2013-14 Annual Report to Parliament — Access to Information Act

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Federal Economic Development Agency For Southern Ontario

April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014

This publication is available upon request in accessible formats.

Contact:
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
155 Queen Street, 14th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H5
Telephone: 613-954-2880
Fax: 613-952-9026
Email: atip-aiprp@feddevontario.gc.ca

This publication is also available online at the following address:
http://www.feddevontario.gc.ca/eic/site/723.nsf/eng/02082.html

Permission to Reproduce

The information in this publication may be reproduced for non-commercial use, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), provided that due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the information reproduced; that FedDev Ontario is identified as the source institution; and that the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the information reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of, FedDev Ontario.

For permission to reproduce the information in this publication for commercial redistribution, please call: 1-866-593-5505 or write to: Communications Branch, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, 101 Frederick Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2H 6R2.

PDF Cat. No: Iu93-1/1-2014E-PDF

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of State, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, 2014.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (the Act) gives Canadian citizens as well as people and corporations present in Canada the right to have access to federal government records that are not of a personal nature. The Act complements but does not replace other procedures for obtaining government information. It is not intended to limit in any way the access to government information that isly available to the public upon request.

Section 72 of the Act requires that the head of every government institution prepare, for submission to Parliament, an annual report on the administration of the Act within the institution during each financial year. For the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the President has been designated as the head of the institution by order in council.

This annual report describes how FedDev Ontario, in its fifth year of operation, administered its responsibilities under the Act.

About the organization

Raison d'être

As Canada's most populous region – home to more than 12 million residents living in 288 communities – southern Ontario's economy is a key contributor to the health of the Canadian economy. In 2009, the Government of Canada created FedDev Ontario with a five-year mandate. Budget 2013 renewed FedDev Ontario for an additional five years, beginning April 2014. To fulfill its mandate, FedDev Ontario supports the competitiveness, innovation, and diversification of southern Ontario's economy by delivering strategic investments to businesses, not-for-profit organizations and communities; establishing and strengthening collaborative partnerships with key economic stakeholders; and representing the region's interests at the federal and national levels.

Responsibilities

FedDev Ontario is aware of the changing economic landscape in the region and has developed another suite of initiatives during its second mandate that will continue to help the region achieve economic prosperity. FedDev Ontario works to support sustainable and long-term economic benefits for the region, contributing to a strong and prosperous Ontario, to ensure a strong and prosperous Canada.

Scope of Operations

FedDev Ontario is headquartered in Kitchener-Waterloo and has regional offices in Ottawa, Peterborough and Toronto. Its mandate covers southern Ontario, which includes 37 Statistics Canada census divisions. According to Statistics Canada's annual population estimates for 2013, this area has a population of over 12.7 million, representing 93.6 percent of Ontario's total population and 36 percent of the total population of Canada.

FedDev Ontario is part of the Industry Canada portfolio. Its President oversees Agency operations and resources, and reports to the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (FedDev Ontario).

Structure of the Access to Information and Privacy Office

Responsibility for processing requests received under the Access to Information Act rests with the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator who reports to the Corporate Secretary of the Agency. The ATIP Coordinator oversees the implementation of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act within FedDev Ontario, and ensures compliance with the legislation. The ATIP office structure also includes one officer as per the organizational chart in Annex A.

The ATIP Coordinator is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines and procedures necessary to manage the Agency's compliance with the Acts. The ATIP office, which is located in Ottawa's regional office, responds to all formal requests submitted under the applicable Act.

The administration of the above Acts at FedDev Ontario is also facilitated at the branch and regional office levels. Each organizational branch has a liaison officer (reporting to a Vice-President or Director General) who coordinates activities on the administrative processes and procedures of these Acts.

Delegation of Authority

The current ATIP Delegation Order was approved by the former President of the Agency in June 2010 until August 2013. The Annual Report for 2014–15 will reflect the new Delegation Order signed by the current President as of April 2014. This provides full delegated authority to the Corporate Secretary and the ATIP Coordinator. The designation of the Corporate Secretary position is for the purpose of providing strategic support and advice to the executive management of the Agency concerning ATIP issues, if and when required. For all daily ATIP activities and operations, the ATIP Coordinator exercises full responsibility. A copy of the ATIP Delegation Order is attached in Annex B.

Statistics

FedDev Ontario received 12 access to information requests from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014, and carried forward six requests from the previous period. Of the 18 active requests, 16 were completed during the 2013–14 reporting period and two requests were carried forward to the next reporting period. A detailed statistical report on access to information requests is attached in Annex C.

Sources of Requests

The breakdown of the 12 new requests received by type of user is as follows:

Media 7
Business (Private Sector) 1
Public 4
 

Disposition and Completion Time

The 16 completed requests were disposed of as follows: four requesters were provided full access to the relevant records, nine requesters were granted partial disclosure, for one request there were no existing records, and two requests were abandoned by the requester.

