|
|
No.: |
82 |
DATE: |
April 8, 2002 |
TO: |
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinators |
SUBJECT: |
Annual
Reports and Statistical Reports of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act |
GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS ARE REMINDED
THAT THEY MUST SUBMIT THEIR 2001-2002 ANNUAL REPORTS TO PARLIAMENT, AS
REQUIRED BY THE ACCESS
TO INFORMATION ACT AND THE PRIVACY
ACT. ANNUAL REPORTS MUST BE
SUBMITTED "WITHIN THREE MONTHS AFTER THE FINANCIAL YEAR IN RESPECT OF
WHICH IT IS MADE OR, IF THE HOUSE IS NOT THEN SITTING, ON ANY OF THE FIRST
FIFTEEN DAYS NEXT THEREAFTER THAT IT IS SITTING" (SECTIONS 72).
GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS ARE ALSO
ASKED TO SUBMIT THEIR ANNUAL STATISTICAL REPORTS ON THE OPERATION OF THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT AND THE PRIVACY ACT TO THE TREASURY BOARD
SECRETARIAT BY MAY 13, 2002.
Port Authorities are reminded that
their reports are co-ordinated by Transport Canada, Port Liaison (613)
993-6447.
ANNUAL
REPORTS TO PARLIAMENT
These instructions are intended to
assist in the preparation and submission of annual reports to Parliament, as
required by sections 72 of the Access
to Information Act and the Privacy
Act. Further information on this
subject may be obtained by referring to the Treasury Board Manuals: Access to Information and Privacy and Data Protection Volumes. The general outline of the reports should
conform to the following instructions.
Content
Annual reports are the means by
which government institutions account for their efforts to administer access
to information and privacy legislation.
It is important to emphasize that reports should reflect the unique
experiences of institutions and no single format can serve the needs of all
departments and agencies. A sample
"Table of Contents" listing elements that typically comprise annual reports
is attached as Appendix A.
The reports should provide an
overall view of institutions' access to information and privacy policies and
procedures. They should highlight
recent developments and accomplishments, such as changes aimed at expediting
processing activities and reducing turnaround times for requests. Reference should be made to any
improvements to the provision of information through both formal and informal
access channels. Reports should also
identify issues that have privacy implications, such as legislative, policy
and service delivery initiatives, data matching and data sharing agreements
and the impact of new technologies.
Statistical reports must be included. Any major trends, discrepancies or
relationships pertaining to the statistics should be documented in the
text. For example, significant
relationships regarding the application of exemptions and exclusions, full
and partial disclosures of information and extensions should be addressed in
the context of complaints to the Commissioners or to actions in the Federal
Court. Accounts of the findings,
decisions and any remedial actions implemented should be outlined to provide
a balanced view of institutions' performances.
Annual reports should describe how
access to information and privacy programs operate within the broader information
management framework. References to
the organizations' information holdings and to their information technology
infrastructure will provide Members of Parliament and the public with a more
comprehensive view of the institutional environment.
Reports should include references to
organizational changes or changes to the decision-making process, notably to
delegation orders. There is no need
to repeat information provided in earlier reports. In making the distinction between repetition and cross-reference,
institutions should be guided by convenience to the reader.
Copies of recent annual reports are
available in the Information and Security Policy Division. Anyone who is interested in examining them
should arrange to view them at the Treasury Board Secretariat.
Authorization
Although
annual reports must be approved by the Minister, they do not have to be
signed by the Minister. Reports are
to be accompanied by a letter of transmittal from the Minister to the Clerk
of the House of Commons and to the Clerk of the Senate.
Institutions subject to both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act must prepare separate
annual reports for each Act, although they may be submitted under the same
cover.
In the letter of transmittal, the
Minister must indicate that:
- The reports are tabled in accordance
with section 72 of the Access to
Information Act and section 72 of the Privacy
Act.
- The reports are to be referred to
the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
Submission
Copies of the annual reports to
Parliament must be submitted to the following:
Clerk of the House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
1 copy
Clerk of the Senate
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A4
1 copy
The Information Commissioner of Canada
Tower B, 22nd Floor
Place de Ville
112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H3
1 copy (Access only)
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tower B, 3rd Floor
Place de Ville
112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H3
1 copy (Privacy only)
Colette Dubois
Information and Security Policy Division
Government Operations Sector
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
East Tower, 8th Floor
L'Esplanade Laurier
140 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R5
2 copies
ANNUAL
STATISTICAL REPORTS
These instructions are intended to assist in the preparation of the annual
statistical reports on the operation of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Further
information on this subject may be obtained by referring to the Treasury Board Manuals: Access to
Information and Privacy and Data
Protection Volumes. The reports
should conform to the following instructions.
