Annual Report to Parliament on the administration of the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

for the Period of April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005

Introduction

The Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act became law on July 1, 1983.

The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and any person present in Canada, the right of access to information contained in government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions.

The Privacy Act extends to individuals the right of access to information about themselves held by the government, subject to specific and limited exceptions. The Act also protects the privacy of individuals by preventing others from having access to their personal information and gives individuals substantial control over its collection, use and disclosure.

Section 72 of the Access to Information Act and Section 72 of the Privacy Act require that the head of every government institution prepare for submission to Parliament, an annual report on the administration of the Acts within the institution during each financial year.

This report is intended to describe how the Canadian Space Agency administered its responsibilities during the period covered by the report in relation to the Acts.

Highlights

	The Canadian Space Agency has received 15 requests from across Canada under the Access to Information Act. Two requests that were outstanding from the previous period have also been processed during the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
	Of the 15 requests received, 67% originated from the public and 33% were from businesses.
	Records were "all disclosed" in 41% of the responses to requests received and completed during this period.
	Records were disclosed in part in 29% of the cases.
	There was one request abandoned by the applicant.
	There were three requests that we were unable to process because no identifiable records existed.
	Extensions were claimed in three cases for consultation with other departments and in two cases to consult third parties.
	Consultations from other Government Institutions amounted to 21.
	Three complaints were lodged during the 2004-2005 reporting year. Of the three complaints lodged at the Office of the Information Commissioner, two complaints for delays were considered founded. The investigation of the other complaint by the Office of the Information Commissioner is underway.
	During this period, the ATIP Coordinator, together with the Information Security Committee, organized awareness sessions on handling sensitive documents at the CSA. Information sessions on ATIP are also given on a regular basis. The coordinator is a member of the Committee on Security, sub-working group on Administration and Organization, which is looking, amongst other things, to revise the CSA policies on the matter of Information security.

General information - Part I

Canadian Space Agency - Organization Chart

Click image to enlarge

This organization chart shows the major organizational components of the Agency for the reporting year. The Access to Information and Privacy Office is located at the Canadian Space Agency's Headquarters situated in Longueuil, Quebec.

Canadian Space Agency

To better understand the context in which the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act are implemented, the following presents background information about the Canadian Space Agency.

The Canadian Space Agency reports to the Minister of Industry.

The mission of the Canadian Space Agency is as follows:

The Canadian Space Agency is committed to leading the development and application of space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and humanity.

To achieve this, the Canadian Space Agency will promote an environment where all levels of the organization will:

• Pursue excellence collectively;
• Advocate a client-oriented attitude;
• Support employee-oriented practices and open communications;
• Commit to both empowerment and accountability;
• Pledge to cooperate and to work with partners to our mutual benefit.

The Agency brings together most of the existing space programs of the federal government. It coordinates all elements of Canada's Space Program and manages major space-related activities in Canada. The Canadian Space Agency has the expertise to lead knowledge in Canadian specialty fields, and to sponsor, support and encourage the best Canadian companies to make the next steps in space development. More information on the Agency's activities can be found at http://www.space.gc.ca.

Organization for the implementation of access to information and privacy (ATIP) activities

The head of our institution pursuant to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act is the Minister of Industry. The Minister has delegated certain powers, duties and functions pursuant to the two Acts to the Senior Vice-President and to some officers and employees of the Canadian Space Agency.

Operational responsibility for the implementation of the Acts at the Canadian Space Agency has been delegated to the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator who reports to the Manager, Corporate Secretariat.

The Coordinator manages the ATIP Office. The Coordinator has a close working relationship with Executive Committee members concerning the application of, and compliance with, both Acts.

When an Access to Information or Privacy request is received, the Coordinator consults the appropriate managers, the Legal Services Directorate, the Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board Information Practices Group or other institutions, as required. When the Coordinator identifies a record as one that should be exempted under either Act, a recommendation to that effect is made to the Senior Vice-President.

When a record is identified as an exclusion under the Access to Information Act, the Coordinator consults with the Privy Council Office to confirm that it is an excluded record.

Formal requests made under the Acts are carefully documented for reporting purposes and future reference.

The reading room at Headquarters in Longueuil makes available to the public the current version of Info Source, as well as departmental publications and manuals as requested under Section 71 of both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The current version of Info Source can also be found at: http://www.infosource.gc.ca/index_e.asp.

