 2008 concluded that the pilot project was a success and should be made permanent. It achieved the key objective of reducing the perception of conflict of interest that was inherent in the pre-existing process.
  • In 2011, the government of the day stopped seeking the panel’s advice after forming a majority government and asserting greater control over the work of parliamentary committees.

Funding mechanisms for Agents of Parliament – Alternatives

  • Not all Agents of Parliament have the same Funding Mechanism.
  • The Parliamentary Budget Officer has the ability to request funds from the Speaker.
  • The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s budget goes to the Speakers of the House and Senate.
  • The Conflict of Interest and the Ethics Commissioner’s budget goes to the House Speaker. Speakers then send it to Treasury Board.
  • The Chief Electoral Officer has an annual appropriation for the salary of permanent staff and a statutory spending authority for all other expenditures.

Guiding Principles - Investigations

  1. When we begin an investigation, we complete it within a reasonable timeframe.
  2. We investigate complainants' allegations as stated or as clarified at the beginning of the investigation and according to the parameters of the access request.
  3. We prioritize discussions with the parties to complete investigations promptly.
  4. We seek representations promptly in order not to delay investigations; we conclude investigations even when the parties do not provide representations.
  5. We diligently follow up on files without waiting between steps.
  6. The analysis we present in published final reports is as complete as possible to serve as a reference for completing other investigations.
  7. We follow our established investigations processes to ensure high quality and efficient investigations and reports.

Investigations: Results

  • Since the beginning of Commissioner Maynard’s mandate on March 1, 2018, the number of complaints received by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) has grown by 180%.
  • 2021-2022 was a record year, with almost 7,000 new complaints registered (70% more than the previous year).
  • Complaint numbers for 2022-23 will likely surpass those of the previous year.
  • In 2021-2022, the OIC succeeded in closing 67% more complaints than the previous year.
  • To provide clear guidance on the Commissioner’s interpretation of the Act and to ensure that complainants and institutions understand the OIC’s position, the OIC has published 125 final reports and summaries on its website as of March 1, 2023.

Planned human resources

Planned human resources

Core responsibilities and internal services

2020–21 actual full‑time equivalents

2021–22 actual full‑time equivalents

2022–23 forecast full‑time equivalents

2023–24 planned full‑time equivalents

2024–25 planned full‑time equivalents

2025–26 planned full‑time equivalents

Government transparency

73

91

96

96

96

96

Subtotal

73

91

96

96

96

96

Internal services

36

38

32

32

32

32

Total

109

129

128

128

128

128

For more information on the OIC’s priorities, structure, planned spending and human resources, please consult our Publications section.

Investigations: Statistics as of March 1, 2023

Complaints colsed - full vs partial year - 2018-19 to 2022-23 as of March 1 2023
Text version
Investigations: Statistics as of March 1, 2023
  Full year April 1st to March 1st
2018-19 2611 2314
2019-20 5528 3723
2020-21 4060 3363
2021-22 6787 5554
2022-23 n/a 6970
  • As of March 1, 2023, the OIC has closed 25% more complaints compared to same time last year.
Top 20 institutions in the OIC inventory as of March 1 2023
Text version
Top 20 Institutions in the OIC Inventory, as of March 1, 2023
Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada 1125
Canada Border Services Agency 368
Royal Canadian Mounted Police 296
Library and Archives Canada 252
Canada Revenue Agency 207
Privy Council Office 201
Public Services & Procurement Canada 112
National Defence 109
Transport Canada 87
Global Affairs Canada 84
Health Canada 79
Justice Canada 66
Correctional Services Canada 56
Employment and Social Development Canada 50
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 39
Indigenous Services Canada 39
Shared Services Canada 36
Environment and Climate Change Canada 30
Treasury Board Secretariat 28
Canadian Security Intelligence Service 27
Inventory of Complaints 2021-22 vs 2022-23 as of March 1 2023
Text version
Inventory of complaints 2021-22 vs 2022-23 (as of March 1, 2023)
  pre 2018 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 total
2021-22 448 300 416 635 3139 n/a 4938
2022-23 136 114 197 261 725 2280 3713
  • Commissioner Maynard’s first priority when she arrived at the OIC was to address the inventory of complaints she inherited, while continuing to investigate new complaints.
  • As of March 1, 2023, the OIC has managed to clear 97% of the backlog of approximately 3,500 files that existed at the beginning of the Commissioner’s mandate.
  • The OIC inventory has decreased by 25% over the last eleven months.
Complaints registered during Fiscal Year vs Complaints in the inventory as of March 1, 2023

Complaints registered during Fiscal Year vs Complaints in the inventory as of March 1, 2023

 

Pre-2018*

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-2023

Complaints registered during Fiscal Year

3500

2467

6172

4068

6945

6547

Complaints in the inventory as of March 1, 2023

136

114

197

261

725

2280

*Inventory of complaints inherited by Commissioner Maynard at the beginning of her mandate.

Orders issued since June 2019 (as of March 1, 2023)

Orders issued since June 2019 (as of March 1, 2023)

 

2019-2020

2020-2021

2021-2022

2022-2023
(Since April 1st, 2022)

Investigations on refusal complaints

(relate to institutions applying exemptions or exclusions under the Act to refuse disclosure of information)

0

0

1

26

Investigations on administrative complaints

(relate to institutions extending or delaying timelines for responses to requesters)

1

2

25

139

  • Since the coming into force of C-58 in June 2019, the Commissioner has made 194 orders.
  • The Commissioner has made most of these orders (85%) during the current fiscal year.
Outcomes of applications to decline to act on an access request (June 2019 to March 2023)

Outcomes of applications to decline to act on an access request (June 2019 to March 2023)

 

Applications received

Applications withdrawn

Approval granted

Permission denied

Applications carried over to the next fiscal year

2019–2020

6

0

1

4

1

2020–2021

6

5

0

1

1

2021–2022

36

4

2

29

2

Since April 1st, 2022

7

0

2

3

n/a

  • Since the coming into force of C-58, under section 6.1(1) of the Access to Information Act,institutions may refuse to process an access request if, in the opinion of the head of the institution, the request is deemed vexatious, made in bad faith or otherwise an abuse of the right to make a request for access to records.
  • An institution cannot refuse to process a request without the Information Commissioner’s approval.
  • Since June 2019, the Commissioner received 55 such applications from institutions. Permission was granted in five cases, including one for a request regarded as part of a pattern of behaviour that involved repeated access requests for substantively the same information.
  • Since the coming into force of C-58, under section 6.1(1) of the Access to Information Act,institutions may refuse to process an access request if, in the opinion of the head of the institution, the request is deemed vexatious, made in bad faith or otherwise an abuse of the right to make a request for access to records.
  • An institution cannot refuse to process a request without the Information Commissioner’s approval.
  • Since June 2019, the Commissioner received 55 such applications from institutions. Permission was granted in five cases, including one for a request regarded as part of a pattern of behaviour that involved repeated access requests for substantively the same information.
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