Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act — April 1, 2019

1. Introduction

The Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) presents to Parliament its Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act (the "Act") for fiscal year 2019-2020 (April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020). This report is prepared and tabled in accordance with section 94 of the Act.

The purpose of the Act is to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution. The Act maintains that government information should be made available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific, and that decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.

In accordance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat requirements, this report provides an overview of the activities of AAFC in administering its responsibilities under the Act. This report should be considered along with AAFC's 2019-2020 Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Privacy Act, which is tabled separately.

AAFC’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office is the focal point for access to information and privacy matters within the Department. For fiscal year 2019-2020, AAFC responded to all access to information requests within the prescribed deadlines.

2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's mandate

Our vision

Driving innovation and ingenuity to build a world-leading agricultural and food economy for the benefit of all Canadians.

Our mission

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada provides leadership in the growth and development of a competitive, innovative and sustainable Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector.

Responsibilities

The Department’s activities range from the farmer to the consumer, from the farm to global markets, through all phases of producing, processing and marketing of farm, food and bio-based products. Agriculture is also a shared jurisdiction in Canada, and the Department works closely with provincial and territorial governments in the development and delivery of policies and programs.

The Department is also responsible for making sure that policies and programs of the organizations within the Agriculture and Agri-Food portfolio are coordinated and work to serve the interests of the sector and Canadians. The portfolio organizations consist of the Canadian Dairy Commission, the Canadian Grain Commission, Farm Credit Canada, the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal and the Farm Products Council of Canada. AAFC also includes the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency, a special operating agency that regulates and supervises pari-mutuel betting on horse racing at racetracks across Canada.

3. Access to Information and Privacy Office structure

The ATIP Office is the focal point for access to information and privacy matters within AAFC. Key responsibilities include:

Developing, coordinating and implementing policies, guidelines and procedures to ensure departmental compliance with the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act;
Ensuring timely processing of all ATIP requests and proactively disclosing summaries of closed ATI requests on the Open Government website;
Providing senior management and all departmental staff with advice and guidance on ATIP-related matters, including privacy best practices and risk mitigation strategies, and offering training and awareness sessions to promote a consistent approach across the Department;
Representing AAFC in its discussions and negotiations with external stakeholders, including other government departments (OGDs), third parties, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada, and the general public;
Conducting Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA);
Preparing annual reports to Parliament and maintaining the Department’s InfoSource chapter;
Developing and updating personal information banks (PIBs); and
Processing requests on behalf of the following portfolio organizations: the Canadian Dairy Commission, the Canadian Grain Commission and the Farm Products Council of Canada.

The ATIP Office reports to the Director General (DG), Communications Services, under the direction of the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of the Public Affairs Branch (PAB). The ADM, PAB, provides senior management support and leadership.

The team is comprised of access and privacy policy analysts who play a key compliance and risk mitigation role for the Department. Eleven positions are attributed to the Office:

Director (1)
ATIP Managers (2)
Senior ATIP Policy Advisor (1)
Senior ATI Analysts (3)
Junior ATI Analyst (1)
Senior Privacy Policy Analyst (1)
Privacy Analyst (1)
Administrative Support (1)

The cost of administering the ATIP Office (for both access to information and privacy matters) during the reporting period was $1,128,633, which included 12.02 FTEs (or $747,236 in salaries and $237,187 for professional services).

The ATIP Office is supported by a designated network of 17 offices of primary interest (OPIs) - holders of the relevant information identified in an access request. OPIs are responsible for coordinating branch-specific request activities and providing guidance to colleagues on the administrative processes related to the Act.

OPIs and their DGs review and make recommendations regarding the relevant information to be released prior to ATIP review and final approval. The ATIP Office continuously searches for new ways to streamline the processing of requests.

4. Delegation of authority

Subsection 95(1) of the Access to Information Act provides for the Minister of AAFC to delegate the powers, duties and functions designated by the Act.