Timing
You are asked to prepare and submit your
2001-2002 annual statistical reports to the Treasury Board Secretariat by May 13, 2002.
Submission
Please refer to Appendix
B for instructions on how to submit your data.
Content
The annual statistical reports are intended to provide up-to-date
statistics on the operation of the legislation. They enable the government to monitor trends and to respond to
enquiries from Members of Parliament, the public and the media. They also form the statistical portion of
institutions' annual reports to Parliament.
The following are particular aspects that should be considered
when preparing reports:
- All of the categories prescribed on
the reporting form must be completed.
- Statistics must be compiled
consistently and according to the definitions attached as Appendix C.
- Statistical categories must be
mathematically reconciled and any discrepancies should be explained.
- All fields should be completed using numerical data.
- Statistics submitted to the Treasury
Board Secretariat for the fiscal year should be identical to those appearing
in the institution's annual report to Parliament.
Enquiries
Please direct any questions regarding these instructions to
Information and Security Policy Division at (613) 957-2455 or fax at (613) 952-7287
or by e-mail at dubois.colette@tbs-sct.gc.ca.
Anne Brennan
Director
Information and Security Policy Division
Government Operations Sector
Appendix A
Annual Report
to Parliament
Table of
Contents
The following
sections may be contained in individual reports:
Access to Information
(a) Introduction,
including highlights and accomplishments
(b) Statistical report
(c) Interpretation of the
statistical report, e.g. descriptions of significant trends and
explanations related to the disposition of requests, the application of
exemptions and exclusions, completion times and extensions
(d) Institutional policies
and procedures
(e) Organization of
activities, including the delegation of authority
(f) Significant changes,
e.g. to formal and informal access channels or the use of new technologies
(g) Description of the
institutional information management framework
(h) Education and
training activities, including briefing and awareness sessions indicating the
number of sessions and the number of participants
(i) Complaints and
investigations
(j) Appeals to the Federal
Court
Privacy
In addition to (a) through (j):
(k) Privacy impact of any
legislative, policy and service delivery initiatives or data matching and
data sharing agreements
(l) Improvements to
privacy protection, e.g. use of privacy enhancing technologies
Appendix B
Submitting statistical data to the Treasury Board Secretariat
Forms
Statistical reports should be completed using the "Report
on the Access to Information Act"
form (TBS/SCT 350-62) and the "Report on the Privacy Act"
(TBS/SCT 350-63). These are available under "Access to Information
and Privacy" on the Internet site at: www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/gos-sog/stat/Stat-Rprts_e.html
Submission
Copies of the annual statistical reports must be submitted to the
following:
Colette Dubois
Information and Security Policy Division
Government Operations Sector
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
East Tower, 8th Floor
L'Esplanade Laurier
140 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R5
Appendix C
Statistical Report
Definitions
These definitions are intended to provide interpretation for the
statistical categories that appear on the forms for the "Report on the Access to Information Act"
(TBS/SCT 350-62) and the "Report on the Privacy Act" (TBS/SCT 350-63).
I. Requests under
the Access to Information Act and
the
Privacy Act
The following is a definition of a "request" for
statistical reporting purposes.
A formal application for information meets the following
requirements:
- It is in writing, using the
"Access to Information Request Form", the "Personal
Information Request Form" or, in the case of Access to Information,
refers to the Act.
- It adequately identifies the
individual submitting the request and includes a signed statement that they
have a right of access under the legislation.
- It has been addressed to or received
by the official identified in Info
Source as the contact person for the government institution.
- It is accompanied by the application
fee required by the Access to
Information Act.
Received during reporting
period
This category includes requests received for the first time
only. The reporting period covers the
period between April 1 and March 31. Do not count requests that were re-submitted by the applicant
in response to a requirement by the government institution for more information.
Do not count requests that were re-submitted because the
applicant initially failed to include the application fee under the Access to Information Act or requests
that were received under paragraph 8(2)(e) of the Privacy Act.
Outstanding from
previous period
These are requests that required a time extension or that were
incomplete at the closing date of the previous reporting period.
Completed during
reporting period
Requests are completed when either a disclosure or denial of
access has taken place in response to a request, where no definitive answer
could be given, e.g. unable to process, abandoned, etc., or when the
request has been transferred. Where
notification has been sent out that access is to be given but the applicant
has not yet been given access to the information, that data should be
reported under "carried forward".
Carried forward
Carried forward refers to cases where physical access has not yet
been provided or a notification of denial of access has not yet been sent to
the applicant.
