Annual Report on the Access to Information Act 2023‑2024

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Organizational Structure
• Delegation of Authority
• Statistics
• Interpretation of the Statistical Report
  • Section 1. Requests Under the Access to Information Act
  • Section 2. Informal Requests
  • Section 3. Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests
  • Section 4. Requests Closed During the Reporting Period
  • Section 5. Extensions
  • Section 6. Fees
  • Section 7. Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Organizations
  • Section 8. Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences
  • Section 9. Investigations and Reports of Findings
  • Section 10. Court Action
  • Section 11. Resources Related to the Access to Information Act
• Highlights
  • Training and Awareness
  • Policies, Guidelines, Procedures, and Directives
  • Complaints
  • Monitoring Compliance
• Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act
• APPENDIX A: Delegation Order
• APPENDIX B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act
• APPENDIX C: Supplementary Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

Introduction

The Canada School of Public Service (the School) is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act (ATIA). This report is prepared and tabled in accordance with section 94 of the ATIA and describes how the School administered and fulfilled its obligations under the Act between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024.

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The purpose of the ATIA is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions to promote an open and democratic society and to enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions. To further that purpose:

• Part 1 extends the present laws of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific, and that decisions about the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.
• Part 2 sets out requirements for the proactive publication of information.

About the Canada School of Public Service

Background

The Canada School of Public Service (the School) was created on April 1, 2004, when the legislative provisions of Part IV of the Public Service Modernization Act came into force. The School has been part of the Treasury Board Portfolio since July 2004. Operating under the authority of the Canada School of Public Service Act, the School was created from an amalgamation of the following three organizations: the Canadian Centre for Management Development, Training and Development Canada, and Language Training Canada. It reports to Parliament through the Minister of the Treasury Board, who is the Minister responsible for the School.

Read more about the School's mandate.

Responsibilities

The School has the legislative mandate to provide a range of enterprise‐wide learning activities to build individual and organizational capacity and management excellence within the core public service. Using a broad ecosystem of learning products, delivery approaches, and an online learning platform, the School provides public servants with the foundational knowledge, skills, and competencies now and in the future, to serve Canadians with excellence.

The School has one strategic outcome: Federal public service employees have the common knowledge, skills and competencies to fulfil their responsibilities in serving Canadians.

For information about the School's core responsibilities, planned results and resources, reporting framework and more, consult our Departmental Plan 2024-2025.

Organizational Structure

The School's Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office (the ATIP Office) is responsible for the coordination and implementation of policies, guidelines, and procedures to ensure departmental compliance with the Access to Information Act as well as the Privacy Act. The ATIP Office is also responsible for responding to requests made under the Acts.

The ATIP Office is housed within the Communications and Engagement Directorate (C&E). When fully staffed, the School's ATIP Office has a total of six employees.

In addition to activities related to the Access to Information Act, the responsibilities of the School's ATIP, Parliamentary and Cabinet Affairs Unit include the following:

• processing requests for information submitted under the Access to Information Act and requests for personal information pursuant to the Privacy Act in accordance with legislation, regulations and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) policies and guidelines;
• responding to ATIP consultations received from other government institutions and organizations;
• providing advice and guidance to requesters on the application of ATIP legislation, as well as promoting awareness and training to School employees;
• collaborating with the Office of the Information Commissioner and with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner on the resolution of complaints;
• reviewing departmental documents prior to disclosure on public facing websites;
• ensuring the School's information holdings (classes of records and personal information banks) are updated annually in its Info Source chapter;
• preparing statistical reports and annual reports on the administration of the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act;
• participating in ATIP community activities, such as the Treasury Board Secretariat-led ATIP coordinators and ATIP practitioners meetings and working groups;
• raising awareness on a variety of access to information and privacy-related matters to ensure compliance with access to information and privacy legislation;
• monitoring proactive publications pursuant to requirements under Part 2 of the Act.

The ATIP Office works closely with eight departmental ATIP liaison officers who are responsible for ensuring that requests are handled promptly and that relevant records are forwarded to the ATIP Office within prescribed deadlines.

