Annual report to Parliament 2023-2024 – Privacy Act

Introduction

The National Research Council of Canada (NRC)'s annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Privacy Act (PA) is submitted in accordance with section 72 of the PA. This 40^th annual report on the administration of the PA at the NRC provides an overview of the activities undertaken by the Council during the reporting period of April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. During this time, the NRC did not have any non-operation subsidiaries.

The purpose of the PA is to extend the present laws of Canada that protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a government institution and that provide individuals with a right of access to that information. The PA also regulates the collection, use and disclosure of personal information held by federal institutions including the NRC.

I. Organizational structure and delegation of authority

From April 1, 2023, to July 23, 2023, the NRC's President delegated full authority for the application and administration of the PA 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, Library and Information Management Services. Partial authority was delegated to the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator.

From July 24, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the NRC's President delegated full authority for the application and administration of the PA to the Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, to the Chief Information Officer & Director General of Knowledge, Information and Technology Services, and to the Director, Library and Information Management Services. Partial authority was delegated to the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator.

Copies of the signed Delegation Orders are included as Annex A.

During this reporting period, the NRC's ATIP Office was part of the Library and Information Management Services Directorate within the Knowledge, Information and Technology Services Branch. The ATIP Office had 6 full-time positions: 1 ATIP Coordinator, 3 Senior ATIP Officers, 1 Junior ATIP Officer and 1 ATIP Clerk.

The ATIP Office works closely with the NRC's Human Resources Branch, the Information Management team, Executive Advisors, the Communications Branch, and senior management across the organization.

The ATIP Office is responsible for the coordination and implementation of policies, guidelines, and procedures to ensure the organization's compliance with the PA. To this end, the Office provides the following services:

• Promotes awareness of the PA within the organization;
• Processes and manages personal information 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 the NRC's Info Source chapter;
• Assists in the privacy impact assessment process and in creating or modifying personal information banks;
• 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 privacy-related considerations;
• Develops internal procedures; and,
• Participates in forums for the ATIP community, such as the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) ATIP Community meetings and working groups.

During the period covered by this report, the NRC was not party to any service agreements under section 73.1 of the PA.

II. Interpretation of statistical report

The complete statistical report on the administration of the PA by the NRC from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, is included as Annex B. This section provides an interpretation of the statistics presented in that report.

During the 2023-2024 reporting period, the NRC received 25 new requests for personal information and 8 requests were outstanding from the previous period.

The statistical figures, as reflected in the chart below, indicate the number of requests received and processed over the past 3 years. These figures do not include informal privacy-related queries received in the ATIP Office.

Long description for Chart 1

Chart 1: Volume of requests for personal information

Status	2021-2022	2022-2023	2023-2024
Received	13	24	25
Completed	15	17	33
Carried Over	1	8	0

Of the 33 requests completed within the reporting period, 21% of records were all disclosed, 36% of records were disclosed in part, 6% of records were all exempted, 19% had no existing records, 15% were closed as abandoned and 3% were closed as neither confirmed nor denied.

With regard to completion times, out of the 33 requests completed during this reporting period, 18 were completed within 30 days and 15 requests were completed within 31 to 60 days, resulting in a 100% compliance with legislated timelines.

Long description for Chart 2

Chart 2: Number of days taken to complete requests

Number of days	Number of requests
1 to 30 days	18
31 to 60 days	15

Section 15 of the PA allows institutions to extend the time limit for processing requests for a maximum of 30 days if:

• (i) meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution; or,
• (ii) consultations are necessary to comply with the request that cannot reasonably be completed within the original time limit.

Should the records require translation or conversion to an alternative format, a reasonable period of time may also be taken to extend the time limit.

The NRC invoked an extension in 15 cases where meeting the original time limit of 30 days would have unreasonably interfered with the operations of the organization due to the large volume of pages.

Sections 3.2 and 3.3 of the Statistical Report focus on the application of exemptions and exclusions under the PA. During this reporting period, the NRC invoked sections 22.3, 26 and 27.

As per the following chart, the number of pages disclosed in response to requests for personal information increased from the previous reporting period.

Long description for Chart 3

Chart 3: Trends in number of pages disclosed

Years	Pages disclosed
2021-2022	2,610
2022-2023	1,072
2023-2024	2,073

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office processed 1 consultation under the PA. The NRC provided input to another government institution regarding the disclosure of 3 pages.

With regard for the provisions of the PA and in the context of its general responsibilities, the NRC's ATIP Office reviewed a total of 121 Parliamentary Questions received during this reporting period, compared to 114 reviewed in 2022-2023 and 110 reviewed in 2021-2022.