The delegation of authority for the administration of the Access to Information Act includes the Assistant Deputy Minister, PAB, the Director General, Communications Services (PAB), and the ATIP Director, who have full delegated authority under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, to approve exemptions in accordance with the delegation of authority instrument approved by the Minister in September 2020. Certain administrative functions as well as some authority to apply exemptions and approve release packages are also delegated to the ATIP Managers to enhance efficiency in request processing.

The delegation of authority instrument for the administration of the Access to Information Act is appended hereto at Annexes A and B.

5. Access to Information Act statistical report

AAFC’s detailed statistical report on the Act for April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, is attached at Annex C. In comparing this statistical report with that of the previous reporting period (April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019), it was noted that AAFC received a little less new requests during last year, but completed slightly more files than in 2018-2019. The following charts are highlights of the statistical report:

Number of ATI requests
Year	Outstanding	Received	Completed	Carried Forward
2016–2017	59	222	245	36
2017–2018	36	166	184	18
2018–2019	18	140	124	34
2019–2020	34	115	127	22

Access requests received and completed

AAFC received 115 new requests for information under the Act.
Thirty-four requests were carried forward from the previous reporting period.
One hundred and twenty-seven were completed.
As part of the completed requests, 37,430 pages were reviewed.
Of the 37,430 pages, 22,583, or 60 percent, were released entirely or in part.
Twenty-two ongoing requests were carried forward to the next reporting period (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021) and remain within the statutory time frames.

Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Year	Pages Processed	Pages Disclosed	Release ratio (%)
2016–2017	76,540	48,983	63
2017–2018	140,036	61,390	43
2018–2019	35,622	31,687	89
2019–2020	37,430	22,583	60

During this reporting period, a significant number of requests were related to the African Swine Fever, canola, trade with China and glyphosate.

Exemptions invoked

The appended statistical reports provide details regarding the types of exemptions and exclusions applied to information contained in records for completed requests. The three exemptions most commonly used by AAFC during the reporting period were subsection 19(1) (personal information), section 20 (confidential third-party information) and section 21 (operations of government, advice, etc.).

Extensions

The Act allows extensions beyond the 30-day statutory time frame for specific reasons. During the reporting period, 58 of the 127 closed requests required time extensions of 31 days or more to consult with third parties or other government departments (OGDs), or required extensions owing to the volume of relevant records requiring review.

Informal requests

The ATIP Office also responds to informal requests for information from the public. Informal requests are requests for previously released records under a formal access to information request.
A total of 130 informal requests were received, and responded to, during this reporting period: 34 were closed within 15 days of receipt; 73 were closed within 16 to 30 days; 21 closed between 31 to 60 days; and 2, on hold pending completion of formals requests, were closed within 181 to 365 days.
The trend towards informal requests hasn’t waned since the Department began posting summaries of closed access requests, with this year’s number being almost the same as in the previous reporting period.

Informal access request trends
Year	Informal Requests
2016–2017	80
2017–2017	153
2018–2019	137
2019–2020	130

Consultations

AAFC must also respond to consultations pursuant to the Act from other government departments in order to provide those institutions with recommendations regarding the release of information related to AAFC.
For this reporting period, AAFC received 144 consultation requests from other institutions. Twelve consultation requests were carried forward to the next fiscal year.
One hundred and six of the 144 consultation requests were completed within 30 days of receipt.
The number of pages reviewed by AAFC for other institutions totalled 5,797.

Number of pages to review for consultations
Year	Outstanding	Received	Completed	Carried forward
2016–2017	0	2,526	2,374	152
2017–2018	236	3,200	2,975	461
2018–2019	461	2,684	2,631	514
2019–2020	1,655	4,142	5,406	391

In summary

AAFC received 389 requests during the reporting period (115 access requests, 130 informal requests and 144 consultation requests). While this represents a slight decrease in total requests received over the previous reporting period (419 requests received), the Department saw a 12% increase in pages processed in this reporting period to 42,836 pages from 38,253 in fiscal year 2018-2019. In compliance with TBS requirements, summaries of AAFC’s completed access to information requests may be found on the Government of Canada’s Open Government web site.