Section 96 of the Access to Information Act allows government institutions to provide services related to access to information to another government institution that is presided over by the same minister. In 2023–24, the School's ATIP Office did not provide any such services.

Further to reporting requirements for non-operational "paper" subsidiaries, the School did not have any such entities during this reporting period.

Delegation of Authority

Pursuant to section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act, the School's President delegated full authority for the purposes of the Act, to the Director General of the Communications and Engagement Directorate.

A copy of the signed delegation instrument for the Act, which took effect on September 21, 2023, can be found as Appendix A.

Statistics

Interpretation of the Statistical Report

The following outlines the information contained in the Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act for the 2023–2024 reporting period, which is included as Appendix B.

Section 1. Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

During this reporting period (2023-2024), the School's ATIP Office received 28 new requests and carried forward three requests from the previous reporting period (2022-2023), for a total of 31 requests – of which 29 were closed during this reporting period.

The three requests carried forward from the previous reporting period were all from the 2022-2023 reporting period. All were carried over within their legislative timelines (including extensions).

The ATIP Office carried forward two requests into the 2024-2025 reporting period, which were within their legislative timelines. Both requests were from the 2023-2024 reporting period.

1.2 Sources of requests

Of the 28 requests received during this reporting period: 16 were from the public (57%); six requesters declined to identify (22%); two were from academia (7%); four were from business (14%); and no requests were identified as media or organizations.

1.3 Channels of requests

Of the 28 new requests received, 24 were received via the TBS Online Portal and four were received by email.

Section 2. Informal Requests

An informal request is defined as a request for information made to the ATIP Office of a government institution that does not follow the formal procedures outlined in the ATIA. Application fees cannot be charged for informal requests and there are no prescribed timelines for responding. The requester also has no statutory right of complaint to the Information Commissioner of Canada.

With the consent of the requester, ATIP Offices may process requests received under the ATIA informally whenever it is appropriate to do so. Treating requests informally is possible to further the availability of information to the public.

Informal requests include, but are not limited to:

• Formal requests that were discontinued in favor of providing information informally. For example, the information requested may already be publicly available online. A request treated in this manner is not to be considered abandoned, nor should it be reported as a formal request.
• Requests for previously released information, such as those made further to the online publication of summaries of closed formal requests. These types of requests are also known as "re-releases" or "informal subsequent releases."

2.1 Informal requests

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office received 22 informal requests: 19 re-releases and three were treated informally.

2.2 Channels of informal requests

Of the 22 requests received, 18 were received via the TBS Online Portal and four were received by email.

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

Of the 22 requests received, 21 were completed within the 1 to 15 day timeframe and one was completed within the 16 to 30 day timeframe.

2.4 Pages released informally

Of the three requests received and treated informally,163 pages were processed and released.

2.5 Pages re-released informally

The ATIP Office received 19 requests to re-release previously released documents that were processed pursuant to the Act, and a total of 25,528 pages were re-released.

Section 3. Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

The ATIP Office did not seek approval of the Information Commissioner to decline to act on any ATI request received during the reporting period.

Section 4. Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

Of the 29 requests closed in this reporting period: 20 (69%) were completed within 30 days; three (10%) required 31 to 60 days to complete; three (10%) required 61 to 120 days to complete; two (7%) required 121 to 180 days to complete; and one (4%) required 181 to 365 days to complete.

Of the 29 requests closed, 21 requests were released in the following manner: 10 (34%) were all disclosed; 11 (38%) were disclosed in part; four (14%) were abandoned by the requester; and no records existed for four requests (14%).

4.2 Exemptions

The most commonly invoked exemption cited in eight requests was section 19(1) of the Act (protection of personal information).

