Privacy Act - Annual Report to Parliament 2017-2018

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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 and Procedures
  • Training and Awareness
• Trends and Statistical Overview
  • Requests Receives Pursuant to the Privacy Act
  • Operational Costs Associated with Administering the Act
• Annex A – Statistical Report
• Annex B – Delegation Order

Introduction

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.

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 336 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 and 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 Corporate Administration unit encompasses various corporate business services, including Access to Information and Privacy. This unit is part of the Finance and Corporate Management Directorate located in Edmonton, Alberta.

The ATIP team includes the ATIP Coordinator, Deputy ATIP Coordinator, and two ATIP Officers. The Coordinators fulfill their responsibilities in addition to numerous other functions within the department. The senior ATIP Officer is dedicated to processing all access and privacy requests, and a junior officer began training in this field of expertise in 2017-2018. Approximately .09 FTE was dedicated to privacy-related activities in 2017-2018.

WD's senior ATIP Officer will retire in 2018,

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

• makes decisions on the disposition of personal information requests;
• 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 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.

Other access to information-related activities undertaken by the ATIP Unit in 2017-2018, include:

Additionally, the ATIP team has worked in conjunction with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's ATIP unit concerning preparations for additional proactive publishing requirements for the Minister once Bill C-58 receive royal assent, as well as coordinating the department's preparations for publishing requirements for the Deputy Minister.

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

Delegation of Authority

The current delegation order was issued in June 2016. In accordance with section 73 of the Privacy Act, the 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 (see Annex B).

Departmental Policies and Procedures

There were no changes made to WD's Privacy Protection policy suite during fiscal year 2017–2018 as a result of changes in TBS policies or directives, or as result of issues raised by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner or other agents of Parliament.

Training and Awareness

Staff training and outreach activities for 2017-2018 included:

• two (2) pre-processing meetings for departmental officials/subject experts. These meetings are conducted as new privacy requests are received and when deemed appropriate dependent on the nature of the request. Meetings are approximately one half hour in length, depending on the complexities of the request, and provide direct instruction on the records retrieval and review process, recommendations required by the ATIP Unit;
• nine (9) ATIP training and awareness sessions for staff in Corporate Administration, Manitoba Region and various business units of Policy and Strategic Direction.  The training provided an overview of WD's responsibilities on the administration of the Acts, and departmental procedures and practices.  In total, 45 departmental staff have participated in this training to date;
• three (3) IM Days staff awareness sessions included ATIP and information managements tips.  In total, 132 departmental staff participated in these sessions; and
• ongoing training of a junior ATIP Officer as part of the department's succession planning process;

The department maintains an Access to Information and Privacy presence on its intranet site that includes policies, procedures, training and awareness presentations, and relevant links to useful sites related to access and privacy.

Trends and statistics

The following overview provides a summary of the statistical details found in WD's 2017-2018 statistical report (Annex A – Statistical Report).

• WD traditionally receives very few requests for personal information. As WD's programs and services collect very little personal information, requests relate to human resources issues or staffing actions.
• WD did not receive any privacy consultations during the reporting period, a 200 percent decrease from 2016-2017.
• No complaints were received in 2017–2018 pursuant to the Privacy Act, and there were no appeals or applications submitted to the Federal Court.
• No material privacy breaches were reported in fiscal year 2017-2018.
• WD did not complete any Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) in 2017–2018.
• Personal information collected by WD in the course of its programs and activities is 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 2017–2018 reporting period.

Requests received pursuant to the Privacy Act

The department received four (4) requests for personal information pursuant to the Privacy Act. This represents a 200 percent increase from fiscal year 2016-2017.

Three (3) requests were completed during the reporting period (75 percent), and one request was carried forward into the 2018-2019 reporting period (25 percent).

Of the three requests closed, each of these requests were completely within 16 days, and 657 pages were disclosed in whole or in part. All information was disclosed on one request, and only information pertaining to other individuals was protected pursuant to section 26 on the other two (2) requests. No consultations or time extensions were required to complete these requests.

The accompanying chart shows the comparison of the number of formal requests for personal information received and closed, as well as the number of privacy-related consultations received by the department over the past five years.

Operational costs associated with adminstering the Act

WD's cost for administrating the Privacy Act in the ATIP Unit include a portion of the Deputy ATIP Coordinator's and senior and junior ATIP Officers salaries (a total of .09 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 $7,039.

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 $2,170, and are not captured in the statistical report, but provide a more complete picture of the overall cost of $9,209 to the department to administer all aspects of its activities related to the Privacy Act.

ANNEX A – Statistical Report

Statistical Reporton the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Western Economic Diversification Canada

Reporting Period: 2017-04-01 to 2018-03-31

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

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

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

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

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

Expenditures

10.2  Human Resources

0.09

ANNEX B – Delegation Order