Impact of COVID-19-related measures on the administration of the Access to Information Act

As a result of the exceptional circumstances brought on by the novel coronavirus, institutions are asked to identify the impact the COVID-19 measures have on their ability to fulfil obligations with respect to the Act.

For our department, the most significant impediment of processing records has been that the ATIP Office can no longer send or receive paper records, a situation that has put a strain on the processing and approval of records. In order to mitigate its effect, and continue to process requests on time according to legislated requirements, the ATIP Office and, indeed, the whole of the Department have resorted to the use of VPN and teleworking. With this came the added challenge of limited network capacity, which was also an issue during the remainder of the reporting period (and ongoing) and required employees working remotely on a rotational basis. However, with COVID-19 came the opportunity to leverage these technologies in line with TBS’s implementation notice 2020-01 and to move increasingly forward with our “Paperless ATIP” initiative. Another impact on the ATIP Office’s operations has been that the Department was primarily in crisis management mode during the portion of the reporting period impacted by COVID-19. Many AAFC employees were deployed to support our agricultural sector and ensure the security of the food supply chain as main priorities for Canadians. In addition, many of our consultations involving other organizations could not be processed, as several government departments, provincial governments institutions and third parties were not operational at this time.

From March 13, 2020 to March 31, 2020 ‒ the affected timeframe within this reporting period ‒ AAFC has received no new files, and closed five requests, while none were carried over.

6. Access complaints, investigations and audits

The Act provides a system of review to help ensure federal institutions comply with their obligations. Under this system of review, a requester may file a complaint with the Information Commissioner of Canada, who will investigate the matter on behalf of the requester. After the complaint investigation is carried out, the Commissioner issues a finding on the matter and determines whether an institution handled the request properly.

AAFC’s ATIP Office worked collaboratively with the Office of the Information Commissioner to close two complaint investigations. These investigations related to matters such as exemptions invoked on records, extensions to the original 30-day time frame and potential missing records. Of the two complaints closed, the Commissioner deemed that:

One was resolved – well founded;
One was resolved – not well founded.

In both cases, no further action was recommended by the Information Commissioner as a result of the investigations. A total of four complaints have been carried forward to the 2020-2021 reporting period. These complaints remain under investigation by the Office of the Information Commissioner.

No audits in relation to AAFC’s obligations under the Act were carried out during the reporting period.

7. Reporting pursuant to the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution.

With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

Enabling authority: Access to Information Act
Fee amount: $130
Total revenue: $0
Fees waived: no fees were waived for the 2019-2020 fiscal period
Cost of operating the program: $759,965

8. ATI Access policies, guidelines, procedures and engagement

The ATIP Office has worked on open government initiatives with other branches of the Department. The Office’s involvement entailed promoting access to government data and information for all citizens and protecting personal information. The ATIP Office reviewed written questions to Parliament and Audit reports for Access to Information Act considerations prior to disclosure or publication.

The ATIP Office remains focused on finding efficiencies and maximizing available resources in processing requests. In this reporting period, the Office has moved forward with its “Paperless ATIP” initiative comprised of three pillars: (i) Epost Connect: Release Packages, Heads-up, Comms; (ii) Knowledge Workspace: ATIP Drop Box for retrievals; and (iii) Shared Drives & further digitalization geared toward approvals and consultations to alleviate the administrative burden associated to processing requests and to reduce paper use. Starting to work this way, the ATIP Office has saved some 24,000 pages and entirely eliminated the use for CD-roms. In consultation with the OPIs Network, the ATIP Office aims at improving its e-delivery posture in support of its operations’s digitalization efforts. As the whole of government seeks to leverage comparable technologies and systems in the face of present day realities, AAFC’s ATIP Office office is always in consultation with its OPIs Network and other ATIP groups around government to remain at the ready for the next opportunities.