Subsection 15(1) - relating to the characteristics, capabilities, performance, potential, deployment, functions or role of any defence establishment, of any military force, unit or personnel or of any organization or person responsible for the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile activities;

Paragraph 16(2)(c) - on the vulnerability of particular buildings or other structures or systems, including computer or communication systems, or methods employed to protect such buildings or other structures or systems;

Subsection 19(1) - subject to subsection (2), the head of a government institution shall refuse to disclose any record requested under this part that contains personal information;

Paragraph 20(1)(a) - trade secrets of a third party;

Paragraph 20(1)(b) - financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that is confidential information supplied to a government institution by a third party and is treated consistently in a confidential manner by the third party;

Paragraph 20(1)(c) - information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to result in material financial loss or gain to, or could reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive position of, a third party;

Paragraph 20(1)(d) - information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to interfere with contractual or other negotiations of a third party;

Paragraph 21(1)(a) - advice or recommendations developed by or for a government institution or a minister of the Crown;

Paragraph 21(1)(b) - an account of consultations or deliberations in which directors, officers or employees of a government institution, a minister of the Crown or the staff of a minister participate.

4.3 Exclusions

There was one exclusion provision invoked for section 69(1)(g).

69 (1) This part does not apply to confidences of the King's Privy Council for Canada, including, without restricting the generality of the foregoing:

• (a) memoranda the purpose of which is to present proposals or recommendations to Council;
• (g) records that contain information about the contents of any record within a class of records referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f).

4.4 Format of information released

Of the 29 requests closed: 21 were released in electronic format with a disclosure of "all disclosed" or "disclosed in part"; four requests were abandoned by the requester; and no records existed for four requests.

Of the 21 requests released in electronic format, one also contained video recordings.

4.5 Complexity

The following sections detail several factors affecting the complexity of requests that were closed during this reporting period.

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats

Of the 29 requests closed: 25 requests (includes 21 that had responsive records and four requests that were abandoned) generated 17,897 relevant pages processed. The total amount of relevant pages disclosed was 14,025 (in full or in part). The remaining 3,872 pages were either withheld pursuant to exemptions under the Act or were considered not relevant and/or duplicate documents.

4.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests

Of the 29 closed requests that generated responsive records

• 16 requests required processing of 100 pages or less, totaling 309 pages.
• Four requests required processing between 101 and 500 pages, totaling 983 pages.
• Three requests required processing between 501 and 1000 pages, totaling 2,566 pages.
• One request required processing between 1001 and 5000 pages, totaling 1,987 pages.
• One request required processing over 5000 pages, totaling 12,052 pages.

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

The ATIP Office did not process any relevant minutes in audio format.

4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats by size of requests

The ATIP Office did not process nor disclose any relevant minutes in audio format for any requests.

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

The ATIP Office processed one request that produced video recordings as well as documents. Of this one request, 996 minutes of video recordings were processed and 47 minutes were released.

4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats by size of requests

The video file included 996 minutes of recordings processed and resulted in 47 minutes of recordings disclosed, which fell within the "more than 120 minutes processed" criteria.

4.5.7 Other complexities

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office consulted other government institutions and third parties on seven occasions.

4.6 Closed requests

The following section details the number of requests closed within the legislated timelines.

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines

Of the 29 requests closed, all were completed within legislative timelines – indicating a compliance rate of 100.00%.

Table 4.6.1 Requests closed within legislative timelines - Multi year overview

4.7 Deemed refusals

The following sections provide context on the rationales applied to requests considered deemed refusal throughout this reporting period.

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislative timelines

There were no requests closed past the legislative timeline. This demonstrates the ATIP Office's ongoing commitment to ensuring timely access to records and compliance with the legislation.

4.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

There were no requests closed beyond legislative timelines.

4.8 Requests for translation

The ATIP Office did not receive or process any requests for translation of responsive records during this reporting period.

Section 5. Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act allows the head of a government institution to extend the initial period under the following three circumstances:

1. The request is for a large number of records or necessitates a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution;
2. Consultations are necessary to comply with the request that cannot reasonably be completed within the original time limit; or
3. Notice of the request is given pursuant to subsection 27(1) of the Access to Information Act.

A total of 13 extensions were taken on requests closed during this reporting period, pursuant to 9(1)(a), 9(1)(b) and 9(1)(c) of the Access to Information Act.

5.2 Length of extensions

Of the 13 extensions invoked during the reporting period, the majority (61.53%) were extended to 60 days or less beyond the initial 30 day legislative timeline. Extensions were primarily invoked to consult with other government institutions or third parties. In some cases, extensions were invoked because there was a large volume of records and complying with the original time limit would have unreasonably interfered with operations.

