Annual report to Parliament 2019-2020: Access to Information Act

Table of contents

Introduction

I. Introduction

The purpose of the Access to Information Act (ATIA) is to provide Canadians with access to records under the control of federal institutions, except for records subject to limited and specific exemptions and exclusions.

This report reflects the access to information activities of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

The annual report, submitted to Parliament pursuant to section 73 of the ATIA, describes the activities of CIRNAC that support compliance with access to information legislation. The report details the activities and accomplishments of CIRNAC's Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate, including highlights such as:

  • Continued training initiatives to increase departmental ATIA capacity and awareness; and
  • Further development of a Privacy/Policy team.

Creation of Two New Departments

In June 2019, the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Act and the Department of Indigenous Services Act received royal ascent. This formalized the creation of the two new departments. The ATIP Directorate provides shared services support for CIRNAC and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the departments.

Delegation on ministerial responsibilities for the Access to Information Act remains institutionally specific.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada's Mandate

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada continues to renew the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown, government-to-government relationship between Canada and First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Its mandate is to modernize Government of Canada structures to enable Indigenous peoples to build capacity and support their vision of self-determination; and lead the Government of Canada's work in the North.

The relationship must be based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership. CIRNAC will build on the progress that has been made already, including the establishment of rights and recognition tables across the country, the creation of permanent bilateral mechanisms with National Indigenous Organizations to make progress on shared priorities, and the progress made across government on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.

CIRNAC is one of the two federal departments that are primarily responsible for meeting the Government of Canada's obligations and commitments to First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and for fulfilling the federal government's constitutional responsibilities in the North. CIRNAC's overall mandate and wide-ranging responsibilities are shaped by centuries of history and unique demographic and geographic challenges. The mandate is derived from the Constitution Act 1982, the Indian Act, the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Act (preceded by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Act), territorial Acts, treaties, comprehensive claims and self-government agreements, as well as various other statutes affecting Indigenous Peoples and the North.

Most of CIRNAC's programs, representing a majority of its spending, are delivered through partnerships with Indigenous communities and through federal-provincial or federal-territorial agreements. CIRNAC also works with urban Indigenous people.

II. Organization

ATIP Directorate at CIRNAC

The Access to Information and Privacy Directorate is responsible for the administration of requests made under the ATIA and Privacy Act (PA). It was established within the Corporate Secretariat and reports to the Corporate Secretary, who is directly accountable to the Deputy Head and is a member of the CIRNAC Senior Management Team (SMT). The Directorate also coordinates and implements policies, guidelines and procedures to ensure departmental compliance with the ATIA and PA.

Workshop presentations, training courses and awareness sessions designed to increase access to information and privacy capacity across the Department are also provided by the ATIP Directorate.

Under a shared service MOU, all ATIP analysts processed requests for both CIRNAC and ISC. They processed requests of varying volume and complexity based on their classification level. They also provided critical privacy advice for new initiatives, resulting in privacy protection in departmental programs. Policies and procedures continue to be established to ensure that privacy is considered throughout the life cycle of CIRNAC's programs and that informed policy decisions are made concerning the collection, sharing and/or use of personal information.

The ATIP Directorate provides advice and guidance to the Department on a number of topics:

  1. The application of the ATIA and PA;
  2. The release of sensitive or protected information to the public;
  3. Education and awareness of access to information and privacy issues throughout the Department;
  4. Proactive publications;
  5. Departmental Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs);
  6. Permissible disclosures of personal information pursuant to subsection 8(2) of the PA;
  7. Appropriate PA Statements on Data Collection Instruments, i.e. forms, surveys, etc.;
  8. Updates to Info Source and the preparation and registration of Personal Information Banks and their related Classes of Records;
  9. Protocols surrounding privacy breaches; and
  10. Privacy advice in Memoranda of Understanding and Information Sharing Agreements.

The Intake Team triages and coordinates the receipt of requests for information under the control of the Department made pursuant to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The Operations Team ensures that a response is provided within the legislated timeframe (30 days). All requests are monitored using the tracking system Access Pro Case Management. ATIP analysts work closely with the relevant program areas to ensure that all responsive documents are provided and the information contained within those documents is treated in accordance with the Acts to allow for government records to be safely disclosed to the Canadian public. The Privacy/Policy team is available to provide expert advice, maintain and monitor privacy risks, as well as support CIRNAC with the creation of privacy policy training.

In addition to the ATIP Directorate, within each of the sectors and regional offices of CIRNAC are located ATIP Liaison Officers (ALOs) who receive requests for records from the ATIP Directorate and subsequently task the requests, as appropriate, to areas within their sector. The ALOs play a crucial role in ensuring requests are clear to the record retrievers and that the appropriate records, impact statements and approvals are obtained and communicated to ATIP Directorate officials within the designated time allowances.

