Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2018-2019

1. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the Access to Information Act (Act) is to provide Canadian citizens and residents with a right of access to information under the control of government institutions.

This Annual Report was prepared in accordance with section 72 of the Act, which stipulates that annual reports on access to information shall be tabled in Parliament.

2. ABOUT THE CIVILIAN REVIEW AND COMPLAINTS COMMISSION FOR THE ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (CRCC) operates pursuant to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R-10. The CRCC provides civilian review of RCMP members’ conduct in performing their policing duties so as to hold the RCMP accountable to the public.

The CRCC’s main role is to take public complaints about members of the RCMP. These complaints are then forwarded to the RCMP for initial investigation as mandated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act; however, if the complainant is dissatisfied with the response that he or she receives from the RCMP, the CRCC will review the complaint with a view to determining the reasonableness of the RCMP’s response. In appropriate cases, the CRCC will undertake its own investigation or hearing into a complaint. The Chairperson of the CRCC also has the power to file his or her own complaint if he or she feels that a matter is deserving of investigation.

Additionally, even in the absence of a public complaint, the CRCC is empowered to conduct a review of RCMP activities to evaluate compliance with legislation, regulations, ministerial directions, policy, procedures and/or guidelines.

3. ATIP RESPONSIBILITIES

At the CRCC, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Unit consists solely of the ATIP Coordinator. The ATIP Coordinator processes all requests from the public and consultations from other departments or agencies. The ATIP Coordinator also provides advice to CRCC employees and senior officials on ATIP-related matters, prepares annual statistical reports, ensures the ongoing accuracy of Info Source, prepares completed Access to Information summaries for proactive disclosure on the CRCC’s website, participates in forums for the ATIP community and monitors changes in ATIP policy, guidelines and directives.

When processing requests and consultations under the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, the ATIP Coordinator also benefits from some administrative assistance from personnel in the Information Management Unit of the CRCC.

The CRCC Chairperson, under delegated authority from the Minister of Public Safety, provides the final approval for all responses on ATIP requests and consultations.

4. DELEGATION ORDER

The Minister of Public Safety has delegated full authority under the Act to the CRCC Chairperson and Senior Director, Operations. The Minister has also delegated administrative duties and functions to the CRCC ATIP Coordinator. The most recent delegation order was signed by the Minister of Public Safety on July 4, 2016 (see Annex A).

5. ACCESS TO INFORMATION REQUESTS RECEIVED

During the course of the reporting period (April 1, 2018-March 31, 2019), six (6) of the seven (7) Access to Information requests that had been carried forward from the previous year were completed. Twenty-two (22) new Access to Information requests were also received during the reporting period. Of these new requests, nineteen (19) were completed during the reporting period and four (4) were carried forward to the 2019-2020 reporting year. Therefore, the CRCC processed twenty-five (25) Access to Information requests during the 2018-2019 year.

Of those twenty-five (25) requests completed during the reporting period, six (6) were from former complainants to the CRCC, three (3) were from the media, two (2) were from organizations, and sixteen (16) declined to self‑identify.

Twenty (20) of those twenty-five (25) requests completed during the reporting period resulted in partial disclosures, three (3) requests resulted in full disclosure, one (1) was exempted in its entirety and no records were found to exist for the other request.

6. STATISTICAL REPORT

The CRCC processed considerably more pages (14,995) in responding to Access to Information requests in the 2018-2019 reporting year than in previous years.
 
As noted above, the number of Access to Information requests received in 2018-2019 was 25, which is significantly more than the number received in the preceding three years (17 in 2017-18, 11 in 2016-17, and 12 in 2015-16).