When requesting extensions beyond 30 days, the ATIP Office notifies requesters as well as the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC).

Section 6. Fees

The School waived 28 application fees for this reporting period. The amount of fees waived is $140.00.

Fees waived: The ATIP Office waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations in addition to the $5.00 application fee charged for an access to information request, as set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.

Section 7. Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Other Organizations

7.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

The ATIP Office received 17 consultation requests from other Government of Canada institutions, which generated 1,678 pages of records processed.

The ATIP Office did not receive any requests for consultation from other organizations.

7.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

Of the 17 consultations completed within the prescribed timelines, the following recommendations were communicated to other Government of Canada institutions: 14 (82%) full disclosure; two (12%) partial disclosure; and one (6%) was withheld in full.

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

The ATIP Office did not receive any requests for consultation from other organizations, including any governments of provinces, territories, municipalities and of other countries.

Section 8. Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with legal services

The ATIP Office did not send any consultation requests on Cabinet Confidences to the Department of Justice.

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

The ATIP Office sent one consultation for the application of Cabinet Confidences to the Privy Council Office, which required three days to complete.

Section 9. Investigations and Reports of Findings

9.1 Investigations

At the start of this reporting period, the ATIP Office had no outstanding complaints pursuant to the Act.

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office received five new complaints pursuant to the Act. Of these five complaints, the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) provided notice that two of the five complaints were considered "resolved" under "ceased to investigate."

9.2 Investigations and reports of findings

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office received a formal report of findings from the OIC which was subsequently closed as not well-founded.

There are currently two outstanding complaints from the 2023-2024 reporting period that have been carried forward to the next reporting period (2024-2025).

Section 10. Court Action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

There were no Federal Court actions on complaints pursuant the Access to Information Act.

10.2 Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

There were no Federal Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b) pursuant to the Act.

Section 11. Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated costs

During the reporting period, the ATIP Office spent a total of $111,759 on staffing and goods and services. This amount does not include the resources required of the School's program areas to meet the requirements under the Act.

11.2 Human Resources

A total of 1.123 combined full-time equivalents (FTEs) were dedicated to access to information activities.

Highlights

2023-2024 Points of interest

Training and Awareness

The 2023–24 fiscal year was a productive year for the School’s ATIP Office. In addition to processing requests, it strove to improve internal processes and services, providing robust guidance to its Offices of Primary Interest and School officials. The ATIP Office is client service-focused and continues to make efforts to maintain on-time compliance for the requests that are active in its queue. The Office also supports departmental programs and shares its expertise in support of other initiatives that fall outside of the requirements of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts.

The ATIP Office strives to improve and enhance its information products and resources - providing School employees and liaison officers with essential and up-to-date information regarding access to information and privacy. This effort aims to uphold both individual and institutional accountabilities in accordance with both Acts.

In 2023–24, the ATIP Office expanded its outreach activities and formal training sessions. In addition to the regular support and guidance provided to sectors processing ATIP requests, 4 bilingual information sessions on access and privacy legislation were provided to 32 employees. Some of the sessions were tailored to the needs of specific teams and sectors.

In addition, the following School-wide sessions were held to increase privacy awareness among employees:

Data Privacy Day Activities (January 30, 2024)

• A Guide to Managing Privacy Breaches: 1037 participants

Privacy Awareness Week 2023 Activities (May 8-12, 2023)

• OPC Presentation offered to all federal government employees: What is Public May still be Personal: 877 participants
• Test Your Knowledge Quiz

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures, and Initiatives

The ATIP Office's focus has been on raising awareness, and developing and revising all its guidelines and procedures over the last two years. In the last year specifically, updates were conducted on the following:

• PIA Checklist and templates;
• Privacy Breach Protocol;
• CSPS Privacy Protocol;
• Job aids for School employees to support requirements set out in the administration of the Act.

Ensuring alignment with Treasury Board policy requirements, in 2023-2024 the School developed strategies to streamline and improve proactive publication procedures, including the development of an interactive management system to track and monitor proactive disclosures.

Complaints

At the start of this reporting period, the ATIP Office had no outstanding complaints pursuant to the Act.

