Access to Information 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, Procedures and Business Processes
  • Training and Outreach
• Trends and Statistics
  • Highlights, Challenges and Trends
  • Requests Receives Pursuant to the Access to Information Act
    • A. Formal Requests
    • B. Informal Requests
  • Disposition and Completion Time of Requests
  • Extensions of Time Limits and Consultations
  • Exemptions and Exclusions Invokes
  • 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

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 1.49 FTEs were dedicated to access to information 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 access and privacy requests, and responds to all requests submitted under these Acts;
• 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 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:

The ATIP Unit monitors the processing of all access requests. The ATIP Coordinator and the department's Executive Committee, ATIP Liaison Officers and Communications officials receive reports pertaining to the status of all active formal access requests.

In addition, procedures are in place with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's Information and Privacy Rights Administration unit to advise the Minister weekly on the status of all active formal and informal access requests, as well as the disclosure of potentially sensitive requests for information if appropriate.

Delegation of Authority

The current delegation order was issued in June 2016. In accordance with section 73 of the Access to Information 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).

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. 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 corporate business unit Director, to liaise with the ATIP Unit concerning enquiries.

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. The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) unit, 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 and Procedures and Business Processes

To improve the administration of the ATIP program within the department, and to ensure that Treasury Board Secretariat ATIP-related policies and directives are respected and implemented, the ATIP unit 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 Outreach

The senior ATIP Officer has developed WD's Exemption/Exclusion Guide which assists departmental staff who are responsible for providing advice on records under the care and control of the department. This guide is instrumental in department-wide training which was offered by the senior ATIP Officer.

Staff training and outreach activities for 2017-2018 included:

• eight (8) pre-processing meetings for departmental officials/subject experts. These meetings are conducted as new access 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, and to identify volumes of records, potential sensitivities, etc. In total, 28 departmental officials participated in these meetings;
• two (2) training sessions for ATIP Liaison Officers pertaining of roles and responsibilities. In total, 12 ATIP liaisons or their back-ups with these responsibilities participated in the training;
• 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, explanations concerning departmental procedures and practices, an in-depth look at exemptions and exclusions, and case studies. 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

Highlights, Challenges and Trends

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

• As noted in the chart above, the overall caseload of requests received related to access to information, including formal, informal and consultations, increased in 2017-2018 by 198% over the previous reporting period.
• Although there was a decrease in the number of formal requests received by the department under the Access to Information Act in 2017-2018, the volume of records, as well as complexities and sensitivities of several of these requests, actual time spent obtaining advice and processing the requests was a challenge when combined with the increases in other areas.
• There was also a significant increase in the number of informal requests for information previously disclosed.
• Consultations from other government departments increased substantially during this reporting, with 50 per cent of these requests coming from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada primarily for copies of lists of briefing notes or individual briefing notes prepared for the Minister. An additional 26 per cent of the consultations were received from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
• Subjects of access requests and consultations were broad, but there was significant interest in information related to the Port of Churchill and OmniTRAX.
• A complaint from the Information Commissioner's office carried forward from 2016-2017 pertaining to records not physically within the control of the department was closed and required the department to request records from a third party. A follow-up complaint was received in 2017-2018 which now challenges the exemptions applied and is ongoing.

The following overview provides an interpretation and analysis of the statistical details found in the department's 2017-2018 statistical report (Annex A – Statistical Report).

Requests Received Pursuant to the Access to Information Act

A. Formal Requests

The department received nine (9) requests for information pursuant to the Access to Information Act during the reporting period. This represents a 53 percent decrease from fiscal year 2016-2017. In addition, four requests were carried forward from 2016-2017.

All requests, including those carried forward from 2016-2017 (100 percent), were completed during the reporting period. Of these, two (2) requests were abandoned.

While the number of requests decreased from the previous reporting period, the volume of records, complexity and sensitivities, and the number of consultations required prior to disclosure of records resulted in greater time and effort by the offices of primary interest and the ATIP unit.

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

The category of requestors for 2017-2018 is broken down as follows:

• Four (44.5 percent) from the media
• Three (33.5 percent) from the general public
• Two (22 percent) requestors declined to identify

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

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

B. Informal Requests

As a result of summaries of closed access requests which are published on the Open Government portal, WD processed 25 requests for copies of previously disclosed information. This represents an increase of 278 percent from 2016 2017. One additional request for departmental information was also treated informally.