The operations team
Description of the Organizational Chart of the Operation Team

Director's Office

The Director (EX-01), as institutional ATIP Coordinator, holds full delegated authority under the Act. The Director is supported in day-to-day administrative tasks by the Deputy Director Operations (PM-06), Deputy Director Privacy/Policy (PM-06) and an Administrative Assistant (AS-01) and in reporting and policy initiatives by the Reporting Analyst (PM-03).

Intake Team

The Intake Team is comprised of two Intake Officers (PM-01) and one Clerk (CR-04), who enter all applications into the electronic case management system, acknowledge receipt of requests, perform imaging services, interact with and respond to inquiries from the public, and are responsible for other administrative tasks.

Operations Team

The Operations Team is led by four Team Leaders (PM-05), who are responsible for the oversight of request processing by their team, including the review of completed requests. The Ops Team consists of Analysts PM-04, PM-03, and PM-02 level, who process Access and Privacy requests of varying volume and complexity, provide training and provide Access and Privacy advice.

Privacy/Policy Team

The Privacy/Policy Team is led by two Team Leaders (PM-05), who are responsible for the oversight of request processing by their team, including the review of privacy/policy requests. The Privacy/Policy Team consists of Analysts PM-04, and PM-02 level, who respond to Privacy matters (such as breaches), provide training and provide Privacy advice.

III. Delegation Order

Under section 95 of the ATIA, the Minister's authority may be delegated to departmental officials in order to administer the ATIA within CIRNAC.

During the reporting period, the delegation order signed by Minister Carolyn Bennett on March 14, 2016, was in effect (Appendix A). Under section 95 of the ATIA, the order delegates full authority and responsibility for the ATIA to the following positions:

  • Deputy Minister
  • Associate Deputy Minister
  • Corporate Secretary
  • ATIP Coordinator

Statistics

IV. Interpretation of the Statistical Report

CIRNAC's Statistical Report was submitted to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) on July 10, 2020 (Appendix B). The Supplemental Report was submitted to the Treasury Board (TBS) on July 15, 2020. The Report details various aspects of the requests CIRNAC received and processed during the period of April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

Part 1. Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

In 2019-2020 CIRNAC received 333 requests, a decrease of approximately 15% compared to 389 in 2018-2019 (Table 1.1), 156 carried over for a total of 489 requests. The ATIP Directorate completed 244 requests and carried 245 requests over into the next reporting period 2020-2021.

The listing of CIRNAC's completed access to information requests can be found at:
https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?ati%5B0%5D=ss_ati_organization_en%3ACrown-Indigenous%20Relations%20and%20Northern%20Affairs%20Canada

Less requests were closed and more requests were carried over into the current reporting year due to complexity, rise in volume of pages to be processed and the impact of COVID.

Table 1.1 Number of Requests from 2017-2020
Number of Requests 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020
Received during reporting period 516 389 333
Outstanding from previous reporting period 162 111 156
Total 678 500 489
Closed during reporting period 567 344 244
Carried over to next reporting period 111 156 245
1.2 Sources of requests

Of the 333 requests received during the reporting period, 141 (42.4%) were from the general public, followed by 62 (18.6%) from the media, and 21 (6.3%) from academia (Table 1.2). CIRNAC continues to receive requests predominantly from the public and media. (Table 1.2)

Table 1.2 Sources of Requests from 2017 to 2020
Source 2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020
Public 166 (32.2%) 132 (33.9%) 141 (42.4%)
Media 140 (27.1%) 77 (19.8%) 62 (18.6%)
Business 93 (18.0%) 65 (16.7%) 61 (18.3%)
Organization 40 (7.8%) 24 (6.2%) 8 (2.4%)
Academia 56 (10.9) 68 (17.5%) 21 (6.3%)
Decline to Identify 21 (4.0%) 23 (5.9%) 40 (12%)
Total 516 389 333
1.3 Informal Requests

During the 2019-2020 reporting period, CIRNAC received 198 informal requests, a decrease of 40% compared to 331 in 2018-2019.

Part 2. Requests closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

Of the 244 requests closed during the reporting period, CIRNAC was able to fully or partially disclose records in 109 cases; that is, 45.4% of the time a request was submitted to CIRNAC, the result was a disclosure of records. Overall, 136 (55.5%) of the 244 requests were closed within the statutory 30-day timeframe.

Disposition and completion time
Description of the Disposition and completion time

The above pie chart demonstrates the disposition of the completed requests and their completion time.

All disclosed: 1 request closed within the first 15 days, 20 requests closed between 16 to 30 days, 8 requests closed between 31 to 60 days, 5 requests closed between 61 to 120 days and 3 requests closed between 181 to 365 days for a total of 37 (15%) of the completed requests.

Disclosed in part: 1 request closed within the first 15 days,18 requests closed between 16 to 30 days, 9 requests closed between 31 to 60 days, 22 requests closed between 61 to 120 days, 11 requests closed between 121 to 180 days, 5 requests closed between 181 to 365 days and 6 took more than 365 days totaling 72 (29%) of the completed requests.

