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2020–21 Annual Report on the Privacy Act

From April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021

Click to view the Report in PDF.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Privacy Act (PA – the Act) gives Canadians the broad legal right to access and correct their personal information contained in federal government records. The Act also places limits on the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

The Act provides government institutions with 30 days to respond to personal information requests. Additional time may be granted if there are many records to examine, other government agencies to be consulted, or documents to be translated. Access rights are subject to specific and limited exemptions.

This annual report to Parliament is submitted by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner (the Commissioner) pursuant to section 72 of the PA. On April 15, 2007, the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act came into force. It created the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada (the Office). The new legislation replaced the Treasury Board Policy on the Internal Disclosure of Information Concerning Wrongdoing in the Workplace.

The Office is mandated to establish a safe, independent and confidential process for public servants and members of the public to disclose potential wrongdoing in the federal public sector. The Office also helps to protect from reprisal public servants who have filed disclosures or participated in related investigations.

The Commissioner is an independent Agent of Parliament.

Description of the Institution’s Structure

The Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator is the only employee dedicated, on a part-time basis, to fulfil the PA responsibilities. The Coordinator is assisted by a contractor for the processing of the requests, for training and education, and for reporting activities.

This last reporting period, the services of a program officer and of the Commission’s legal advisor were also sought to assist in the processing of a substantive request.

Delegation

The Commissioner, as the head of the government institution, has designated, pursuant to section 73 of the PA, the persons holding the positions set out in the delegation order, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties or functions of the Commissioner as specified therein. A copy of the delegation order is included in Appendix A.

Interpretation of the Annual Statistical Report

Appendix B provides a statistical report on the PA applications processed by the Office between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

Five formal requests were received and closed during this reporting period, one of which required an extension under section 15(a)(i) of the PA. None were carried over from the previous period.

One request was fully disclosed, two partially disclosed and two fully exempted. The provisions of sections 22(1)(b), 22(2), 26 and 27 of the PA were applied.

Some 856 pages were processed of which 45 were fully and 443 partially disclosed. These records were provided on paper, none electronically.

No translations were required to respond to the requests.

No disclosures were made under sections 8(2) and 8(5) of the PA.

No requests for the correction of personal information or for the production of annotations were received.

No consultations were received from other federal government institutions.

No consultations on Cabinet Documents were received.

The Office spent some $18,300 in resources administering the PA.

Five-Year Trend of Privacy Requests

Fiscal YearNew Requests ReceivedTotal Requests Processed*
2016–1756
2017–1811
2018–1900
2019–201010
2020–2155

*Note: Total requests processed include any requests carried over from previous reporting periods.

Interpretation of the Supplemental Statistical Report

Appendix C provides a statistical report on the COVID-19 measures applied by the Office between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

Education and Training Activities

A formal briefing session covering the notions of personal information and of privacy breach was delivered to all PSIC employees during this reporting period.

Overview of New or Revised Institutional Policies and Procedures

No new or revised institutional policies or procedures were implemented during this reporting period which would have had an impact on privacy.

Key Issues Relating to Privacy Complaints and/or Investigations

No complaints were received from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner during this reporting period. However, one complaint received during the previous reporting period was investigated and deemed unfounded.

Time Monitoring for Processing Privacy Requests

Though no formal time monitoring was conducted during this reporting period, the Office uses a case management system to track processing times regarding privacy requests. This tool assists the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator and the contractor dedicated to this function in monitoring timelines to ensure compliancy with legislated deadlines.

Material Privacy Breaches

No serious material privacy breaches took place during this reporting period.

Privacy Impact Assessments

No Privacy Impact Assessments were completed during this reporting period.

Personal Information Disclosed Pursuant to 8(2) and 8(5) of the Privacy Act

No disclosures were made under sections 8(2) and 8(5) of the PA during this reporting period.

Appendix A – Delegation Order

The Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada, as the head of the government institution, hereby designates, pursuant to section 73.1 of the Privacy Act, the person holding the position set out below, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties or functions of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner as specified below.