No application fees or response timelines apply to these informal requests; however, WD responded to all requests (100 percent) within ten (10) days or less.

The accompanying chart reflects a five-year comparison in the number of informal request received.

Disposition and Completion Time of Requests

WD responded to all completed requests within the established timelines, and 23 percent within the original 30 days, including two requests abandoned by the requestor. Due to extensive consultations with third parties and other government departments on the remaining 77 percent of the requests, completion times extended beyond the original 30 day timeline.

The disposition and completion times of the requests completed in 2017-2018 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 2017-2018, WD required:

• two (2) extensions due to the volume of records requested, and
• ten (10) extensions to complete necessary consultations with other government departments or third parties.

Due to the nature of the records requested, extensive consultations were required. In total, 24 consultations were required each with other government departments and third parties. The maximum extension taken for third parties consultations was 60 days; however, 90-day extensions were required on two requests due to other government department caseloads.

Exemptions and Exclusions Invoked

WD invoked exemptions in accordance with sections 13 through 21 to 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 it 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, subsection 20(1) pertaining to third party information was the most utilized exemption, having been applied to nine (9) requests. This reflects the nature of the information held by the department related to the recipients of its funding programs. Also utilized in a large percentage of the requests were subsection 19(1) which was applied to eight (8) requests and subsection 21(1) which was applied to seven (7) requests.

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 either section during this reporting period.

Other Government Department Consultations

In 2017-2018, WD received 75 consultations from other federal departments and one (1) consultation from a non-federal organization. This is a 253 percent increase from 2016-2017. In total, 75 consultation requests were completed during the reporting period, and one was carried forward to 2017 2018.

• WD recommended full disclosure of information pertaining to our department on 52 (69.5 percent) consultation requests.
• WD recommended partial disclosure of information pertaining to our department on 22 (29.5 percent) consultation requests.
• WD recommended all records pertaining to our department be exempted one (1) consultation request.
• Fifty percent of the consultations were received from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and the majority of these related to lists of briefing notes or for copies of briefing notes prepared for Minister Bains. An additional 26 per cent of the consultations were received from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
• In total, WD reviewed 791 pages. This represents a 62 percent decrease in records reviewed from 2016-2017.
• WD responded to 74 of the consultation requests (99 percent) within 15 days or less, and one request was completed within 21 days.

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 2016-2017, and received one new complaint pursuant to the Access to Information Act in 2017-2018.

The complaint carried forward from 2016-2017 was closed. As a result, an additional 141 pages were processed and 138 pages disclosed to the complainant.

The new complaint follows up on the earlier complaint that was closed, arguing the validity of exemptions applied to additional third party records provided to the applicant; it remains ongoing in 2018-2019.

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 $40 in Access to Information application fees during this reporting period.

Operational Costs Associatied with Administering the Act

WD's cost for administrating the Access to Information Act in the ATIP Unit include a portion of the ATIP Coordinator's and Deputy ATIP Coordinator's salaries, 90 percent of the senior ATIP Officer's salary and 32 percent of the junior ATIP Officer's salary (a total of 1.49 FTEs/year). Other costs pertaining to goods and services, including professional services contracts and other expenses, including the ATIP case management system licensing and maintenance, supplies, and ATIP unit travel and training, are reported in the annual statistical report (see Annex A). The total cost reported was $128,529.

Additional costs, which incorporate estimates for other departmental officials to retrieve, review and make recommendations concerning records responding to access requests, information technology support, and translation of staff awareness materials and access-related documents totalled $20,709 in 2017-2018. These costs are not all captured in the statistical report, but provide a more complete picture of the overall cost of $149,238 to the department to administer all aspects of its activities related to the Access to Information Act.

Annex A: Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Western Economic Diversification Canada

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

Part 1 – Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1  Number of requests

1.2  Source of requests

1.3  Informal requests

Note: All requests previously recorded as "treated informally" will now be accounted for in this section only.

Part 2 – Requests 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 – Extensions

3.1  Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

3.2  Length of extensions

Part 4 – Fees

Part 5 – Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

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

5.3  Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Part 6 – Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

6.1  Requests with Legal Services

6.2  Requests with Privy Council Office

Part 7 – Complaints and Investigations

Part 8 – Court Action

Part 9 – Resources related to the Access to Information Act

9.1  Costs

9.2  Human Resources

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.

Annex A: Informal Requests