All exempted: 2 requests closed within the first 15 days, 5 requests closed between 16 to 30 days, 1 request closed between 31 to 60 days, 2 requests closed between 61 to 120 days and 1 request closed between 121 to 180 days for a total of 11 (5%) of the completed requests.

All excluded: 1 request closed between 16 to 30 days, 1 request closed between 61 to 120 days and 1 request closed between 121 to 180 days for a total of 3 (1%) of the completed requests.

No records exist: 10 requests closed between within 15 days, 44 requests closed between 16 to 30 days, 15 requests closed between 31 to 60 days, 8 requests closed between 61 to 120 days, 1 request closed between 121 to 180 days totaling 78 (32%) of the completed requests.

Request transferred: 2 requests closed between within 15 days and 3 requests closed between 16 to 30 days for total of 5 (2%) of the completed requests.

Request abandoned: 24 requests closed between within 15 days, 9 requests closed between 16 to 30 days, 3 requests closed between 31 to 60 days, 1 request closed between 61 to 120 days and 1 request closed between 181 to 365 days for a total of 38 (16%) of the completed requests.

Among the 244 requests 40 were closed within 15 days, 100 were closed between 16 and 30 days, 36 were closed between 31 to 60 days, 39 were closed between 61 to 120 days, 14 were closed between 121 and 180 days, 9 were closed between 181 and 365 days and 6 took more than 365 days to be completed.

About sixteen percent (16.7%) of requests were abandoned by the requester, treated informally, or transferred to the appropriate government institution. Only in 14 cases (5.8% of all requests) were the relevant records fully exempted or excluded under provisions of the ATIA.

There were 104 requests that required greater than 30 days to process, 29 of which took greater than 120 days to complete.

The most frequent outcome of the requests processed during the reporting period was 'No records exist, which was the result of 78 requests (32.1%), followed by 'Disclosed in part', with 72 requests (30%), and then 'Request abandoned, which was the result of 38 requests (15.8%) followed by 'All disclosed' with 37 requests (15.4%). (Table 2.1)

Table 2.1 Disposition and completion time of requests made under the Access to Information Act
Disposition of 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
All disclosed 1 20 8 5 0 3 0 37
Disclosed in part 1 18 9 22 11 5 6 72
All exempted 2 5 1 2 1 0 0 11
All excluded 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3
No records exist 10 44 15 8 1 0 0 78
Request transferred 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 5
Request abandoned 24 9 3 1 0 1 0 38
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 40 100 36 39 14 9 6 244
2.2 Exemptions

The most commonly invoked exemption during the reporting period was protection of personal information pursuant to subsection 19(1) of the ATIA, which was cited in 48 requests (Table 2.2). The next most common exemptions applied were under subsections 21(1)(a) (advice to government) which was cited in 17 instances, and 20(1)(b) (16 instances) which protects certain third party information. (Table 2.2)

Table 2.2 Number of requests closed where exemption provisions were invoked
Section Number of requests
13(1)(a) 0
13(1)(b) 0
13(1)(c) 1
13(1)(d) 0
13(1)(e) 3
14 2
14(a) 3
14(b) 1
15(1) 0
15(1) – I.A.* 0
15(1) – Def.* 0
15(1) – S.A.* 0
16(1)(a)(i) 0
16(1)(a)(ii) 0
16(1)(a)(iii) 0
16(1)(b) 0
16(1)(c) 0
16(1)(d) 0
16(2) 2
16(2)(a) 0
16(2)(b) 0
16(2)(c) 2
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) 0
18(b) 0
18(c) 0
18(d) 0
18.1(1)(a) 0
18.1(1)(b) 0
18.1(1)(c) 0
18.1(1)(d) 0
19(1) 48
20(1)(a) 0
20(1)(b) 16
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 12
20(1)(d) 10
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 17
21(1)(b) 13
21(1)(c) 15
21(1)(d) 1
22 1
22.1(1) 0
23 6
24(1) 0
26 8
Total 161
* I.A.: International Affairs Def.: Defence of Canada S.A.: Subversive Activities
2.3 Exclusions

In 2019-2020, CIRNAC ATIP used 21 exclusion provisions in requests completed; the most frequent was 69(1)(g) re:(a) for records relating to a Memorandum to Cabinet. (Table 2.3)

Table 2.3 Number of requests closed where exclusion provisions were applied
Section Number of requests
68(a) 1
68(b) 0
68(c) 0
68.1 1
68.2(a) 1
68.2(b) 0
69(1) 0
69(1)(a) 0
69(1)(b) 0
69(1)(c) 0
69(1)(d) 0
69(1)(e) 0
69(1)(f) 0
69(1)(g) re (a) 12
69(1)(g) re (b) 0
69(1)(g) re (c) 0
69(1)(g) re (d) 1
69(1)(g) re (e) 3
69(1)(g) re (f) 0
69.1(1) 2
Total 21
2.4 Format of information released

Over the course of this reporting period, the majority of responses were provided to the requester in electronic or CD format. In total, CIRNAC conveyed response packages in 106 requests (63% of all responses) electronically. (Table 2.4)

Table 2.4 Format of information released
Disposition Paper Electronic Other formats
All disclosed 2 15 0
Disclosed in part 1 91 0
Total 3 106 0
2.5 Complexity

The following sections detail several factors affecting the complexity of requests that were completed throughout 2019-2020.