II. Disposition of
requests completed
Report the disposition of each request under only one of the
following categories. In the event
where more than one category applies, explain the discrepancy.
All disclosed
This refers to cases where all of the information requested was
disclosed to the applicant.
Disclosed in part
As a result of severability, only parts of the records were
disclosed. Cite the specific
exemptions invoked in section III of the form or the specific exclusions
in section IV, in accordance with the definitions listed below.
Nothing disclosed
(excluded)
There was no disclosure because all of the information requested
qualified for exclusion under section 68 or section 69 of the Access to Information Act or
section 69 or section 70 of the Privacy
Act. The specific exclusion is to
be cited in section IV of the report.
Nothing disclosed
(exempt)
There was no disclosure because all of the information requested
qualified for exemption. Cite as many
of the specific exemptions as applicable in section III of the report.
Transferred
This refers to Access to
Information Act requests that were transferred to another government
institution with "greater interest". The receiving institution will account for the request under
"request received".
Unable to process
This category includes the disposition of requests that cannot be
accounted for elsewhere, e.g. requests made under the wrong legislation,
requests where there was insufficient information to locate any relevant
information, or requests for which no identifiable records existed.
Abandoned by applicant
A request may be considered abandoned when the applicant formally
withdraws it for reasons such as the amount of fees assessed or time
extensions, or when there is no response to correspondence sent to the
applicant within thirty days after the notice.
Treated informally
Requests may be counted as treated informally when it has been
determined, through consultation with the applicant, that processing of a
formal request can be discontinued in favour of providing the information via
another, mutually satisfactory means.
A request treated in this manner is not considered to have been
abandoned.
III. Exemptions invoked
For each request indicate the types of exemptions invoked to deny
access. For example, if in one
request five different exemptions were invoked, this should be reported as
one exemption under each relevant section, for a total of five. If the same exemption was used several
times for the same request, report it only once.
IV. Exclusions cited
Included in this section are any requests which cite the Acts but
where the records are excluded from access under the Acts. Indicate for each request the type of
exclusion cited, not the number of times a particular exclusion is cited for
each request. See also the example
provided in section III above.
V. Completion time
Completion time is to be counted from the day of receipt of a
complete request by the institution until the day the records were given or
sent to the applicant or the day when notification of a denial of access was
sent. The sum of these sections
should be equal to the number of "completed requests".
VI. Extensions
Indicate the number of times an extension was sought during the
reporting period, broken down by sub-category. Account for completed requests only.
VII. Translations
The sub-categories are self-explanatory.
VIII. Method of access
The sum of the sub-categories should equal the sum of "all
disclosed" and "disclosed in part".
Copies given
This refers to the number of requests for which access was
provided by giving copies of records to the applicants. Include only those cases where copies were
the sole method of access. Do not
count the number of pages supplied to the applicant.
Examination
Count the number of requests for which access was given by
allowing the applicant an opportunity to view the record requested. Include only those cases where no copy was
provided.
Copies and examination
Include all cases where information was both examined and copied,
in whole or in part. Do not
double-count, i.e. duplicate information included in the
two categories above.
IX. Fees (Access to
Information)
The sub-categories are self-explanatory. Fees are to be calculated in accordance with the Regulations.
X. Corrections and notation (Privacy)
The number of corrections requested should reflect the number of
corrections for which processing was completed within the reporting
period. The sum of "corrections
made" and "notation attached" should equal the number of
corrections requested. Correction
requests which have not received a response should be counted in the next
reporting period.
Each requested correction requiring a
separate correction decision should be counted. There may be more than one correction within a document, e.g.
spelling of the last name or educational qualifications, or there may be more
than one correction affecting more than one document, e.g. an incorrect birth
date appearing in several documents.
XI. Costs
Account for all costs involved in administering the legislation by
indicating the resources, including staff salary and other estimated
operating costs, spent during the reporting period. Do not attempt to simply calculate the costs of processing
individual requests. What should be
indicated are the total expenditures associated with those activities that
are directly related to the administration of the legislation,
e.g. training, consultation, etc.
Staff resources should be reported in person-years or a decimal
thereof (1 PY = 220 working days; 1 working
day = 7.5 hours). Include
only those costs involved in processing the requests completed during the
reporting period. Costs of carried
forward cases are to be included in the next report. Attention should be paid to separating
access and privacy costs and avoiding double counting.
Source (Access to Information)
Provide the number of requests received from each of the sources
listed on the form. When it is not
possible to identify the source, include the request under "public". The sum of these sections should be equal
to the number of "requests received".
|