Privacy Act - Annual Report to Parliament 2016-2017

Introduction

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) was established 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 Department operates under the provision of the Western Economic Diversification Act, which came into force on June 28, 1988. WD is responsible for regional development in Western Canada by developing and supporting economic policies, programs and activities to promote economic growth.

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development is responsible for this department.

The Privacy Act (Revised Statutes of Canada, Chapter P-21, 1985) was proclaimed on July 1, 1983.  The Act extends the present laws of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals, and provides individuals with a right of access to personal information about themselves.  It also protects the privacy of individuals by denying third parties access to personal information relating to them and enabling them to exercise strict control over the collection, disclosure and use of such information.  Necessary exceptions should be limited and specific.

This report describes how WD administered the Act during fiscal year 2016-2017, and fulfills the requirements under section 72 that every government institution must prepare an annual report on the administration of this Act each fiscal year and ensure it is tabled in Parliament.

WD will publish its Annual Report to Parliament on its public website (www.wd-deo.gc.ca) once it has been tabled in the House of Commons and the Senate.

Administration of the Act

Departmental Structure

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) employs 319 individuals across Western Canada and in Ottawa, including: economists, commerce officers and policy analysts. They are supported by specialists in such areas as: communications, corporate administration, financial management, human resources, information management and information technology, and procurement.

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 a liaison office in Ottawa.

Each of these offices is responsible for searching and retrieving documents responsive to access requests received under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act; however, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) unit 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.

Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) unit

The ATIP Unit is located in Edmonton, Alberta, and is responsible for the implementation and management of the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act programs and services for WD. It is part of the Finance and Corporate Management Directorate.

Specifically, the ATIP Unit:

• makes decisions on the disposition of personal information requests;
• conducts consultations with other federal government departments, provincial and municipal government departments, and third parties with respect to access to information and privacy issues, if required;
• promotes awareness of the legislation to ensure departmental responsiveness to the obligation imposed by law;
• monitors and advises on departmental compliance with the Acts, regulations, procedures and policies; and
• acts as the spokesperson for the Department when dealing with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Information Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner, and other government departments and agencies.

The ATIP Unit has three employees, including the ATIP Coordinator, Deputy ATIP Coordinator, and one ATIP Officer.  The Coordinators fulfill their responsibilities in addition to numerous other functions within the department. The ATIP Officer is dedicated to processing all access and privacy requests, along with related functions, as well as additional departmental responsibilities pertaining to Personnel Security and other security-related functions. In total, approximately .3 FTE was dedicated to privacy activities in 2016-2017.

The ATIP Unit is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures to manage the department’s compliance with the Acts.  The administration of the legislation in WD is managed by the ATIP Unit, but it is also facilitated at the corporate business unit and regional office levels.  Each corporate business unit and regional office has an ATIP Liaison Officer (reporting to an Assistant Deputy Minister, Executive Director, or corporate business unit Director) who is the first point of contact and identifies the appropriate subject experts, coordinates retrieval of records responding to personal information requests, and liaises between the ATIP Unit and regional staff concerning enquiries.  The ATIP Unit responds to all requests submitted under the Act.

The ATIP Officer also provides advice and guidance to WD officials, other government departments and the public, including providing training and awareness sessions. Other personal information/privacy-related tracked activities completed by the ATIP Unit in 2016-2017 include:

The ATIP Unit monitors the processing of all personal information requests.  No additional reporting or monitoring is conducted by other departmental officials due to the confidential nature of these requests.

Delegation of Authority

In accordance with section 73 of the Privacy Act, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, delegated his 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.  The delegation order was issued on June 10, 2016.

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Departmental Policies and Procedures

WD’s Privacy Protection Policy Suite, including the departmental Privacy Protection Policy and procedures manual, was reviewed and updated in fiscal year 2016–2017. These policy and procedural documents are reviewed as needed to ensure that they are up-to-date, and reflect any changes in TBS policies or directives, or changes as result of issues raised by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner or other agents of Parliament.

In addition, the department’s Privacy Breach Handbook was approved in March 2017, and supersedes the department’s January 2011 Directive on Privacy Breaches.

Training and Awareness

The department did not conduct any privacy related training activities during the 2016-2017 fiscal year. However, the ATIP Officer provides indirect instruction on privacy issues as appropriate to ATIP Liaison Officers and staff to increase awareness of the Act.

The department maintains an Access to Information and Privacy presence on its intranet site that includes policies, procedures, training and awareness presentations, relevant links to useful sites related to access and privacy, and contact information, as well as “The ATIP Eye” tips.

Info Source

WD made minimal changes to its 2016 Info Source chapter which is published on the department’s public website (www.wd-deo.gc.ca/eng/14990.asp).  Changes were based on TBS’s feedback on the department’s 2015 chapter.

The department did not submit any new Personal Information Banks (PIB) to TBS in 2016-2017 for approval.

Statistical Reporting Overview

The following overview provides a summary of the statistical details found in WD’s 2016-2017 statistical report (Annex A – Statistical Report).

• Personal information collected by WD in the course of its programs and activities is being disclosed only for the purpose for which it was collected, in accordance with paragraph 8(2)(a) of the Privacy Act.
• WD did not disclose personal information for any other purposes as outlined in paragraph 8(2)(m) during the 2016–2017 reporting period.
• WD received no complaints pursuant to the Privacy Act in 2016–2017, and there were no appeals or applications submitted to the Federal Court.
• WD did not complete any Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) in 2016–2017.
• No material privacy breaches were reported in fiscal year 2016-2017.

Formal Requests

For the period of April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, WD received two requests for personal information pursuant to the Privacy Act. The department has not historically received many requests for personal information.

Both requests received in 2016-2017, as well as a request carried forward from 2015-2016, were completed during the reporting period.

WD completed each of these requests within 16 days and disclosed 657 pages in their entirety. As a result, no extensions were required.

Personal Information Consultations

WD received two privacy consultations during the period of April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017.  In total, the department recommended full disclosure of 16 pages. The consultations were completed within five days each.

Operational Costs Associated with Administering the Act

WD's cost for administrating the Privacy Act in the ATIP Unit include a portion of the Deputy ATIP Coordinator’s salary and 20 percent of the ATIP Officer's salary (a total of .3 FTE/year). Other costs pertaining to goods and services, including professional services contracts and other expenses, including supplies, are reported in the annual statistical report (see Annex A).  The total cost reported was $25,118.

Additional departmental costs which incorporate estimates for other departmental officials to retrieve, review and make recommendations concerning records responding to personal information requests and translation of privacy-related products totaled $735, and are not captured in the statistical report, but provide a more complete picture of the overall cost of $25,850 to the department to administer all aspects of its activities related to the Privacy Act.

Annexe A - Statistical Report

Name of institution: Western Economic Diversification Canada

Reporting Period: 2016-04-01 to 2017-03-31

Part 1 – Requests Under the Privacy Act

Part 2 – Request Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1  Disposition and completion time

2.2  Exemptions

2.3  Exclusions

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2.4 Format of information released

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

2.5.2  Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.3  Other complexities

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting the statutory deadline

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

2.7 Requests for translation

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Part 3 – Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Part 4 – Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Part 5 – Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.2  Length of extensions

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Part 6 – Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other 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

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Part 7 – Completion Time of Consultation on Cabinet Confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

7.2  Requests with Privy Council Office

Part 8 – Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Part 9 – Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

Part 10 – Resources Related to the Privacy Act

10.1  Costs

10.2  Human Resources