While implementing the requirements of Bill C-58, the ATIP Office continued to engage departmental stakeholders at all levels over this reporting period to ensure departmental compliance and to update/improve procedures where and when applicable.

9. Access to Information and Privacy training and education

The ATIP Office continues to offer ATIP-related training to ensure that staff and management understand their roles and responsibilities with respect to the Acts and information management, so that AAFC’s access to information obligations are fulfilled.

Courses are provided to new employees as well as to branch units when requested. The ATIP Office also offers specific training to key branches involved in the collection and handling of personal information required to support various departmental programs to ensure an understanding of their responsibilities as they relate to privacy protection. Moreover, additional sessions were developed in response to the Department’s Administrative Recruitment and Development Program (ARDP), in order to provide a broad overview of administrative support staff responsibilities as they pertain to assisting senior managers in completing ATIP requests. General training was also provided to Senior Management with presentations on Bill C-58 implications delivered to Branches’ Executive Committees.

During this reporting period, 21 formal awareness sessions were held, with 254 employees in attendance, including 16 sessions offered in Winnipeg to 94 participants.

Training highlights include

an overview of the access to information administrative processes
a definition of employee roles and responsibilities in relation to fulfilling AAFC’s responsibilities under the Act
the principles of the duty to assist
responsibilities surrounding the collection, retention, use and disposition of personal information
Privacy Impact Assessment and Protocol guidelines
an overview of exemptions and exclusions, and
information management practices.

10. Monitoring timelines

AAFC uses an automated system to monitor the timely processing of ATIP requests. The workflow case management tool tracks all actions and due dates, stores relevant records requiring review, maintains audit logs, promotes the use of standard templates, allows extensive search capability to facilitate analysis, and generates progress and statistical reports.

Senior management is kept apprised of the Access to Information activities through a weekly status report that is prepared by the ATIP Office and shared with various OPIs and governance bodies. This report and related discussions serve to remind branches of their pending due dates for records retrieval and flags:

New requests received;
The lead branch responsible;
Request- and action-specific due dates;
Requests due in the coming 2 weeks; and
Areas where advice and direction can be provided by the ATIP Office.

11. Closing

In closing, AAFC is fully committed to both the spirit and the intent of the Access to Information Act to ensure openness and transparency within the Department and with the Canadian public. We will continue to streamline processes, implement digital strategies, and support the Department during the pandemic and beyond to fulfill our commitment toward openness and transparency.

Delegation of authority instrument - Annexes A and B

Annex A - Access to Information Act Designation Order - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the persons of the Department holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution under the sections of the Act set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Designation Order supersedes all previous Designation Orders.

Date: September 3, 2020

Marie-Claude Bibeau, PC, MP
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Annex B - Delegation of authority instrument for the administration of the Access to Information Act

Sections	Powers, duties or functions	Deputy Minister Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada	Assistant Deputy Minister Public Affairs Branch	Director General Communications Services	Director ATIP and Translation Services
	All powers, duties and functions under the Access to Information Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. A-1 (prior to and following June 21, 2019) and related regulations (prior to and following June 21, 2019).	X	X	X	X