Report on the access to information act - Part II

Requests under the access to information act

1. STATISTICS REPORT

   The statistics report from the period April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005, is included at the end of this chapter.

2. INTERPRETATION / EXPLANATION OF THE STATISTICS
   
   
   1. Requests Received

      Fifteen requests were received and processed during 2004-2005. In addition, two requests that were outstanding from the previous year were processed.

   2. Sources of Requests Received

      These are broken down as follows:

      	Number	Percentage
      Public	10	67
      Business	5	33
      	15	100

      The provincial breakdown is as follows:

      	Number	Percentage
      Manitoba	2	12
      Ontario	7	41
      Quebec	8	47
      	17	100

      
      
      
3. DISPOSITION OF REQUESTS
   
   
   1. Transfers

      During this period, no request was transferred to another government institution.

   2. Abandoned

      One request was abandoned by the applicant.

   3. Unable to process

      We were unable to process three requests because no identifiable records existed.

   4. Completion time

      The completion time can be summarized as follows:

      	Number	Percentage
      30 days or under	13	76
      31 to 60 days	0	0
      61 to 120 days	3	18
      121 days or over	1	6
      	13	100

      
      
      
   5. Extensions

      Extensions were requested in three cases for consultation with other departments and in two cases for consultation with third parties.

   6. Release and Method of Access

      Access was given by providing copies to requesters in 13 cases.

4. FEE WAIVERS

   It was not necessary during the period covered by this report that the ATIP Office waives the requirement to pay fees.

   The Access to Information Coordinator determines, on a case-by-case basis the fee to be charged for an extensive or complex request.

5. FORMAL / INFORMAL REQUESTS

   During the reporting period, one request was treated informally.

   The ATIP Office considers informal any requests that are for material already released in response to previous access to information requests, as well as documents that are already available to the public.

6. CONSULTATIONS FROM OTHER FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS

   Twenty-one consultation requests were received under the Access to Information Act from other federal institutions during this reporting period. These requests are always given priority within the time constraints that apply to each of them.

7. EXEMPTIONS AND EXCLUSIONS

   During the period covered by this report, there was the need to exclude records subject to Section 69 of the Act in two requests. Furthermore, certain records requested were exempted entirely and others were exempted partially, as they were subject to some of the exemptions stipulated in the Act.

8. COSTS

   The cost of administering the Access to Information Act is estimated at $59,651 for the reporting period. This cost represents a portion of the salary of the ATIP Coordinator and management overhead. It also includes a small amount to cover office supplies. This estimate covers the direct processing of requests and related correspondence with different levels of government and industry.

   It does not include the time of the Executive Committee members, directors and managers or legal counsels consulted about requests. Some requests require consultation with various officers to decide how the requested information can be extracted, and with the applicant to determine exactly what information is requested. It does not include the cost of time spent in searching for records.

9. COMPLAINTS / INVESTIGATIONS

   Three complaints were lodged during the 2004-2005 reporting year. Of the three complaints lodged at the Office of the Information Commissioner, two complaints, for delays, were deemed to be founded. The investigation of the other complaint by the Office of the Information Commissioner is underway.

10. AWARENESS SESSIONS

    In addition to the management of Access and Privacy requests, the ATIP Coordinator provides advice and guidance to CSA employees on compliance with the legislation. This is done by means of information sessions, and, by maintaining dialogue on ATIP request processing and on the handling of sensitive documents at CSA.

11. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

    The CSA policies and procedures for the Access to Information Act, including Section 67.1, are accessible on the Agency's intranet.

Statistics report access to information act
April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005

Report (PDF Document)

Report on the privacy act - Part III

Requests under the privacy act

1. STATISTICS REPORT

   The statistics report for the period of April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005, is included at the end of this chapter.

2. REQUESTS RECEIVED

   The ATIP Office has not received any privacy requests during the period covered by this report.

3. USE AND DISCLOSURE

   The policy of the Canadian Space Agency concerning the use of personal information is that such information is used for the purpose for which it was collected or for similar uses only.

4. EXEMPT BANKS

   The Canadian Space Agency has no exempt banks under the Privacy Act.

5. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

   CSA Policies and procedures for the Privacy Act are accessible on the Agency's intranet.

Statistics report privacy act
April 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005

Report (PDF Document)