PositionSections of Privacy Act
Deputy CommissionerFull Authority – pre and post C-58
ATIP CoordinatorFull Authority, except for section 8(2)(m) – pre and post C-58

I hereby name Denis Bilodeau as Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator.

(Original signed by)

Joe Friday
Public Sector Integrity Commissioner

February 12, 2020

Appendix B – Annual Statistical Report

Name of Institution: Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada

Reporting Period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Requests under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of Requests

 Number of Requests
Received during reporting period5
Outstanding from previous reporting period0
Total5
Closed during reporting period5
Carried over to next reporting period0

Section 2: Requests Closed during the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and Completion Time

Disposition of RequestsCompletion Time
1–15 days16–30 days31–60 days61–120 days121–180 days181–365 daysMore than 365 daysTotal
All disclosed01000001
Disclosed in part01100002
All exempted02000002
All excluded00000000
No records exist00000000
Request abandoned00000000
Neither confirmed nor denied00000000
Total04100005

2.2 Exemptions

SectionNumber of Requests
18(2)0
19(1)(a)0
19(1)(b)0
19(1)(c)0
19(1)(d)0
19(1)(e)0
19(1)(f)0
200
210
22(1)(a)(i)0
22(1)(a)(ii)0
22(1)(a)(iii)0
22(1)(b)2
22(1)(c)0
22(2)2
22.10
22.20
22.30
22.40
23(a)0
23(b)0
24(a)0
24(b)0
250
261
271
27.10
280

2.3 Exclusions

SectionNumber of Requests
69(1)(a)0
69(1)(b)0
69.10
70(1)0
70(1)(a)0
70(1)(b)0
70(1)(c)0
70(1)(d)0
70(1)(e)0
70(1)(f)0
70.10

2.4 Format of Information Released

PaperElectronicOther
300

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed
Number of Pages ProcessedNumber of Pages DisclosedNumber of Requests
8564885
2.5.2 Relevant Pages Processed and Disclosed by Size of Requests
DispositionLess than 100 Pages Processed101–500 Pages Processed501–1,000 Pages Processed1,001–5,000 Pages ProcessedMore than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of RequestsPages
Disclosed		Number of RequestsPages
Disclosed		Number of RequestsPages
Disclosed		Number of RequestsPages
Disclosed		Number of RequestsPages
Disclosed
All disclosed14500000000
Disclosed in part1771366000000
All exempted2000000000
All excluded0000000000
Request abandoned0000000000
Neither confirmed nor denied0000000000
Total41221366000000
2.5.3 Other Complexities
DispositionConsultation RequiredLegal Advice SoughtInterwoven InformationOtherTotal
All disclosed00000
Disclosed in part02000
All exempted02000
All excluded00000
Request abandoned00000
Neither confirmed nor denied00000
Total04000

2.6 Closed Requests

2.6.1 Number of Requests Closed within Legislated Timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines4
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)80

2.7 Deemed Refusals

2.7.1 Reasons for Not Meeting Legislated Timelines
Number of Requests Closed Past the Statutory DeadlinePrincipal Reason
Interference with Operations / WorkloadExternal ConsultationInternal ConsultationOther
10010
2.7.2 Requests Closed Beyond Legislated Timelines (Including Any Extension Taken)
Number of Days Past Legislated TimelinesNumber of Requests Past Legislated Timelines where No Extension Was TakenNumber of Requests Past Legislated Timelines where an Extension Was TakenTotal
1–15 days101
16–30 days000
31–60 days000
61–120 days000
121–180 days000
181–365 days000
More than 365 days000
Total101

2.8 Requests for Translation

Translation RequestsAcceptedRefusedTotal
English to French000
French to English000
Total000

Section 3: Disclosures under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Paragraph 8(2)(e)Paragraph 8(2)(m)Subsection 8(5)Total
0000

Section 4: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Disposition for Correction Requests ReceivedNumber
Notations attached0
Requests for correction accepted0
Total0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for Extensions and Disposition of Requests