Sections of the Access to Information Act	Powers, duties or functions	Assistant Deputy Minister Public Affairs Branch	Director General Communications Services	Director ATIP and Translation Services	ATI Manager
4 (2.1)	Responsibility of government institutions	X	X	X	X
6.1(1)	Reasons for declining to act on request	X	X	X	-
6.1(1.3), (1.4), (2)	Notice – suspension, end of suspension.	X	X	X	-
7 (a)	Notice where access is requested.	X	X	X	X
7 (b)	Giving access to records	X	X	X	X
8(1)	Transfer of request	X	X	X	X
9	Extension of time limits.	X	X	X	X
11(2)	To waive requirement for payment or to refund.	X	X	X	X
12(2)(b)	Language of access.	X	X	X	X
12(3)(b)	Access in an alternative format.	X	X	X	X
13	To exempt information obtained in confidence.	X	X	X	X
13(2)	To disclose with consent of the other government.	X	X	X	X
14	To exempt information re: federal - Provincial affairs.	X	X	X	X
15	To exempt information re: International affairs and defence.	X	X	X	X
16	To exempt information re: Law enforcement and investigations.	X	X	X	X
16.5	To exempt information re: Public Servant Disclosure Act	X	X	X	X
17	To exempt information re: Safety of individuals.	X	X	X	X
18	To exempt information re: Economic interests of Canada.	X	X	X	X
19	Personal information.	X	X	X	X
20	To exempt third party information.	X	X	X	X
21	To exempt information re: Operations of Government.	X	X	X	X
22	To exempt information re: Testing procedures, tests and audits.	X	X	X	X
22.1	To exempt information re: Internal Audits	X	X	X	X
23	Protected information – Solicitors, advocates and notaries.	X	X	X	X
23.1	Protected information – Patents and trademarks.	X	X	X	X
24	To exempt information re: Statutory prohibitions.	X	X	X	X
25	Severability	X	X	X	X
26	Refusal of access where information is to be published.	X	X	X	X
27(1)	To notify third party of intent to disclose.	X	X	X	X
27(4)	To extend time limit for third party notification process.	X	X	X	X
28(1)(b)	Review representations of third parties.	X	X	X	X
28(2)	To waive the requirement of third parties providing representations in writing.	X	X	X	X
28(4)	To notify third party of decision.	X	X	X	X
33	Notice to Information Commissioner of notices to third parties.	X	X	X	-
35(2)(b)	Right to make representations to the Information Commissioner.	X	X	X	-
37(1)(c)	Notice to the Commissioner to implement an order or recommendation.	X	X	X	-
37(4)	To provide access to complainant pursuant to Information Commissioner’s recommendation.	X	X	X	-
41(2)	Review by Federal Court – Government institution.	X	X	X	-
43(2)	Service of notice of application to Federal Court for review.	X	X	X	-
44(2)	Notice to requester of application for review by third party	X	X	X	-
52(2)(b), (3)	Special rules for hearing	X	X	X	-
82	Proactive disclosure, travel expenses	X	X	X	-
83	Proactive disclosure, hospitality	X	X	X	-
84	Proactive disclosure, reports tabled in Parliament	X	X	X	-
85	Proactive disclosure, reclassification of positions	X	X	X	-
86	Proactive disclosure, contracts	X	X	X	-
87	Proactive disclosure, grants and contributions	X	X	X	-
88	Proactive disclosure, briefing materials	X	X	X	-
90	Proactive disclosure, publication not required	X	X	X	-
94	Annual report	X	X	X	-
96(3)	Notice of Provision of services related to access to information	X	X	X	-
96(4)	Fees for services	X	X	X	-
96(5)	Spending authority	X	X	X	-
Legend: X = Has delegated authority - = Does not have delegated authority

Sections	Powers, duties or functions	Assistant Deputy Minister Public Affairs Branch	Director General Communications Services	Director ATIP and Translation Services	ATIP Manager
6(1)	Transfer of request	X	X	X	X
7(2)	Search and preparation fees	X	X	X	-
7(3)	Production and programming fees	X	X	X	-
8	Providing access to record(s)	X	X	X	X
8.1	Limitation in respect of format	X	X	X	X
Legend: X = Has delegated authority - = Does not have delegated authority

Statistical report on the Access to Information Act - Annex C

Part 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

Requests	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	115
Outstanding from previous reporting period	34
Total - Requests	149
Closed during reporting period	127
Carried over to next reporting period	22

1.2 Sources of requests

Source	Number of Requests
Media	52
Academia	2
Business (private sector)	27
Organization	5
Public	29
Decline to Identify	0
Total - Sources of Requests	115

1.3 Informal requests - Completion Time

	1 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total - Informal requests
Informal requests	34	73	21	0	0	2	0	130
Note: All requests previously recorded as "treated informally" will now be accounted for in this section only.

