Annual Report to Parliament 2018-2019 - Access to Information Act

I. Introduction

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act for fiscal year April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019. Section 72 of the equthat the head of every federal government institution submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year

The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to provide a right of access to information contained in records under the control of government institutions. The information is subject to certain limited and specific exemptions. The Act is intended to complement and not replace existing procedures for access to government information.

This thirty-fifth Annual Report on the administration of the Access to Information Act at the NRC provides an overview of the activities of the Council in implementing the Act.

Mandate of the National Research Council of Canada

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) supports industrial innovation, the advancement of knowledge, technology development and public policy mandates. The NRC plays a unique role in Canada, undertaking large-scale mission-oriented research and development programs. With a presence in every province, NRC combines its strong national foundation with international linkages to help Canada grow in productivity and remain globally competitive. NRC works in collaboration with industry, governments and academia to maximize Canada's overall R&D investment.

II. Organizational structure and delegation of authority

From April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, the NRC President delegated full authority for the application and administration of the Access to Information Act to the Vice-President, Business and Professional Services, to the Chief Information Officer & Director General of Knowledge, Information and Technology Services, and to the Director, Information and Data Management Services Directorate. Partial authority was delegated to the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator.

A copy of the current signed Delegation Order can be found at Annex A.

During the period covered by this report, the NRC Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) office was part of the Information and Data Management Services Directorate within the Knowledge, Information and Technology Services Branch.

As noted by other federal ATIP departments as well as by the Information Commissioner, there is a shortage of staff in the ATIP field which can result in difficulty attracting experienced officers. In 2018-2019, the NRC ATIP office was partially understaffed due to standard staff turn-over and consisted of a coordinator and a full-time officer, with another part-time officer joining the team at the end of the year.

The NRC ATIP office works closely with the NRC information management team, the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program ATIP liaison officer, executive advisors, NRC Communications Branch and senior management across the organization.

Procedures are in place to process all formal access to information requests in accordance with the Access to Information Act.

The ATIP office is responsible for the coordination and implementation of policies, guidelines and procedures to ensure the organization's compliance with the Access to Information Act. To that end, the office provides the following services to the organization:

• Promotes awareness of the Access to Information Act within the organization;
• Processes and manages access to information requests and complaints;
• Manages the ATIP electronic case management system;
• Processes consultations received from other institutions;
• Provides professional advice and guidance to senior management and all departmental staff on the Act;
• Prepares the annual report to Parliament and the annual statistical report;
• Maintains NRC's Info Source chapter;
• Reviews departmental documents (such as audit and evaluation reports prior to their proactive disclosure on the organization's website), Parliamentary Questions and Harassment Reports for access-related considerations;
• Develops internal procedures;
• Participates in forums for the ATIP community, such as the Treasury Board Secretariat ATIP Community meetings and working groups.

Section 71 of the Access to Information Act, requires government institutions to provide facilities where members of the public may obtain and read information on the institution including the inspection of manuals used by employees to administer or carry out programs or activities that affect the public. At NRC, this takes place in Building M-55 of the NRC Montreal Road Campus, Ottawa, Ontario. Other arrangements can be offered if requested.

III. Interpretation of Statistical Report

Annex B provides a summarized statistical report on the access requests received and processed by the National Research Council of Canada from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019. This section provides an interpretation of the statistical report.

During the fiscal year, NRC received twenty-three (23) new access to information (ATI) requests. Seven (7) requests were outstanding from the previous fiscal year, for a total of thirty (30) requests to be processed in the 2018-2019 fiscal year. NRC completed twenty-four (24) access to information requests during this reporting period. Six (6) requests were either not completed or had been received at the end of the fiscal year and were carried over to the next reporting period.

The figures, as reflected in the chart below, indicate the number of requests received and processed over the past three years. The figures do not reflect requests processed informally or other types of queries (requests transferred from the NRC call centre, from other branches, from the Industrial Research Assistance Program, etc.) that were addressed by the ATIP office.

Long description for Chart 1: Volume of access to information requests

	Received	Completed	Carried forward
2016‑2017	45	41	8
2017‑2018	33	34	7
2018‑2019	23	24	6

The complexity associated with the processing of requests has increased, primarily due to:

• An increase in the average volume of pages requiring review;
• The broader scope of numerous requests, requiring the ATIP office to retrieve records from multiple individuals and organizational groups.