Of the remaining 13 requests for which FedDev Ontario held responsive records, a total of 7,240 pages were processed and 3,474 pages were disclosed.

Of the 16 completed requests, the Agency responded to six requests within the legislated 30 days. In nine cases, an extension was required under the Act to allow for 22 consultations with other federal institutions, 10 consultations with other government institutions and 166 consultations with third parties. In one instance an extension was taken in order to avoid unreasonable interference with the operation of our institution. These consultations resulted in the Agency responding to two requests within the 31 to 60 days completion time range, seven requests within the 61 to 120 days completion time range, and one request within the 181 to 365 days completion time range.

The Agency did not meet the statutory deadline in one instance due to external consultation. A partial release was provided to the requester to minimize the impact of the delay in access.

Exemptions and Exclusions

As noted in Annex C, exemptions under sections 19, 20, 21 and 23, and exclusions pursuant to section 69 of the Act were invoked by FedDev Ontario.

Additional Information

In addition to the 12 requests received and accounted for in the ATI statistics (Annex C), the Agency received 14 consultation requests from five other government institutions, one consultation request from other organizations and carried forward one request from other government institutions from the previous period.

Overall, the Agency completed a total of 32 requests (16 access requests and 16 consultation requests). This represents an increase of seven percent overall, compared to the previous period.

Operational Costs to Administer the Access to Information Act

Annex C reflects the cost for the access to information component of the ATIP office. Non-salary costs are estimated at $15,780, salary-related costs are estimated at $113,558, overtime-related costs are estimated at $10,969, and full-time employees utilized are estimated at 1.67 full-time employees.

Including both the ATIP office and Agency officials for this period, the total costs associated with the Act activities are estimated at $155,216, and the associated human resources are estimated at 1.85 full-time employees.

Education and Training

The Agency did not deliver access to information-specific training during the reporting period, however, the ATIP Coordinator was available to all employees involved in processing the access to information requests received.

Guidelines and procedures are provided to staff when they are tasked to respond to an access to information request.

Procedural information is also posted on the Agency's wiki.

Institutional Policies and Procedures

An ATIP page is available on the external FedDev Ontario website. The page contains general information for the public, points of contact, and links to other key departments and agencies.

Since January 2012, FedDev Ontario has been posting summaries of completed requests on its website.

FedDev Ontario's internal procedures are reviewed periodically to maintain compliance with Treasury Board Secretariat's policies and guidelines.

Complaints, Audits and Investigations

There were no complaints received and no audits or investigations concluded concerning the administration of the Act during this reporting period.

Processing Times

The ATIP Office monitors the time to process access to information requests on an ongoing basis using the ATIP requests management software in order to ensure compliance with established deadlines. The Corporate Secretary, Vice-Presidents, Directors General or the Office of the President are notified as appropriate.

Annex A — Structure of Access to Information and Privacy Office

Structure of Access to Information and Privacy Office
Graphic of Access to Information and Privacy Office's Organizational chart (the long description is located below the image).
Description of Figure
  • Corporate Secretary
    Marian Tomlinson
    AS 07
  • Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
    Josée Riopel
    PM 05
  • Access to Information and Privacy Officer
    Brandon Chavarie
    PM 03
 

Annex B — Delegation Order

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order

The President of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, pursuant to section 73 to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and functions of the President as the head of a government institution, under the section of the Acts set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders.

Schedule

Schedule
Position Access to Information Act Privacy Act and Regulations
Corporate Secretary Full authority Full authority
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator,
Corporate Secretariat
Full authority Full authority

Dated, at the City of Kitchener
This 22nd day of June, 2010

Original signed by B.A. (Bruce) Archibald, Ph. D., President
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Annex C — Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution:
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Reporting period:
01/04/2013 to 31/03/2014

Part 1 — Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of Requests

Number of Requests
  Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 12
Outstanding from previous reporting period 6
Total 18
Closed during reporting period 16
Carried over to next reporting period 2

1.2 Sources of requests

Sources of requests
Source Number of Requests
Media 7
Academia 0
Business (Private Sector) 1
Organization 0
Public 4
Total 12

Part 2 — Requests closed during the reporting period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

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 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4
Disclosed in part 0 1 1 6 0 1 0 9
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Request transferred 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Treated informally 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 3 2 7 0 1 0 16