Long description for Chart 4

Chart 4: Parliamentary questions

Years	Parliamentary questions
2021-2022	110
2022-2023	114
2023-2024	121

For the 2023-2024 reporting period, the NRC was asked to complete a supplemental report. This supplemental statistical report is included as Annex C.

III. Privacy-related training and education

To increase the knowledge and understanding of the PA across the NRC, training and awareness sessions are delivered to NRC employees. These sessions provide basic information on the purposes and provisions of the PA, roles and responsibilities, as well as general best practices (such as email management). All training sessions include information on the identification and management of personal information in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act as well as the Access to Information Act. During this reporting period, the ATIP Office delivered a total of 8 training sessions to 192 employees located in the National Capital Region and in regional offices. This increase in training compared to previous years contributed to the NRC achieving a 100% compliance rate.

In support of ATIP activity across the Council, tools and guidance are updated regularly and are made available on the NRC's external and internal websites.

The ATIP Office continually works to sensitize and educate employees, third parties and requesters regarding the requirements of the PA, through ongoing dialogue and bilateral discussions. During the reporting period, the ATIP Coordinator and Officers responded to numerous inquiries from colleagues (Human Resources Branch, management, etc.), providing advice and guidance on various privacy-related matters.

Throughout this reporting period, the ATIP Coordinator and Officers attended ATIP community meetings and various training sessions offered by the TBS.

IV. Procedures, guidelines and directives

The NRC did not implement any new or revised privacy policies, guidelines or procedures during the reporting period.

V. Complaints, investigations and audits

During this reporting period, 1 complaint against the NRC was registered with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) in relation to the time taken to respond to the request despite it being fulfilled within legislated timelines. In support of the OPC's investigative process, the ATIP Office transferred all necessary records for their review. This complaint was still unresolved at the end of the reporting period.

There are no ongoing investigations or audits of the NRC under the provisions of the PA.

VI. Monitoring of requests for personal information

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 personal information requests, while making every effort to assist applicants in the most expeditious manner without regard for their identity.

The ATIP Office uses a case management system that tracks both 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 all team members are informed of the status of files. Weekly meetings also take place with the Director, Library and Information Management Services.

A report of active ATIP files (which maintains the privacy of the requesters' identities) is shared with the NRC senior management team every week and a more detailed report is provided to delegated authorities. A weekly report is also shared with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

No requests for the corrections to personal information were received by the ATIP Office during this reporting period.

VII. Material privacy breaches

One material privacy breach occurred during the 2023-2024 reporting period that was related to a Brookfield Global Relocation Services data breach which impacted multiple government institutions. Even though there was no evidence that personal information was accessed, the incident was reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as well as the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada.

VIII. Privacy impact assessment activities

The NRC did not complete any privacy impact assessment during the 2023-2024 reporting period.

IX. Section 8(2)(m) disclosures

Paragraph 8(2)(m) allows for the disclosure of personal information when the public interest clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy or when the disclosure would benefit the individual. There were no disclosures pursuant to paragraph 8(2)(m) for the 2023-2024 period.

Annex A: Delegation orders

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order 2021

The President of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of 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, duties and functions of the President as the head of the NRC, under the sections of the Acts and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous designation orders.

Dated, at the City of Ottawa
4 May 2021

Iain Stewart
President of the National Research Council of Canada

Access to Information and Privacy Act Delegation Order 2023

The President of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of 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, duties and functions of the President as the head of the NRC, under the sections of the Acts and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous designation orders.

Dated, at the City of Ottawa
24 July 2023

Iain Stewart
President of the National Research Council of Canada

Annex B: Statistical report

Statistical report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: National Research Council Canada

Reporting period: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Section 1 – Requests under the Privacy Act

Section 2 – Informal requests

Section 3 – Requests closed during the reporting period

3.5 Complexity

3.5.7 Other complexities

3.6 Closed requests

3.7 Deemed refusals

Section 4 – Disclosures under subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 5 – Requests for correction of personal information and notations

Section 6 – Extensions

Section 7 – Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

Section 8 – Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences

Section 9 – Complaints and investigations notices received

Section 10 – Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIBs)

Section 11 – Privacy breaches

Section 12 – Resources related to the Privacy Act

Annex C: 2023-2024 Supplemental statistical report

Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Name of institution: National Research Council of Canada

Reporting period: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Section 1 – Open requests and complaints under the Access to Information Act

Section 2 – Open requests and complaints under the Privacy Act

Section 3 – Social insurance number

Has your institution begun a new collection or a new consistent use of the SIN in 2023-2024? No

Section 4 – Universal Access under the Privacy Act

How many requests were received from confirmed foreign nationals outside of Canada in 2023-2024? 0