2011-2012 Annual Report to Parliament — Access to Information Act

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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 is normally available to the public upon request.

Section 72 of the Access to Information 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 third year of operation, administered its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act.

About the Organization

Raison d'être

The global economic recession had a significant impact in every region of Canada, including southern Ontario. 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 as a whole.

As a result, the Government of Canada created FedDev Ontario with a five-year mandate, in 2009. To fulfill its mandate, FedDev Ontario supports the competitiveness, innovation, and diversification of southern Ontario's economy by: delivering strategic investments to businesses, non-profit organizations and communities; establishing and strengthening collaborative partnerships with key economic stakeholders; and representing the region's interests at the federal and national level.

Responsibilities

FedDev Ontario is responsible for responding to southern Ontario's economic challenges to help restore the region to a position of prosperity and place southern Ontario as an important driver in building a stronger Canadian economy.

Scope of Operations

FedDev Ontario is headquartered in Kitchener and has offices throughout southern Ontario to support program delivery. Its mandate covers southern Ontario which includes 37 Statistics Canada census divisions. According to the 2011 Census, this area has a population of over 12 million, representing 93.5% of Ontario's total population and 35.9% of the total population of Canada.

FedDev Ontario is part of the Industry portfolio. Its President oversees the Agency operations and resources, and reports to the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario).

Structure of the Access to Information and Privacy Office

Responsibility for processing requests received under the 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 Act within FedDev Ontario, and ensures compliance with the legislation. One junior officer is also part of the ATIP office. The organizational chart of the ATIP office is found 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 Access to information Act and the Privacy Act. The administration of the legislation 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 the Acts. The ATIP office, which is located in Ottawa's regional office, responds to all formal requests submitted under the applicable Act.

Delegation of Authority

The current ATIP Delegation Order was approved by the President in June 2010, and 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 17 requests from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, and carried forward one request from the previous period. Of the 18 active requests, 16 were completed during the 2011-2012 reporting period and two requests were carried forward to the next reporting period. A detailed statistical report on Access to Information Act requests is attached in Annex C.

Sources of Requests

The breakdown of the 17 new requests received by type of user is as follows:

Media
2
Business (Private Sector)
2
Organization
5
Public
8

Disposition and Completion Time

The 16 completed requests were disposed of as follows: two requesters were provided full access to the relevant records, 13 requesters were granted partial disclosure, and one request was abandoned by the requester.

Of the 16 completed requests, the Agency responded to five requests within the legislated 30 days. In 11 cases, an extension was required under the Act to allow for 15 consultations with other government institutions, 12 consultations with third parties, and two certifications of Cabinet confidences by the Privy Council Office. These consultations resulted in the Agency responding to nine requests within the 61 to 120 days completion time range, one request within the 121 to 180 days completion time range, and one request within the 181 to 365 days completion time range.

In one instance, the statutory deadline was not met due to consultations on Cabinet confidences.

Exemptions and Exclusions

As noted in Annex C, exemptions under sections 14, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, and exclusions pursuant to section 69 of the Access to Information Act were invoked by FedDev Ontario.

Additional Information

In addition to the 17 requests received and accounted for in the ATIP statistics (Annex C), the Agency received eight consultation requests from five other government departments and agencies and four notices of release from one government institution.

Overall, the Agency completed a total of 29 requests (16 access requests, 9 consultation requests and four notices of release). This represents an increase of 61 % compared to the previous period.

Operational Costs to Administer the Act

Annex C reflects the cost for the ATIP office only. Non-salary costs are estimated at $12,200, salary-related costs are estimated at $152,361, overtime-related costs are estimated at $25,959, and full-time employees utilized are estimated at 2.02.

Including both the ATIP office and Agency officials for this period, the total salary costs associated with Access to Information Act activities are estimated at $170,867, and the associated human resources are fixed at 2.3 full-time employees.

Education and Training

The ATIP Coordinator prepared and delivered 15 training sessions to 146 Agency staff at headquarters and regional offices. The number of Agency staff reached with these awareness sessions represented approximately 66  per cent of Agency employees at the time of training.

Procedures and training information were also posted on the Agency's wiki.

Group-specific draft procedures were also developed and distributed at training sessions to branch liaison officers, program officers, and administration staff.

Institutional Policies and Procedures

The ATIP office has developed an internet ATIP page that has been available on the FedDev Ontario website since October 24, 2011. The site contains general information for the public including how to obtain access to information, points of contact, and links to other key departments and agencies.

Since January 2012, the Agency has been posting summaries of completed requests on its website.

FedDev Ontario has developed new internal procedures to ensure appropriate monitoring and reporting on access requests. These were developed to ensure compliance with Treasury Board Secretariat's policies and guidelines.

Complaints and Investigations

Two complaints were received concerning the administration of the Access to Information Act. Both complaints concerned the extension of the statutory time limit.

Both complaints were withdrawn by the complainants.

There were no applications submitted to the Federal Court by third parties regarding the Agency's administration of the Act.