Part 2: Decline to act on vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of right requests

Requests	Number of Requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Sent during reporting period	0
Total - Requests	0
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0

Part 3: Requests closed during the reporting period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of Requests	Completion Time: 1 to 15 Days	Completion Time: 16 to 30 Days	Completion Time: 31 to 60 Days	Completion Time: 61 to 120 Days	Completion Time: 121 to 180 Days	Completion Time: 181 to 365 Days	Total - Requests closed
All disclosed	1	13	4	2	1	0	21
Disclosed in part	0	18	18	29	16	3	84
All exempted	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
No records exist	1	11	4	0	0	0	16
Request transferred	5	0	0	0	0	0	5
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total - Requests	7	42	27	31	17	3	127

3.2 Exemptions

Section	Number of Requests
13(1)(a)	5
13(1)(b)	1
13(1)(c)	2
13(1)(d)	0
13(1)(e)	0
14	15
14(a)	7
14(b)	1
15(1)	7
15(1) - International Affairs	32
15(1) - Defence of Canada	0
15(1) - Subversive Activities	1
16(1)(a)(i)	0
16(1)(a)(ii)	0
16(1)(a)(iii)	0
16(1)(b)	0
16(1)(c)	1
16(1)(d)	0
16(2)	0
16(2)(a)	0
16(2)(b)	0
16(2)(c)	15
16(3)	0
16.1(1)(a)	0
16.1(1)(b)	0
16.1(1)(c)	0
16.1(1)(d)	0
16.2(1)	0
16.3	0
16.4(1)(a)	0
16.4(1)(b)	0
16.5	0
17	0
18(a)	1
18(b)	2
18(c)	0
18(d)	1
18.1(1)(a)	0
18.1(1)(b)	0
18.1(1)(c)	0
18.1(1)(d)	1
19(1)	60
20(1)(a)	1
20(1)(b)	40
20(1)(b.1)	0
20(1)(c)	26
20(1)(d)	13
20.1	0
20.2	0
20.4	0
21(1)(a)	39
21(1)(b)	33
21(1)(c)	35
21(1)(d)	3
22	1
22.1(1)	0
23	9
23.1	0
24(1)	1
26	1

3.3 Exclusions

Section	Number of Requests
68(a)	2
68(b)	0
68(c)	0
68.1	0
68.2(a)	0
68.2(b)	0
69(1)	0
69(1)(a)	1
69(1)(b)	0
69(1)(c)	1
69(1)(d)	1
69(1)(e)	2
69(1)(f)	0
69(1)(g) re (a)	1
69(1)(g) re (b)	1
69(1)(g) re (c)	1
69(1)(g) re (d)	1
69(1)(g) re (e)	1
69(1)(g) re (f)	0
69.1(1)	0

3.4 Format of information released

Paper	Electronic	Other Formats
3	102	0

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests
37,430	22,583	106

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

Disposition	Less Than 100 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	Less Than 100 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	101-500 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	101-500 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	501-1000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	501-1000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	1001-5000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	1001-5000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	More Than 5000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	More Than 5000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed
All disclosed	19	313	2	385	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	41	1,586	32	7,336	5	2,404	4	4,736	2	5,823
All exempted	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total - dispositions	61	1,899	34	7,721	5	2,404	4	4,736	2	5,823

3.5.3 Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation Required	Total - Complexities
All disclosed	4	4
Disclosed in part	66	66
All exempted	1	1
All excluded	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0
Total - dispositions	71	71

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

	Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines	127
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	100

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

Number of Requests Closed Past the Statutory Deadline	Principal Reason: Interference with Operations / Workload	Principal Reason: External Consultation	Principal Reason: Internal Consultation	Principal Reason: Other
0	0	0	0	0