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

Of the 244 requests closed, 78 had no records. The remaining 166 requests generated 18,436 pages processed. The total amount of pages disclosed was 10,003 during the reporting period. Five requests were transferred to other departments. (Table 2.5.1)

The listing of CIRNAC's completed access to information requests can be found at:
https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?ati%5B0%5D=ss_ati_organization_en%3ACrown-Indigenous%20Relations%20and%20Northern%20Affairs%20Canada

Table 2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition of requests Number of pages processed Number of pages disclosed Number of requests
All disclosed 3,175 2,685 37
Disclosed in part 14,861 7,314 72
All exempted 148 0 11
All excluded 82 0 3
Request abandoned 170 4 38
Neither confirmed or denied 0 0 0
Total 18,436 10,003 161
2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

The majority of the requests (133 or 79.4%) disclosed 100 pages or less. At the other end of the spectrum, five (5) requests required the review of over 1,000 pages, which accounted for 4,375 pages of records disclosed.

Table 2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of request
Disposition Less than 100 pages processed 101-500 pages processed 501-1000 pages processed 1001-5000 pages processed More than 5000 pages processed
Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages
All disclosed 29 305 7 1369 0 0 1 1011 0 0
Disclosed in part 53 1176 14 2766 1 8 4 3364 0 0
All exempted 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Abandoned 38 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 133 1485 22 4135 1 8 5 4375 0 0
2.5.3 Other complexities

Consultations with the Department of Justice were completed regarding information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege. CIRNAC also frequently consulted with other government institution such as: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Health Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, etc. (Table 2.5.3)

Table 2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation required Assessment of fees Legal advice sought Other Total
All disclosed 5 0 0 0 5
Disclosed in part 27 0 0 0 27
All exempted 3 0 0 0 3
All excluded 2 0 0 0 2
Abandoned 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 37 0 0 0 37
2.6 Deemed refusals

During the reporting period, CIRNAC failed to comply with statutory deadlines on 20 occasions. The reasons to fail with the statutory deadlines are shared among workload (12), external consultation (5), and other reasons (3).

2.7 Requests for translation

During the reporting period, there were no instances where a requester asked that responsive records be translated to another official language.

Part 3. Extensions

3.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

With a workload of 489 requests for 2019-2020 (received and carried over from previous fiscal year), a total of 108 extensions under section 9(1) of the ATIA were applied in 2019-2020. The most prevalent reason for extending deadlines during this reporting period was for interference with operations (42 times, or 38.9% of all extensions).

In cases where extensions pursuant to 9(1)(a) were taken, and records existed, the requests resulted in dispositions of 'Disclosed in part' 54.8% of the time. Where an extension was taken under either 9(1)(a), (b) or (c), records were fully or partially disclosed in 28 out of 108 (25.9%) instances (Table 3.1). Only in 9 cases were extensions applied for external consultations with OGDs or third parties where no records were released due to exemptions or exclusions.

Of the 9 requests where extensions were taken for the purpose of consulting the Departmental Legal Services Unit (DLSU) on potential Cabinet Confidences, 8 resulted in the disclosure of records. (Figure 3.1 and Table 3.1)

Figure 3.1 Extensions and workload over the past three years
Figure 3.1 Extensions and workload over the past three years
Description of Figure 3.1 Extensions and workload over the past three years

There are three (3) possible reasons for extension as per the Act: Interference with Operations, Consultations and Third Party Notice.

The ATIP Office identified 42 requests having an extension explained by the inference of operations in order to complete the requests. Among the 42, 5 requests were disclosed in full, 23 were disclosed in part, records were exempted in its entirety in three 2 requests and excluded in 1, 7 had no responsive documents to the requests and 4 were abandoned by the requesters.

The ATIP Office identified 45 requests having an extension taken to complete consultation for possible cabinet confidences or other. Among those, 9 were for cabinet confidences (8 were disclosed in part and 1 was excluded in full), 34 had an extension for other required consultations (8 fully disclosed, 22 disclosed in part, 1 all exempted and 1 all excluded, 1 had no responding records and the last one was abandoned by the requester).

Lastly, 23 requests were sent for consultation to third parties to obtain their representations concerning the disclosure of their information within our records. Among those, 16 were disclosed in part, the records were fully exempted in 1 requests, 5 had no responsive documents to the requests and 1 was abandoned by the requester.