The number of pages processed was substantially larger than in recent years:

2018-19  14,995
2017-18    3,312
2016-17    9,962
2015-16    7,570

The CRCC claimed exemptions under paragraph 13(1)(c) (Information obtained in confidence from a provincial government), paragraph 13(1)(d) (Information obtained in confidence from a municipal government), paragraph 13(1)(e) (Information obtained in confidence from an aboriginal government), sub-paragraph 16(1)(a)(ii) (Information obtained or prepared by an investigative body), paragraph 16(1)(c) (Information that could be injurious to the enforcement of any law of Canada or lawful investigations), subsection 16(2) (Information that could facilitate the commission of an offence), section 16.5 (Information created for the purpose of making a disclosure under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act or in the course of an investigation into a disclosure under that Act),  section 17 (Information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety of individuals), subsection 19(1) (Personal information), paragraph 21(1)(a) (Advice or recommendations), paragraph 21(1)(b) (Consultations or deliberations), paragraph 21(1)(c) (Positions or plans developed for the purpose of negotiations), 21(1)(d) (Plans relating the management of personnel or the administration of a government institution), and section 23 (Solicitor-client privilege) of the Act. As some of the material requested originated with other departments and external consultation was required, extensions were taken in eleven (11) of the requests completed in the reporting period in order to consult.

Five extensions were taken due to interference with operations.

Eight requests were not completed within the statutory deadline: one (1) due to the CRCC workload; three (3) due to the need for external consultation, two (2) due to internal consultations, and the remaining two were delayed due to CRCC staff absences. Therefore, seventeen (17) of the twenty-five (25) requests processed were responded to within the established timelines.

Finally, in 2018-19, the CRCC received twenty-one (21) consultations from other Government of Canada institutions and processed twenty (20). These consultations mainly related to documents having to do with public complaints against the RCMP, documents showing general employee data such as salary levels, leave information, position classifications and other demographic information, and ministerial briefing materials. They originated from three different government departments. There were no consultations received from other organizations.

See Annex B for the Statistical Report.

7. REPORTING ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION FEES FOR THE PURPOSES OF     THE SERVICE FEES ACT

In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, the CRCC waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations. During 2018-2019, the total fee revenue for the fiscal year was $110.00, and the total amount of fees waived was $15.00. The total cost of operating for the fiscal year was $41,236.00.

8. TRAINING

During the reporting period, CRCC employees participated in a group training session that highlighted Offices of Primary Interest’s responsibilities relating to access to information and privacy.

9. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

During the reporting period, the CRCC began using the ATIP Online Request Service (AORS). This service provides Canadians with a convenient way to submit their Access to Information requests and pay application fees electronically.

Due to the increasing complexity and sensitivity of the records being requested, the ATIP Unit conducted in-person consultations more frequently with Offices of Primary Interest for disclosure advice.

10. MONITORING OF TIMELINESS

The CRCC monitors the time to process Access to Information requests through its case management software. The ATIP Coordinator keeps track of upcoming deadlines for requests and consultations. Reminders of approaching deadlines are provided to senior management at least once a month. The ATIP Coordinator meets regularly with the CRCC Chairperson and Legal Counsel to discuss various issues pertaining to in-progress ATIP files.

11. COMPLAINTS

During the reporting period, there were five complaints filed against the CRCC.

Two of those complaints related to the length of extensions taken. The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) concluded that one of the complaints was resolved and the other was still under investigation on March 31, 2019.

The other three complaints involved a refusal to release records. During the reporting period, the OIC investigated and issued a finding on one of the complaints. After the Commission agreed to disclose some additional portions of the records, the OIC concluded that the complaint was “well‑founded, resolved.” The other two were still under investigation on March 31, 2019.

Furthermore, during the 2017-18 reporting period, three complaints were filed against the CRCC, and the OIC issued findings for all of them during the reporting period of 2018-19. Two of those complaints related to the length of extensions taken. One was concluded as “well-founded, resolved” and the other as “resolved.” The other complaint involved a refusal to release records and was concluded as “well-founded, resolved” after the Commission agreed to release additional portions of the records.

Finally, there were no audits or other investigations conducted during the reporting period.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

The Minister of Public Safety Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act*, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out below, or acting in those positions, to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, that is, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, under the section of the Act set out opposite each position.

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, 4th July of 2016.

Signed by the Honourable Ralph Goodale, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety Canada

Appendix B: Statistical Report

Reporting period: 2018-04-01 to 2019-03-31