Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2024-2025

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 94 of the Act, which stipulates that annual reports on access to information shall be tabled in Parliament.

This report will be submitted and tabled in Parliament through the Minister of Public Safety Canada according to the timeline set out in section 94.

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.

One of the CRCC's main roles 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.

ATIP Responsibilities

At the CRCC, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Unit consisted of the ATIP Coordinator and a Junior ATIP Analyst during the reporting period of 2024-2025. Both employees process requests from the public and consultations from other departments or agencies, and participate in forums for the ATIP community. The ATIP Coordinator also provides advice to CRCC employees and senior officials on ATIP‑related matters, prepares annual ATIP reports, ensures the ongoing accuracy of the CRCC's Info Source, prepares completed Access to Information summaries for proactive disclosure on the Open Government Portal, and monitors changes in ATIP policy, guidelines and directives.

When processing requests and consultations under the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, the ATIP Unit also benefits from some administrative assistance from personnel in the Information Management Unit of the CRCC and a student assistant. During the fourth quarter of the 2024-2025 reporting period, a consultant worked part‑time to complete record redaction on a large volume request.

Proactive Publication (Part 2 of the Act) responsibilities for categories of information required in sections 82 to 90 of the Act are shared by other CRCC units. For a breakdown of the group(s) and/or position(s) responsible for meeting each applicable proactive publication requirement under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, see the section, "PROACTIVE PUBLICATION UNDER PART 2 OF THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT."

The CRCC Chairperson, under delegated authority from the Minister of Public Safety, provided the final approval for all responses on ATIP requests and consultations, during the first three quarters of the reporting period of 2024-2025. During the fourth quarter, the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Director of Corporate Services at the CRCC completed these approvals, as the CRCC was without a Chairperson.

During the reporting period, the CRCC was not party to any service agreements under section 96 of the Access to Information Act.

Delegation Order

The Minister of Public Safety has delegated full authority under the Act to the CRCC Chairperson, the ATIP Coordinator, and the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Director of Corporate Services. The most recent delegation order was signed by the Minister of Public Safety on November 17, 2023

Delegation Order - Access to Information Act and Access to Information Regulations

Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP

The Minister of Public Safety Canada, pursuant to section 95 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 provisions of the Act and related regulations set out opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Dated, at the City of Ottawa,

this 17day of November, 2023

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., K.C., M.P.

*R.S.C. 1985, c. A-1

Performance under Part 1 of the Access to Information Act 2024-2025

During the reporting period, the CRCC processed 76% of requests within legislated timelines. The total number of pages processed was 4,759 pages.

During the reporting period (April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025), twenty‑two (22) new Access to Information requests were received. Additionally, ten (10) requests were carried over from the previous year. Of those thirty-two (32), twenty‑one (21) requests were processed during that period and eleven (11) were carried forward into 2025‑2026.

Carried-Over Requests

During the 2024-2025 reporting period, the CRCC had one (1) active request from the 2020-2021 reporting period, one (1) active request from the 2021-2022 reporting period, two (2) active requests carried over from the 2022-2023 reporting period, and two (2) requests from the 2023-2024 reporting period. As of March 31, 2025, the request from 2020-2021 is still active and within legislated timelines; the 2021‑2022 request remains active and is beyond legislative timelines; the two (2) 2022‑2023 requests both remain open and are within legislative timelines; one of the two 2023‑2024 requests remains open and within legislative timelines; and (6) requests received during 2024-2025 remain open and are within legislative timelines.

Source of Requests

Of those twenty-two (22) requests received during the reporting period, requestors that self-identified as belonging to categories include ten (10) from the media, one (1) from business, one (1) from an organization and five (5) from the general public. Five (5) declined to self‑identify.

Disposition of Requests

Sixteen (16) of the twenty-one (21) requests (76%) completed during the reporting period resulted in partial disclosures, one (1) request (5%) resulted in full disclosure, the records in one (1) request (5%) were exempted in their entirety, and three (3) requests (14%) were transferred to other institutions. While the total number of requests received by the CRCC in 2024-2025 is lower than in recent years, the proportion of those requests that were transferred to other institutions decreased dramatically. By comparison, during the 2023-2024 reporting period 36% of requests were transferred. Thus, since only 14% of requests were transferred in 2024-25, the CRCC processed a significantly higher proportion of the requests and volume of records to the response stage, compared with the previous year.

Exemptions

The CRCC claimed exemptions under paragraph 13(1)(c) (information obtained in confidence from the government of a province or an institution thereof), paragraph 13(1)(e) (information obtained in confidence from an aboriginal government, subsection 16(2) (information that could facilitate the commission of an offence), subsection 19(1) (personal information), paragraph 21(1)(a) (advice or recommendations), paragraph 21(1)(c) (Positions or plans developed for the purpose of negotiations), paragraph 21(1)(d) (Plans relating to the management of personnel or the administration of a government institution), and section 23 (solicitor-client privilege) of the Act.