Table 3.1 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 9(1)(c)Third Party Notice
Section 69 Other
All disclosed 5 0 8 0
Disclosed in part 23 8 22 16
All exempted 2 0 1 1
All excluded 1 1 1 0
No records exist 7 0 1 5
Request abandoned 4 0 1 1
Total 42 9 34 23
3.2 Length of extensions

The majority of extensions applied during the reporting period was less than 60 days (57.4%). Extensions greater than 60 days were only taken on 46 requests. (Table 3.2)

Table 3.2 Length of extensions
Length of extension 9(1)(a) Interference with Operations 9(1)(b) Consultation 9(1)(c) Third Party Notice
Section 69 Other
30 days or less 20 0 1 1
31 to 60 days 11 1 14 14
61 to 120 days 6 8 19 8
121 to 180 days 3 0 0 0
181 to 365 days 2 0 0 0
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 42 9 34 23

The length of extensions applied under paragraph (a) and (b) was largely dependent on timeframes decided by the other organizations.

Whenever an extension of over 30 days was applied, CIRNAC notified the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Part 4. Fees

CIRNAC collected $810 in application fees over the course of the reporting period (Table 4) and waived fees on 171 requests for an amount of $855.

Table 4. Fees collected and waived
Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
# of Requests Amount # of Requests Amount
Application 162 $810 171 $855
Search 0 0 0 0
Production 0 0 0 0
Programming 0 0 0 0
Preparation 0 0 0 0
Alternative format 0 0 0 0
Reproduction 0 0 0 0
Total 162 $810 171 $855

Part 5. Consultations Received from other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

CIRNAC received 180 consultations for a total of 6,420 pages from other government institutions and 6 consultations from other organizations with 59 pages to review. CIRNAC carried over another 45 files from the previous year, for a total of 225 consultations in 2019-2020 (Table 5.1). The ATIP Directorate completed 194 consultations, reviewing 7,306 pages and carried over 37 consultation requests into the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

Table 5.1 Consultation received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations
Consultations Other government institutions # Pages to review Other organizations # Pages to review
Received during reporting period 180 6420 6 59
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 45 2436 0 0
Total 225 8856 6 59
Closed during the reporting period 191 7281 3 25
Pending at the end of the reporting period 34 1575 3 34
5.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

In 2019-2020, of the 191 consultations completed, the majority of cases (134 consultations or 70.2%) CIRNAC recommended that the government institution disclose in their entirety (Table 5.2).

The bulk of consultations processed by the ATIP Directorate (152 consultation requests or 79.6%) were completed within 60 days of their receipt (Table 5.2). There were 39 occurrences where CIRNAC required longer than 60 days to provide a response to the consulting institution.

Table 5.2 Consultation and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions
Recommendations Number of days required to complete consultations
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
Disclose entirely 33 46 35 15 1 4 0 134
Disclose in part 1 6 19 11 1 4 0 42
Exempt entirely 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 6 3 0 2 1 0 0 12
Total 40 55 57 28 3 8 0 191
5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

In 2019-2020, CIRNAC received three (3) new consultation requests from other organizations. For the purposes of this section, other organizations include the governments of the provinces, territories and municipalities, and of other countries.

All but three (3) of the consultations processed by the ATIP Directorate were completed within 60 days of their receipt (Table 5.3).

Table 5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations
Recommendations Number of days required to complete consultations
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
Disclose entirely 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Disclose in part 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

Part 6. Completion time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

During 2019-2020, CIRNAC sent 7 consultations on the application of section 69 of the ATIA to the Departmental Legal Services Unit for Cabinet confidences Consultation (Table 6.1). No consultations on Cabinet confidences took greater than 120 days to complete. A total of 53 pages were recommended to be disclosed.

Table 6.1 Requests with Legal Services
Disposition Less than 100 pages processed 101-500 pages processed 501-1000 pages processed 1001-5000 pages processed More than 5000 pages processed
Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages
1 to 15 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 3 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 3 22 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 7 53 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Throughout 2019-2020, CIRNAC did not send any consultation requests to the Privy Council Office. (Table 6.2)

Table 6.2 Requests with Privy Council Office
Disposition Less than 100 pages processed 101-500 pages processed 501-1000 pages processed 1001-5000 pages processed More than 5000 pages processed
Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages
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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Part 7. Complaints and Investigations

During the 2019-2020 reporting period, 15 new complaints were registered with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) against CIRNAC (Table 7.1) and 21 complaints were closed. The Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada requires institutions to track in the statistical report section 32, 35 and 37 of the Access to Information Act. Section 32 captures when the institution receives notice of a complaint from the OIC within the reporting period. Section 35 requires the institution to make representations against a complaint to the OIC. Section 37 is the formal finding of the OIC as well founded or not well found. These sections are not cumulative. ATIP processed a total of 105,000 pages under complaint during this reporting period.