The ATIP office and the information management team continue to provide training and guidance to employees on the effective management of information (drafts, emails, duplicates, etc.), to address challenges with volume.

In terms of requesters, the breakdown of the request source is as follows: eight (8) from the media, two (2) from academia, four (4) from business, three (3) from organizations, four (4) from the public and two (2) declined to identify.

Long description for Chart 2: Access to information requests received by source

	Access to information requests received by source
Media	8
Academia	2
Business	4
Organization	3
Public	4
Decline to identify	3

As a result of the posted summaries of completed access to information requests, NRC received additional informal requests for previously released information. The ATIP office processed forty-two (42) informal requests (not subject to the Access to Information Act) in this reporting period. This was an increase of 50%, compared to twenty-one (21) in 2017-2018, twenty-four (24) in 2016-2017, and fifteen (15) in 2015-2016.

Long description for Chart 3: Volume of informal access to information requests

	Volume of informal access to information requests
2015-2016	15
2016-2017	24
2017-2018	21
2018-2019	42

In terms of topics, the subject matter of the twenty-three (23) new requests received during the fiscal year related to various activities across the organization as follows:

• Grants and contributions including the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) - 3
• Contracting including call-ups and purchase orders - 3
• Program research - 5
• Other (including management correspondence and other specific requests) - 12

With regard to timelines and extensions, out of the twenty-four (24) requests completed during this fiscal year, ten (10) were completed in 30 days or less, three (3) were completed within 31 to 60 days, seven (7) were completed between 61 and 120 days, three (3) were completed in 121 to 180 days, zero (0) requests were completed between 181 and 364 days, and one (1) request was completed in more than 365 days. This request involved a high volume of pages of records (more than 20, 000) which were processed in batches and released to the requester in stages. The request was received in February 2016 and, following multiple releases, the file was closed in October 2018. All levels of NRC worked diligently to ensure that statutory deadlines were met to the greatest extent possible.

 

Long description for Chart 4: Timelines and extensions – completed requests

	Consultation requests received by source
between 1 and 30 days	10
between 31 and 60 days	3
between 61 and 120 days	7
between 121 and 180 days	3
between 181 and 364 days	0
more than 365 days	1

Overall, NRC had two late requests that were closed past the projected deadlines, for a total of 8% of the requests.

Section 9 of the Act provides for the extension of the statutory time limits if consultations are necessary or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing the request within the default time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the organization. In addition, extensions are invoked when consultations are necessary to comply with the request or section 27(1) of the Act. NRC invoked an extension in the case of twenty-one (21) requests. The extensions involved records that contained confidential business information that required OGD and third party consultations, and cases when meeting the original time limit of thirty days would have unreasonably interfered with the operations of the organization.

Sections 2.2 and 2.3 of the Statistical Report focus on the application of exemptions and exclusions from disclosure. NRC invoked exemptions and exclusions pursuant to sections 14(a), 16(2)(c), 18(a)(b)(c), 19(1), 20(1)(a)(b)(c)(d), 21(1)(a)(b)(c)(d), 23 and 24(1) of the Act, as follows:

• Section 14 (Federal-provincial affairs) was invoked once;
• Section 16 (Law enforcement and investigations) was invoked twice;
• Section 18 (Economic interests of Canada) was invoked eleven (11) times;
• Section 19 (Personal information) was invoked twelve (12) times;
• Section 20 (Third party information) was invoked twenty-three (23) times;
• Section 21 (Advice, etc.) was invoked ten (10) times;
• Section 23 (Solicitor-client privilege) was invoked twice;
• Section 24 (Statutory prohibitions against disclosure) was invoked once.

As a government agency, NRC is asked by other federal departments and agencies, as well as other organizations (such as universities and provincial governments) for its input on disclosure of information originating within the National Research Council Canada. During this reporting year, sixty (60) consultation requests were received from other federal departments and agencies and five (5) consultation requests were received from other organizations. This compares with seventy-six (76) from other federal departments and agencies and four (4) from other organizations in 2017-2018, and sixty-one (61) from other federal departments and agencies and two (2) from other organizations in 2016-2017. The numbers indicate a decrease in total volume of consultation requests received by 14%, but based on volume of pages, an overall increase of 5% in the workload in the ATIP office.

 

Long description for Chart 5: Consultation requests received by source

	Consultations from OGD	Consultations from organizations
2018‑2019	60	5
2017‑2018	76	4
2016‑2017	61	2

The ATIP office works closely with the offices of primary interest at NRC to respond effectively to these requests.