3.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

Number of Days Past Legislated Timelines	Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where No Extension Was Taken	Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where an Extension Was Taken	Total - Requests closed beyond legislated timelines
1 to 15 days	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
More than 365 days	0	0	0
Total - number of days past deadline	0	0	0

3.8 Requests for translation

Translation Requests	Accepted	Refused	Total - Requests
English to French	0	0	0
French to English	0	0	0
Total - translation requests	0	0	0

Part 4: Extensions

4.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations	9(1)(b) Consultation - Other	9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
All disclosed	1	4	2
Disclosed in part	13	37	17
All exempted	0	1	0
All excluded	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0
Total - Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken	14	42	19

4.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations	9(1)(b) Consultation - Other	9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
30 days or less	7	10	0
31 to 60 days	0	9	5
61 to 120 days	4	19	14
121 to 180 days	1	4	0
181 to 365 days	2	0	0
365 days or more	0	0	0
Total - extensions	14	42	19

Part 5: Fees

Fee Type	Fee Collected - Number of Requests	Fee Collected - Amount	Fee Waived or Refunded - Amount
Application	26	$130	$0
Other fees	0	$0	$0
Total - fee types	26	$130	$0

Part 6: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

Consultations	Other Government of Canada Institutions	Number of Pages to Review	Other Organizations	Number of Pages to Review
Received during reporting period	137	4,096	7	46
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	41	1,655	0	0
Total - Consultations	178	5,751	7	46
Closed during the reporting period	166	5,360	7	46
Carried over to next reporting period	12	391	0	0

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

Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 1 to 15 Days	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 16 to 30 Days	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 31 to 60 Days	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 61 to 120 Days	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 121 to 180 Days	Total - Completion Times
Disclose entirely	13	64	47	3	4	131
Disclose in part	4	12	9	5	1	31
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	1	0	0	1
Consult other institution	1	0	0	0	0	1
Other	1	0	0	1	0	2
Total - Recommendations	19	76	57	9	5	166

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 1 to 15 Days	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 16 to 30 Days	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests: 31 to 60 Days	Total - Completion Times
Disclose entirely	0	2	1	3
Disclose in part	0	2	0	2
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0
Other	1	1	0	2
Total - Recommendations	1	5	1	7

Part 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	101-500 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	101-500 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	501-1000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	501-1000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	1001-5000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	1001-5000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	More Than 5000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	More Than 5000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total - Number of days	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	101‒500 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	101‒500 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	501-1000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	501-1000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	1001-5000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	1001-5000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed	More Than 5000 Pages Processed - Number of Requests	More Than 5000 Pages Processed - Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total - Number of days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Part 8: Complaints and Investigations

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate	Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate	Section 35 Formal representations	Section 37 Reports of finding received	Section 37 Reports of finding containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Section 37 Reports of finding containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
2	0	0	1	0	0

Part 9: Court Action

9.1 Court actions on complaints received before June 21, 2019 and on-going

Section 41 (before June 21, 2019)	Section 42	Section 44
0	0	0

9.2 Court actions on complaints received after June 21, 2019

Section 41 (after June 21, 2019) - Complainant (1)	Section 41 (after June 21, 2019) - Institution (2)	Section 41 (after June 21, 2019) - Third Party (3)	Section 41 (after June 21, 2019) - Privacy Commissioner (4)	Section 41 (after June 21, 2019) - Total
0	0	0	0	0

Part 10: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

10.1 Costs

Expenditures	Amount
Salaries	$531,300
Overtime	$0
Goods and Services	$225,665
Goods and Services - Professional services contracts	$203,109
Goods and Services - other	$22,556
Total - expenditures	$756,965

10.2 Human Resources

Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees	6.53
Part-time and casual employees	0.00
Regional staff	0.00
Consultants and agency personnel	0.91
Students	0.59
Total - resources	8.03

Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act — April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020