Table 7.1 Complaints and Investigation
Section 32 Section 35 Section 37 Total
15 3 21 39

Part 8. Court Action

The ATIP Directorate with CIRNAC was not involved in any court action during this reporting period.

Part 9. Resources related to the Access to Information Act

9.1 Costs

The ATIP Directorate functioned under a shared services model to support CIRNAC and ISC. It spent a total of $1,841,301 on staffing, goods and services and was supported by 23.29 human resources.

Calculations for the annual reports reflect the level of effort in support of CIRNAC's responsibilities pursuant to the Acts.

In 2019-2020, CIRNAC spent $432,541 on the administration of the ATIA and was supported by 5.73 Human Resources. (Table 9.1 and 9.2)

Figure 9.1 Resources related to the Access to Information Act
Expenditures Amount
Salaries $422,802
Overtime $4,901
Goods and Services $4,838
Professional services contracts
 $4,838
Other
 $0
Total $432,541
9.2 Human Resources

The Operations Unit within the ATIP Directorate consisted of 5.51 full-time equivalents (FTEs) dedicated to access to information activities (Table 9.2).

Table 9.2 Human resources dedicated to the administration of the Access to Information Act
Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees 5.01
Part-time and casual employees 0.22
Regional staff 0.00
Consultants and agency personnel 0.50
Students 0.00
Total 5.73

Highlights

V. 2019-2020 Points of Interest

This past fiscal year (2019-2020) was the second full year of reporting for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

ATIP has administered the Acts in a shared services environment for both CIRNAC and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) since November 30, 2017.

CIRNAC received 333 access to information requests and closed 244. It processed 18,436 pages of records for access. A total of 245 request were carried into the new year (2020-2021).

The largest source of access to information requestors came from the public at 42% followed by the media at 19%.

Another 7,281 pages were processed under the ATIA for consultation from external organizations.

CIRNAC received and completed 198 informal requests, lower than the 343 received in the 2018-2019 reporting period.

The most sited exemptions under the Access to Information Act were Section 19 for personal information, followed by Section 21(1) for advice and guidance. These are consistent with the previous year's reporting.

The most applied exclusion under the Access to Information Act was section 69(1)(g) as they generally contained references to records related to funding via Treasury Board Submission and Memoranda to Cabinet.

The most utilized extension under the Access to Information Act, to extend the legislative deadline beyond the 30-day maximum, was Section 9(1)(a) for interference with operations.

Fewer complaints from the Office of the Information Commissioner were received this year at 15, compared to the 23 complaints received in 2018-2019.

CIRNAC closed more complaints (21) than it received as some were carried over from previous years. A total of 105,050 pages were processed under complaint compared to the 70,334 pages processed under complaint in the previous reporting year.

Overall in 2019-2020, the departments experienced a decrease of 14% in new access to information requests received and an increase of 583% in privacy requests from the previous fiscal year.

ATIP Directorate also trained a total of 860 employees (209 CIRNAC/651 ISC) on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act in 2019-2020.

For 2019-2020, CIRNAC spent $432,541 for Access to Information and was supported by 5.73 human resources.

In a shared environment for both CIRANC and ISC, the ATIP Directorate as a whole spent $1,841,301 on staffing, goods and services, and was supported by 23.29 human resources on the administration of both Acts.

COVID impacts

As of March 16, 2020, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada activated their departmental Business Continuity Plans due to COVID-19. This meant only essential services were provided to Canadians. Employees providing non-essential services were instructed to work remotely until further notice.

ATIP was not identified as an essential service. Less requests were closed and more requests were carried over into the current reporting year due to complexity, rise in volume of pages to be processed and the impact of COVID.

In order to better serve Canadians, CIRNAC implemented electronic e-Post to enable the sending of ATIP release packages and minimize the impacts on the service.

The ATIP Directorate also provided support to the Department by preparing and sending updates and instructions to ATIP liaison officers to better facilitate the retrieval of records.

Appendix A

Order of Delegation of the Access to Information Act dated March 14, 2016.

Pursuant to the powers of designation conferred upon me by Section 73 of the Access to Information Act, the persons exercising the functions or positions Deputy Minister (position number 00000001), Associate Deputy Minister (position number 00000006), Corporate Secretary (position number 00012294), and the departmental Access to Information Privacy Coordinator/Director (position number 20003872), and their respective successors, including in their absence, a person or officer designated in writing to act in the place of the holder of any such functions or positions are hereby designated to exercise those powers, duties or functions of the Minister as the Head of the government institution under the Act, and as set out in the attached Schedule A.

The departmental Access to Information and Privacy Deputy Director (position number 20007504) and Team Leaders (position number 00012590 and 00012061) including in her/his absence, a person or officer designated in writing as being authorized to act in the place of the holder of any such function or position, are hereby designated to exercise those powers, duties or functions of the Minister as the Head of the government institution under the Act, and as set out in the attached Schedule B.