Number of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken15(a)(i) Interference with Operations15(a)(ii) Consultation15(b) Translation Purposes or Conversion
Further Review Required to Determine ExemptionsLarge Volume of PagesLarge Volume of RequestsDocuments Are Difficult to ObtainCabinet Confidence Section (Section 70)ExternalInternal
110000000

5.2 Length of Extensions

Length of Extensions15(a)(i) Interference with Operations15(a)(ii) Consultation15(b) Translation Purposes or Conversion
Further Review Required to Determine ExemptionsLarge Volume of PagesLarge Volume of RequestsDocuments Are Difficult to ObtainCabinet Confidence Section (Section 70)ExternalInternal
1-15 days10000000
16-30 days00000000
31 days or greaterN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A0
Total10000000

Section 6: Consultations Received from other Institutions and Organizations

6.1 Consultations Received from other Government of Canada Institutions and other Organizations

ConsultationsOther Government of Canada InstitutionsNumber of Pages to ReviewOther OrganizationsNumber of Pages to Review
Received during the reporting period0000
Outstanding from the previous reporting period0000
Total0000
Closed during the reporting period0000
Pending at the end of the reporting period0000

6.2 Recommendations and Completion Time for Consultations Received from other Government of Canada Institutions

RecommendationNumber of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
1–15 days16–30 days31–60 days61–120 days121–180 days181–365 daysMore than 365 daysTotal
All disclosed00000000
Disclose in part00000000
All exempted00000000
All excluded00000000
Consult other institutions00000000
Other00000000
Total00000000

6.3 Recommendations and Completion Time for Consultations Received from other Organizations

RecommendationNumber of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
1–15 days16–30 days31–60 days61–120 days121–180 days181–365 daysMore than 365 daysTotal
All disclosed00000000
Disclose in part00000000
All exempted00000000
All excluded00000000
Consult other institutions00000000
Other00000000
Total00000000

Section 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Number of DaysFewer than 100 Pages Processed101–500 Pages Processed501–1,000 Pages Processed1,001–5,000 Pages ProcessedMore than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages Disclosed
1–150000000000
16–300000000000
31–600000000000
61–1200000000000
121–1800000000000
181–3650000000000
More than 3650000000000
Total0000000000

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of DaysFewer than 100 Pages Processed101–500 Pages Processed501–1,000 Pages Processed1,001–5,000 Pages ProcessedMore than 5,000 Pages Processed
Number of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages DisclosedNumber of RequestsPages Disclosed
1–150000000000
16–300000000000
31–600000000000
61–1200000000000
121–1800000000000
181–3650000000000
More than 3650000000000
Total0000000000

Section 8: Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Section 31Section 33Section 35Court ActionTotal
00000

Section 9: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIBs)

9.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

Number of PIA(s) completed0

9.2 Personal Information Banks

ActiveCreatedTerminatedModified
0000

Section 10: Material Privacy Breaches

Number of material privacy breaches reported to TBS0
Number of material privacy breaches reported to OPC0

11.1 Costs

ExpendituresAmount
Salaries$6,700
Overtime$0
Goods and Services$11,600
  • Professional Services Contracts
$11,500 
  • Other
$100
Total$18,300

11.2 Human Resources

ResourcesPerson Years Dedicated to Privacy Activities
Full-time Employees0.050
Part-time and Casual Employees0.000
Regional Staff0.000
Consultants and Agency Personnel0.050
Students0.000
Total0.100

Appendix C – Supplemental Statistical Report

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests

Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to receive ATIP requests through the different channels

 Number of Week
Able to receive requests by mail52
Able to receive requests by email52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service52

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records

2.1 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels

 No CapacityPartial CapacityFull CapacityTotal
Unclassified Paper Records005252
Protected B Paper Records005252
Secret and Top Secret Paper Records005252

2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels

 No CapacityPartial CapacityFull CapacityTotal
Unclassified Electronic Records005252
Protected B Electronic Records005252
Secret and Top Secret Electronic Records005252
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