Within the context of its overall roles and responsibilities, NRC's ATIP office reviewed a total of one hundred and forty-eight (148) Parliamentary Questions received for the period of 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, compared to ninety-eight (98) in 2017-2018 and one hundred and forty-eight (148) in 2016-2017.

Long description for Chart 6: Parliamentary Questions

	Parliamentary questions
2016‑2017	148
2017‑2018	98
2018‑2019	148

The annual statistical report for the fiscal year 2018-2019 is included at the end of this chapter, as Annex B.

IV. Reporting on access to information fees for the purposes of 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: $5, the only fee charged for an ATI request
• Total revenue: $100
• In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, the National Research Council waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.
• Fees waived: no fees were waived for the 2018 to 2019 fiscal period
• Cost of operating the program: $153,513

V. Access to information-related training and education

To increase the knowledge and understanding of the Access to Information Act across NRC, training and awareness sessions are delivered on an ongoing basis to NRC employees. These sessions provided basic information on the purposes and provisions of the Act, roles and responsibilities, and general best practices for information management. All training sessions include information on the identification and management of personal information and the Privacy Act. During the reporting period, the ATIP office delivered a total of five (5) training sessions to seventy-four (74) employees in the National Capital Region and in regional offices.

ATIP tools and guidance are updated on a regular basis and are made available on NRC external and internal websites.

The ATIP team continually works to sensitize and guide employees, third parties and requesters regarding the requirements of the Access to Information Act, through ongoing dialogue and bilateral discussions. During the reporting period, the ATIP Coordinator and officers responded to numerous inquiries from colleagues (Industrial Research Assistance Program, management, etc.), providing advice and guidance on various access-related subjects.

The ATIP office promoted Right to Know Day (September 28th) and Data Privacy Day (January 28) within NRC, through postings on the NRC internal website.

Throughout the fiscal year, the ATIP Coordinator and the officers attended ATIP community meetings and various training sessions offered by Treasury Board Secretariat.

VI. Procedures, guidelines and directives

NRC did not implement new and/or revised access to information policies or directives during the reporting period. NRC actively participated in the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) pilot project for online ATIP requests. Consequently, since October 2018, NRC has been receiving requests through the TBS ATIP online requests tool.

NRC is posting the summaries of completed Access to Information requests as well as its ATIP Annual Reports on its website in accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat's revised Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, which was issued in February 2012.

VII. Complaints, investigations and federal court cases

One (1) complaint was filed against NRC in 2018-2019. The complaint pertained to a time extension classified as invalid under the Access to Information Act. The ATIP office is currently working with the Office of the Information Commissioner to resolve this complaint.

One (1) outstanding complaint from fiscal year 2017-2018 was abandoned in 2018-2019.

There were no court cases in 2018-2019.

VIII. Monitoring of access to information requests

In keeping with TBS policies and directives, the ATIP office has established internal ATIP procedures and business practices to ensure the efficient and timely processing of access requests, while making every effort to assist applicants in the most expeditious manner without regard to their identity.

The ATIP office has a tracking system that keeps track of both the active and closed requests. This system is designed to follow the legislative deadlines.

The ATIP office holds weekly meetings to discuss request-related activities, determine timelines and ensure that team members are informed of the status of files. Weekly meetings also take place with the Director, Information and Data Management Services Directorate.

A report of active ATIP files (which maintains the privacy of the requestors' identities) is shared with the NRC senior management team on a weekly basis and a more detailed report is provided to delegated authorities. A weekly report is also shared with the Minister responsible for NRC.

Annex A: Delegation order

Access to Information and Privacy Acts Delegation Order

The President of the National Research Council of Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the person occupying on an acting basis the position, 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 Designation Order supersedes all previous designation orders.

Dated, at the City of Ottawa
10 October 2017

Iain Stewart
President of the National Research Council of Canada

Annex B: Statistical report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: National Research Council Canada

Reporting period: 2018-04-01 to 2019-03-31

Part 1 – Requests under the Access to Information Act

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

2.5 Complexity

2.6 Deemed refusals

Part 3 – Extensions

Part 4 – Fees

Part 5 – Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

Part 6 – Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences

Part 7 – Complaints and investigations

Part 8 – Court action

Part 9 – Resources related to the Access to Information Act

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.