Extensions

Extensions were taken in eight (8) of the requests completed in the reporting period in order to consult with external institutions, and six (6) extensions were taken when completing the request within the initial 30-day period would interfere with operations due to the institution's existing workload.

Response Time

For the one (1) request disclosed in full, the CRCC responded within 16 to 30 days. For requests disclosed in part, the CRCC took 0 to 15 days to respond to one (1) request; 16 to 30 days to respond to four (4) requests; 31 to 60 days to respond to two (2) requests; 61 to 120 days to respond to seven (7) requests; 121 to 180 days to respond to one (1) request; and 181 to 365 days to respond to two (2) requests. For the three (3) requests that were transferred, the CRCC responded within 15 days.

The CRCC responded to thirty-five (35) informal requests within 15 days; eight (8) within 16 to 30 days; and one (1) within 31 to 60 days. All forty-four (44) informal responses were copies of previously released responses to requests sought from the list of searchable summaries posted on Open Government – Access to information: Completed request summaries.

Categories of Information Requested

The categories of information that the CRCC disclosed during the reporting period included complaint information and statistics; copies of the Chairperson's reports corresponding to the Summaries of Reviewed Public Complaints posted on the CRCC website; and correspondence and operational files related to public complaints.

Consultations

Training and Awareness

During the reporting period, all CRCC employees completed mandatory access to information and privacy training through the Canada School of Public Service. In addition to this, guidance on access to information matters was provided on an ad hoc basis (e.g. in person, by email and through the CRCC's electronic newsletter).

Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

The CRCC implemented no new policies, guidelines, or procedures during the 2024‑2025 reporting period. 

Monitoring Compliance

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 quarterly. The ATIP Coordinator meets regularly with the CRCC Chairperson and General Counsel to discuss various issues pertaining to in‑progress ATIP files.

In compliance with the Directive on Access to Information Requests,the CRCC uses discretion to limit inter-departmental consultations to requests only where there is the intention to disclose potentially sensitive information from external institutions. This practice is monitored by advising the ATIP Coordinator, General Counsel, and the delegated head of ATIP, within the initial 30-day period for each new request, as to whether or not an extension will be taken.

Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

The CRCC website features searchable depersonalized summaries of CRCC reports for every RCMP public complaint investigation that it has reviewed. This complementary procedure was put in place for Canadians to have access to information related to RCMP accountability and to demonstrate further transparency of the public complaint process.

The website also includes a section titled The CRCC Across Canada, which allows the public to access public complaint information with a page dedicated to each province and territory. These pages highlight the CRCC annual reports sent to provincial and territorial ministers; Chairperson-initiated investigations; and systemic investigations into RCMP activities occurring in the respective provinces and territories.

Complaints

During the reporting period, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) issued a final report on its investigation into one (1) complaint received during the 2021-2022 reporting period related to the length of the extension. The OIC was satisfied that the CRCC demonstrated sufficient rigour and logic to determine appropriate extension times pursuant to 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b) of the Act, resulting in a finding of not well-founded.

No new complaints were received.

There were no audits or other investigations conducted during the reporting period.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

The CRCC's existing practice of documenting all relevant details relating to extension decisions has proven valuable both for communicating the necessity, and required length, of extensions to the CRCC delegated head of ATIP and ultimately to the requester, as well as for effectively responding to OIC investigations in the event of a complaint about an extension.

Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP is both a government institution and a government entity for the purpose of Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, and is therefore subject to the following proactive publication requirements in sections 82 to 88 of the Act.

Proactive Publication Requirements Table

During the 2024-2025 reporting period, the CRCC staff mainly responsible for Part 2 reporting and monitoring compliance included:

• Senior Editorial and Writing Services Advisor (12 hours per year – Editing and translation)
• Web Architect & Publishing Officer (3 hours per year – Posting completed templates and metadata to the Open Government Portal)
• Executive Assistant (1.5 hours per year – Hospitality, Travel, Briefing Material)
• Assistant Director of Human Resources (1 hour per year – Position reclassifications); and
• Finance Officer (20 hours per year – Contracts)
• Junior ATIP Analyst (6 hours per year – Monitoring Part 2 compliance)

The CRCC staff members responsible for proactive publication will continue to meet annually to review the assignment of responsibilities, review changes to related policies, directives, and legislation, determine whether the CRCC's procedures are well aligned and ensure that there are no internal obstacles to the CRCC's compliance. As mentioned at the beginning of this report, the Junior ATIP Analyst monitors CRCC staff's compliance with proactive publication requirements in Part 2 of the Act. On a monthly basis, she verifies that all of the CRCC reports are posted to the Open Government Portal according to each category's due dates, and tracks the results on a spreadsheet.

Other Proactive Publication

The CRCC ATIP Coordinator also posts Completed Access to Information Request Summaries to the Open Government Portal in compliance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Key Actions on Access to Information and the Directive on Access to Information Requests. The CRCC's Junior ATIP Analyst performs most responsibilities for re-releasing copies of the information that is informally requested from the summaries on the Open Government Portal.