Original document signed on March 14, 2016

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

Schedule A

Departement of Indian Affairs and Northern Development schedule to Delegation Order

Designation pursuant to section 73 of the Acces to Information Act

Sections and Powers, Duties or Functions
6
Advise requesters that we need additional information to proceed with their request
7(a)
Give written notice to requestor that we can proceed with the request
8(1)
Transfer request to another institution or accept transfer from another institution
9
Extend time limits
10
Refuse to acknowledge or deny the existence of records
11
Charge additional fees
12
Provide access in alternate format
13
Exempt information obtained in confidence
14
Exempt information pertaining to federal-provincial affairs
15
Exempt information pertaining to international affairs and/or defence
16
Exempt information pertaining to law enforcement and investigations
17
Exempt information pertaining to the safety of individuals
18
Exempt information pertaining to the economic interests of Canada
19
Exempt personal information
20
Exempt or disclose third party information
21
Exempt information pertaining to advice, decision-making processes of government plans and positions etc.
22
Exempt information pertaining to testing procedures or audits
23
Exempt information pertaining to solicitor-client privilege
24
Exempt information subject to statutory prohibitions or other Acts of Parliament
25
Sever information
26
Exempt information to be published within 90 days
27(1)(4)
Notify third parties of their rights to provide comments/representations regarding the disclosure of their records
28
Receive third party representations; make a decision as to whether to disclose the record or part thereof; and, notify third party of right to appeal to Federal Court
29(1)
Disclose information on Information Commissioner's recommendation
33
Advise the Information Commissioner of any third-party involvement
35(2)
Make representations to the Information Commissioner during an investigation
37(4)
Release information to complainant
43(1)
Issue a notice to a third party of an application for Court review
44(2)
Issue a notice to an applicant that a third party has applied for Court review
52
Request special rules for hearings
69
Exclude Cabinet Confidences
71
Inspect and exempt information in manuals
72(1)
Prepare Annual Report to Parliament
77
Carry out responsibilities conferred to the Head of the institution by the regulations made under section 77 which are not included in the above

Schedule B

Departement of Indian Affairs and Northern Development schedule to Delegation Order

Designation pursuant to section 73 of the Acces to Information Act

Sections and Powers, Duties or Functions
6
Advise requesters that we need additional information to proceed with their request
7(a)
Give written notice to requestor that we can proceed with the request
8(1)
Transfer request to another institution or accept transfer from another institution
9
Extend time limits
11
Charge additional fees
27(1)(4)
Notify third parties of their rights to provide comments/representations regarding the disclosure of their records
28
Receive third party representations; make a decision as to whether to disclose the record or part thereof; and, notify third party of right to appeal to Federal Court
33
Advise the Information Commissioner of any third-party involvement
35(2)
Make representations to the Information Commissioner during an investigation
43(1)
Issue a notice to a third party of an application for Court review
44(2)
Issue a notice to an applicant that a third party has applied for Court review

Appendix B

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Reporting period: 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-31