Annex A — Structure of Access to Information and Privacy Office

Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Access to Information and Privacy Office

Graphic of Access to Information and Privacy Office's Organizational chart. Text version provided below.
  • Corporate Secretary, Marian Tomlinson, AS 07
    • Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator, Josée Riopel, PM 05
      • Access to Information and Privacy Officer, Vacant, 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

Position
Access to Information Act
and Regulations
Privacy Act
and Regulations
Corporate Secretary
Full authority
Full authority

and

Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator, Corporate Secretariat
Full authority
Full authority

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

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

Annex C — Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Institution:
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Reporting period:
April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012

Part 1 – Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Requests

1.1 Requests
  Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 17
Outstanding from previous reporting period 1
Total 18
Completed during reporting period 16
Carried over to next reporting period 2

1.2 Sources of requests

1.2 Sources of requests
Source Number of Requests
Media 2
Academia 0
Business (Private Sector) 2
Organization 5
Public 8
Total 17

Part 2 – Requests closed during the reporting period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

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 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2
Disclosed in part 1 2 0 8 1 1 0 13
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request transferred 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Treated informally 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 3 0 9 1 1 0 16

 

2.2 Exemptions

 

2.2 Exemptions
Section Number of requests
Footnotes
  1. 1 I.A.: International Affairs (Return to footnote reference 1)
  2. 2 Def.: Defence of Canada (Return to footnote reference 2)
  3. 3 S.A.: Subversive Activities (Return to footnote reference 3)
13(1)(a) 0
13(1)(b) 0
13(1)(c) 0
13(1)(d) 0
13(1)(e) 0
14(a) 2
14(b) 0
15(1) - I.A.See footnote 1 1 0
15(1) - Def.See footnote 2 2 0
15(1) - S.A.See footnote 3 3 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)(a) 0
16(2)(b) 0
16(2)(c) 0
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) 8
20(1)(a) 0
20(1)(b) 11
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 11
20(1)(d) 10
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 7
21(1)(b) 7
21(1)(c) 7
21(1)(d) 0
22 2
22.1(1) 0
23 2
24(1) 0
26 0

 

2.3 Exclusions

 

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

 

2.4 Format of information released

 

2.4 Format of information released
Disposition Paper Electronic Other formats
All disclosed 0 2 0
Disclosed in part 2 13 0
Total 2 15 0

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition Number of pages processed Number of pages disclosed Number of requests
All disclosed 361 361 2
Disclosed in part 5492 4868 13
All exempted 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 1

 

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

 

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
disclosed		 Requests Pages
disclosed		 Requests Pages
disclosed		 Requests Pages
disclosed		 Requests Pages
disclosed
All disclosed 0 0 2 361 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 2 13 7 1691 2 972 2 2192 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 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 13 9 2052 2 972 2 2192 0 0

 

2.5.3 Other complexities

 

2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation required Assessment of fees Legal advice sought Other Total
All disclosed 1 0 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 10 0 0 0 10
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Abandoned 0 0 0 0 0
Total 11 0 0 0 11

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
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
1 0 1 0 0

 

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

 

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 0 0 0
16 to 30 days 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 0 1 1
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 0 1 1

 

2.7 Requests for translation

 

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

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 0 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 0 2 4 4
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 0 2 4 5

 

3.2 Length of extensions

 

3.2 Length of extensions
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
30 days or less 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 0 0 0 4
61 to 120 days 0 2 4 1
121 to 180 days 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 days 0 0 0 0
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 0 2 4 5

Part 4 – Fees

Part 4 – Fees
Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
Number of requests Amount Number of requests Amount
Application 15 $75 0 $0
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 15 $75 0 $0

Part 5 - Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other government institutions and organizations

5.1 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 8 62 0 0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 1 4 0 0
Total 9 66 0 0
Closed during the reporting period 9 66 0 0
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

 

5.2 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 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
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 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 9

 

5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

 

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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Part 6 - Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

Part 6 - Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences
Number of days Number of responses received Number of responses received past deadline
1 to 15 0 0
16 to 30 0 1
31 to 60 0 0
61 to 120 0 0
121 to 180 2 0
181 to 365 0 0
More than 365 0 0
Total 2 1

Part 7 - Resources related to the Access to Information Act

7.1 Costs

7.1 Costs
Expenditures Amount
Salaries $152,361
Overtime $25,959
Goods and Services $12,200
• Professional services contracts $0
• Other $12,200
Total $190,520

7.2 Human Resources

7.2 Human Resources
Resources Dedicated full-time to
ATI activities		 Dedicated part-time to
ATI activities		 Total
Full-time employees 0 3 3
Part-time and casual employees 3 0 3
Regional staff 0 0 0
Consultants and agency personnel 0 0 0
Students 0 0 0
Total 3 3 6

Federal Economic Development Agency For Southern Ontario
April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012

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: Josee.Riopel@feddevontario.gc.ca

Permission to Reproduce

The information in this publication may be reproduced, 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 email: copyright.droitdauteur@pwgsc.gc.ca

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