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office received five new complaints pursuant to the Act. Of these five complaints, the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) provided notice that two of the five complaints were considered "resolved" under "ceased to investigate."

During this reporting period, the ATIP Office received a formal report of findings from the OIC which was subsequently closed as not well-founded.

There are currently two outstanding complaints from the 2023-2024 reporting period that have been carried forward to the next reporting period (2024-2025).

Monitoring Compliance

Due to the School's smaller size and lower volume of requests compared to other institutions, senior management receives regular updates on active access to information requests. This includes a weekly report and ongoing verbal briefings with senior executives and liaison officers.

In alignment with the Access to Information Implementation Notice on Inter-institutional Consultations, the School's ATIP Office continues to advocate the need to reduce ATI consultations with other government institutions.

Of the 29 requests closed, all were completed within legislative timelines – indicating a compliance rate of 100.00%.

Information Holdings

The School publishes an inventory of its information holdings, as well as relevant details about personal information under its control.

The primary purpose of this inventory is to assist individuals in exercising their rights under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The inventory also supports the federal government's commitment to facilitate access to information on its activities, since it is available to the public on the Internet, free of charge.

A description of the School’s functions, programs, activities and related information holdings can be found here: Info-Source: Sources of Federal Government and Employee Information.

Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act

The ATIP Office works in collaboration with departmental officials to fulfill the proactive publication legislative requirements found in Part 2 of the Act, more specifically, sections 82 to 88, which stipulate that government entities are required to publish proactively: travel expenses, hospitality expenses, reports tabled in parliament, reclassification of positions, contracts, grants and contributions, briefing materials, and expense reports. Within the School, this responsibility falls to the President’s Office, Business Enablement Branch and the User Experience and Services Branch, in collaboration with the ATIP Office.

Ensuring alignment with Treasury Board policy requirements, in 2023-2024 the School developed strategies to streamline and improve proactive publication procedures, including the development of an interactive management system to track and monitor proactive disclosures.

In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the School met the proactive publication requirements at a compliance rate of one hundred percent (100%). Table 1 below sets out the sections of Part 2 of the ATIA for which the School is responsible.

In accordance with the Directive on Access to Information Requests, the ATIP Office publishes summaries of completed access to information requests monthly. A total of 25 summaries were published in 2023–24 with a compliance rate of 100%.

Monitoring the Accuracy and Completeness of Proactively Published Information under Part 2 of the Act

Ensuring the accuracy and completeness of proactively published information under Part 2 of the Act is a cornerstone of the School’s commitment to transparency and accountability. The School employs a robust monitoring framework designed to uphold the highest standards of integrity and reliability in the information we provide to the public. It achieves this though:

• Continuous Review Process – At the heart of monitoring efforts is a continuous review process that involves regular assessments of all information scheduled for proactive publication. This process is conducted by dedicated individuals within the ATIP Office, who examine each proactive publication to verify its accuracy and completeness. Also, an organizational web-based tracking tool was developed to monitor and effectively gauge compliance and reporting of all proactive publications, as per the policy requirements set out in the Directive on Proactive Publication under the ATIA, helping to identify any discrepancies or gaps in the published data, and ensuring that it remains up-to-date and reliable.
• Transparency and Accountability – Transparency and accountability are fundamental principles guiding the School’s approach to monitoring the accuracy and completeness of proactively published information. As part of its commitment to openness, the School regularly reports on the results of its monitoring efforts in its annual reports, providing stakeholders with insight into the measures undertaken to maintain the quality of the information disclosed. By fostering a culture of transparency and accountability, the School strives to instill public confidence in the integrity of its information disclosure practices and upholds the principles of the Act.

Appendix A: Delegation order

Access to Information Act

The President of the Canada School of Public Service, pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information 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 Canada School of Public Service, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Schedule

Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information

Name of institution: Canada School of Public Service

Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

Section 2: Informal Requests

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

Section 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.5 Complexity

4.6 Closed requests

4.7 Deemed refusals

Section 5: Extentions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of Findings

Section 10: Court Action

Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

Appendix C: Supplementary Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

Name of institution: Canada School of Public Service

Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-03-31

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

Section 4: Universal Access under the Privacy Act

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