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests
Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 333
Outstanding from previous reporting period 156
Total 489
Closed during reporting period 244
Carried over to next reporting period 245
1.2 Sources of requests
Source Number of Requests
Media 62
Academia 21
Business (private sector) 61
Organization 8
Public 141
Decline to Identify 40
Total 333
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
3 24 63 46 19 43 0 198
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
Disposition of 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
All disclosed 1 20 8 5 0 3 0 37
Disclosed in part 1 18 9 22 11 5 6 72
All exempted 2 5 1 2 1 0 0 11
All excluded 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3
No records exist 10 44 15 8 1 0 0 78
Request transferred 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 5
Request abandoned 24 9 3 1 0 1 0 38
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 40 100 36 39 14 9 6 244
2.2 Exemptions
Section Number of Requests
13(1)(a) 0
13(1)(b) 0
13(1)(c) 1
13(1)(d) 0
13(1)(e) 3
14 2
14(a) 3
14(b) 1
15(1) 0
15(1) - I.A.* 0
15(1) - Def.* 0
15(1) - S.A.* 0
16(1)(a)(i) 0
16(1)(a)(ii) 0
16(1)(a)(iii) 0
16(1)(b) 0
16(1)(c) 0
16(1)(d) 0
16(2) 2
16(2)(a) 0
16(2)(b) 0
16(2)(c) 2
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) 0
18(b) 0
18(c) 0
18(d) 0
18.1(1)(a) 0
18.1(1)(b) 0
18.1(1)(c) 0
18.1(1)(d) 0
19(1) 48
20(1)(a) 0
20(1)(b) 16
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 12
20(1)(d) 10
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 17
21(1)(b) 13
21(1)(c) 15
21(1)(d) 1
22 1
22.1(1) 0
23 6
24(1) 0
26 8
* I.A.: International Affairs Def.: Defence of Canada S.A.: Subversive Activities
2.3 Exclusions
Section Number of Requests
68(a) 1
68(b) 0
68(c) 0
68.1 1
68.2(a) 1
68.2(b) 0
69(1) 0
69(1)(a) 0
69(1)(b) 0
69(1)(c) 0
69(1)(d) 0
69(1)(e) 0
69(1)(f) 0
69(1)(g) re (a) 12
69(1)(g) re (b) 0
69(1)(g) re (c) 0
69(1)(g) re (d) 1
69(1)(g) re (e) 3
69(1)(g) re (f) 0
69.1(1) 2
2.4 Format of information released
Disposition Paper Electronic Other Formats
All disclosed 2 15 0
Disclosed in part 1 91 0
Total 3 106 0
2.5 Complexity
2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition of Requests Number of Pages Processed Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
All disclosed 3175 2685 37
Disclosed in part 14861 7314 72
All exempted 148 0 11
All excluded 82 0 3
Request abandoned 170 4 38
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0
2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests
Disposition Less Than 100 Pages Processed 101-500 Pages Processed 501-1000 Pages Processed 1001-5000 Pages Processed More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages
All disclosed 29 305 7 1369 0 0 1 1011 0 0
Disclosed in part 53 1176 14 2766 1 8 4 3364 0 0
All exempted 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 38 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 133 1485 22 4135 1 8 5 4375 0 0
2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation Required Assessment of Fees Legal Advice Sought Other Total
All disclosed 5 0 0 0 5
Disclosed in part 27 0 0 0 27
All exempted 3 0 0 0 3
All excluded 2 0 0 0 2
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 37 0 0 0 37
2.6 Deemed refusals
2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Number of Requests Closed Past the Statutory Deadline Principal Reason
Workload External Consultation Internal Consultation Other
20 12 5 0 3
2.6.2 Number of days past deadline
Number of Days Past Deadline Number of Requests Past Deadline Where No Extension Was Taken Number of Requests Past Deadline Where An Extension Was Taken Total
1 to 15 days 2 2 4
16 to 30 days 1 3 4
31 to 60 days 1 2 3
61 to 120 days 1 1 2
121 to 180 days 0 1 1
181 to 365 days 0 0 0
More than 365 days 2 4 6
Total 7 13 20
2.7 Requests for translation
Translation Requests Accepted Refused Total
English to French 0 0 0
French to English 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0

Part 3: Extensions

3.1 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 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
All disclosed 5 0 8 0
Disclosed in part 23 8 22 16
All exempted 2 0 1 1
All excluded 1 1 1 0
No records exist 7 0 1 5
Request abandoned 4 0 1 1
Total 42 9 34 23
3.2 Length of extensions
Length of Extensions 9(1)(a) Interference With Operations 9(1)(b) Consultation 9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
30 days or less 20 0 1 1
31 to 60 days 11 1 14 14
61 to 120 days 6 8 19 8
121 to 180 days 3 0 0 0
181 to 365 days 2 0 0 0
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 42 9 34 23

Part 4: Fees

Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
Number of Requests Amount Number of Requests Amount
Application 162 $810 171 $855
Search 0 $0 0 $0
Production 0 $0 0 $0
Programming 0 $0 0 $0
Preparation 0 $0 0 $0
Alternative format 0 $0 0 $0
Reproduction 0 $0 0 $0
Total 162 $810 171 $855

Part 5: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 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 180 6420 6 59
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 45 2436 0 0
Total 225 8856 6 59
Closed during the reporting period 191 7281 3 25
Pending at the end of the reporting period 34 1575 3 34
5.2 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 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
Disclose entirely 33 46 35 15 1 4 0 134
Disclose in part 1 6 19 11 1 4 0 42
Exempt entirely 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 6 3 0 2 1 0 0 12
Total 40 55 57 28 3 8 0 191
5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations
Recommendation Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
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
Disclose entirely 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Disclose in part 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

Part 6: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

6.1 Requests with Legal Services
Number of Days Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed 101‒500 Pages Processed 501-1000 Pages Processed 1001-5000 Pages Processed More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages
1 to 15 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 3 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 3 22 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 7 53 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6.2 Requests with Privy Council Office
Number of Days Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed 101‒500 Pages Processed 501-1000 Pages Processed 1001-5000 Pages Processed More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages Requests Pages
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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Part 7: Complaints and Investigations

Section 32 Section 35 Section 37 Total
15 3 21 39

Part 8: Court Action

Section 41 Section 42 Section 44 Total
0 0 0 0

Part 9: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

9.1 Costs
Expenditures Amount
Salaries $422,802
Overtime $4,901
Goods and Services $4,838
Professional services contracts
 $4,838
Other
 $0
Total $432,541
9.2 Human Resources
Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees 5.01
Part-time and casual employees 0.22
Regional staff 0.00
Consultants and agency personnel 0.50
Students 0.00
Total 5.73
Note: Enter values to two decimal places.

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