2.2 Exemptions

Exemptions
Section Number of requests Section Number of requests Section Number of requests Section Number of requests
13(1)(a) 0 16(2)(a) 0 18(a) 0 20.1 0
13(1)(b) 0 16(2)(b) 0 18(b) 0 20.2 0
13(1)(c) 0 16(2)(c) 0 18(c) 0 20.4 0
13(1)(d) 0 16(3) 0 18(d) 0 21(1)(a) 6
13(1)(e) 0 16.1(1)(a) 0 18.1(1)(a) 0 21(1)(b) 5
14(a) 0 16.1(1)(b) 0 18.1(1)(b) 0 21(1)(c) 2
14(b) 0 16.1(1)(c) 0 18.1(1)(c) 0 21(1)(d) 0
15(1)–I.A.Footnote a 0 16.1(1)(d) 0 18.1(1)(d) 0 22 0
15(1)–Def.Footnote b 0 16.2(1) 0 19(1) 5 22.1(1) 0
15(1)–S.A.Footnote c 0 16.3 0 20(1)(a) 0 23 1
16(1)(a)(i) 0 16.4(1)(a) 0 20(1)(b) 6 24(1) 0
16(1)(a)(ii) 0 16.4(1)(b) 0 20(1)(b.1) 0 26 0
16(1)(a)(iii) 0 16.5 0 20(1)(c) 4  
16(1)(b) 0 17 0 20(1)(d) 3
16(1)(c) 0  
16(1)(d) 0
Footnotes
Footnote a

I.A.: International Affairs

Return to footnote a referrer

Footnote b

Def.: Defence of Canada

Return to footnote b referrer

Footnote c

S.A.: Subversive Activities

Return to footnote c referrer

2.3 Exclusions

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

2.4 Format of information released

Format of information released
Disposition Paper Electronic Other formats
All disclosed 1 3 0
Disclosed in part 2 7 0
Total 3 10 0

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition of requests Number of pages processed Number of pages disclosed Number of requests
All disclosed 292 292 4
Disclosed in part 6,948 3,182 9
All exempted 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 2
2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests
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
Number of requests Pages disclo-
sed
Number of requests Pages disclo-
sed
Number of requests Pages disclo-
sed
Number of requests Pages disclo-
sed
Number of requests Pages disclo-
sed
All disclosed 3 155 0 0 1 137 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 1 18 6 1,504 0 0 2 1,660 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Abandoned 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 6 173 6 1,504 1 137 2 1,660 0 0
2.5.3 Other complexities
Other complexities
Disposition Consultation
required
Assessment
of fees
Legal advice
sought
Other Total
All disclosed 2 0 0 0 2
Disclosed in part 8 0 1 0 9
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Abandoned 0 0 0 0 0
Total 10 0 1 0 11

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Number of requests closed past the statutory deadline Principal Reason
Workload External consultation Internal consultation Other
1 0 1 0 0
2.6.2 Number of days past deadline
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 0 0 0
16 to 30 days 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 0 0 0
61 to 120 days 0 1 1
121 to 180 days 0 0 0
181 to 365 days 0 0 0
More than 365 days 0 0 0
Total 0 1 1

2.7 Requests for translation

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

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 0 0 0 2
Disclosed in part 1 2 0 5
All exempted 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0
Total 1 2 0 7

3.2 Length of extensions

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 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 0 0 0 6
61 to 120 days 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 days 1 2 0 1
181 to 365 days 0 0 0 0
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 1 2 0 7

Part 4 — Fees

Fees
Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
Number of requests Amount Number of requests Amount
Application 7 $35 5 $25
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 7 $35 5 $25

Part 5 — Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other government institutions and organizations

Consultations received from other government institutions and organizations
Consultations Other government institutions Number of pages to review Other organizations Number of pages to review
Received during reporting period 14 76 1 2
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 1 141 0 0
Total 15 217 1 2
Closed during the reporting period 15 217 1 2
Pending at the end of the reporting period 0 0 0 0

5.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other government institutions

Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other government 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 14 0 0 1 0 0 0 15
Disclose in part 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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 14 0 0 1 0 0 0 15

5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

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 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Disclose in part 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Part 6 — Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences
Number of days Number of responses received Number of responses received past deadline
1 to 15 days 1 0
16 to 30 days 1 0
31 to 60 days 0 0
61 to 120 days 0 0
121 to 180 days 0 0
181 to 365 days 0 0
More than 365 days 0 0
Total 2 0

Part 7 — Resources related to the Access to Information Act

7.1 Costs

Costs
 
Expenditures Amount
Salaries $113,558
Overtime $10,969
Goods and Services $15,780
• Professional services contracts $0  
• Other $15,780
Total $140,307

7.2 Human Resources

Human Resources
Resources Dedicated full-time to ATI activities Dedicated part-time to ATI activities Total
Full-time employees 0.00 1.31 1.31
Part-time and casual employees 0.00 0.36 0.36
Regional staff 0.00 0.00 0.00
Consultants and agency personnel 0.00 0.00 0.00
Students 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total 0.00 1.67 1.67