Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2015-2016

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 Executive Director, 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 Executive Director. 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 January 18, 2012 (see Annex A).

5. ACCESS TO INFORMATION REQUESTS RECEIVED

During the course of the reporting period (April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016), the two (2) Access to Information requests that had been carried forward from the previous year were completed. Twelve (12) new Access to Information requests were also received during the reporting period. Of these new requests, five (5) were completed during the reporting period and seven (7) were carried forward to the 2016-2017 reporting year. Therefore, the CRCC processed seven (7) Access to Information requests during the 2015-2016 year.

Of those seven (7) requests completed during the reporting period, five (5) were from former complainants or RCMP members complained about, typically seeking records relating to the investigation and review of the public complaints to which they were a party. One was from a provincial government ministry and another was from the media.

Five (5) of those requests completed during the reporting period resulted in partial disclosures, another involved a request for a video recording, which was disclosed in its entirety, and the last request was abandoned.

6. STATISTICAL REPORT

Like the previous year, the CRCC processed a significant number of pages (7,570) in responding to Access to Information requests in the 2015-2016 reporting year.

However, as noted above, the number of Access to Information requests in 2015-2016 was only 12, which is notably less than it received in the preceding four (4) years:

2015-16 12
2014-15 16
2013-14 23
2012-13 26
2011-12 18

However, the number of pages processed represents the highest of those five (5) years:

2015-16 7,570
2014-15 7,063
2013-14 2,972
2012-13 6,622
2011-12 2,552

The CRCC claimed exemptions under paragraph 13(1)(d) (Information obtained in confidence from a municipal government), sub-paragraph 16(1)(a)(i) (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 17 (Information that could threaten the safety of individuals), subsection 19(1) (Personal information), paragraph 21(1)(a) (Advice or recommendations), and section 23 (Solicitor-client privilege) of the Act. As the majority of the material requested originated with other departments and external consultation was required, extensions were taken in all seven (7) of the requests completed in the reporting period.

There was only one (1) request that was not completed within the statutory deadline. In that case, an extension was taken for external consultation, but the CRCC was not able to complete the request within the extended deadline due to the volume of records requested.

Finally, in 2015-16, the CRCC processed eleven (11) consultations from other Government of Canada institutions and one (1) consultation from another institution.

See Annex B for the Statistical Report.

7. TRAINING

Two staff members in the CRCC's Operations Directorate each participated in two Information Access and Protection of Privacy courses through the University of Alberta.

8. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

The CRCC did not implement any new policies, guidelines or procedures related to Access to Information during the reporting period.

9. 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. Weekly reminders of approaching deadlines are provided to senior management. Quarterly reports are also sent to management providing status updates on outstanding files and reporting on other relevant ATIP matters.

10. COMPLAINTS

During the reporting period, there were no complaints filed against the CRCC.

Finally, there were no audits or 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 Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, under the section of the Act set out opposite each position.

Access to Information Act
Section Chair Executive Director ATIP Coordinator 

4(2.1)

Responsibility of government institutions

● ● ●

7(a)

Notice where access requested

 ● ● ●

7(b)

Giving access to record

 ● ● ●

8(1)

Transfer of request to another government institution

● ● ●

9

Extension of time limits

 ● ● ●

11(2)(3)
(4)(5)(6)

Additional Fees

 ● ● ●

12(2)(b)

Language of access

 ● ● ●

12(3)(b)

Access to record in alternative format

 ● ● ●

13

Exemption – Information obtained in confidence

 ● ●  

14

Exemption – Federal-provincial affairs

● ●  

15

Exemption – International affairs and defence

 ● ●  

16

Exemption – Law enforcement and investigations

 ● ●  

16.5

Exemption – Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act

 ● ●  

17

Exemption – Safety of individuals

 ● ●  

18

Exemption – Economic interests of  Canada                           

● ●  

18.1

Exemption – Economic interest of the Canada Post Corporation, Export Development Canada, the Public Sector pension Investment Board and VIA Rail Canada Inc.

 ● ●  

19

Exemption – Personal information

● ●  

20

Exemption – Third-party information   

● ●  

21

Exemption – Operations of Government

 ● ●  

22

Exemption – Testing procedures, tests and audits

 ● ●  

22.1

Exemption – Audit working papers and draft audit reports

 ● ●  

23

Exemption – Solicitor-client privilege

 ● ●  

24

Exemption – Statutory prohibitions

● ●  

25

Severability

 ● ● ●

26

Exemption – Information to be published

 ● ●  

27(1), (4)

Third-party notification

 ● ● ●

28(1)(b), (2), (4)

Representations of third party and decision

 ● ● ●

29(1)

Where the Information Commissioner recommends disclosure

 ● ● ●

33

Advising Information Commissioner of third-party involvement

● ● ●

35(2)(b)

Right to make representations

 ● ● ●

37(4)

Access to be given to complainant

● ● ●

43(1)

Notice to third party (application to Federal Court for review)

● ● ●

44(2)

Notice to person who requested record (application to Federal Court by third party)                                 

 ● ● ●

52(2)(b)

Special rules for hearings

 ● ●  

52(3)

Ex parte representations

 ● ●  

71(1)

Facilities for inspection of manuals

 ● ●  

72

Report to Parliament

 ● ●  
Access to Information Regulations
Section Chair Executive Director ATIP Coordinator 

6(1)

Transfer of request

● ● ●

7(2)

Search and preparation fees

● ● ●

7(3)

Production and programming fees

● ● ●

8

Providing access to record(s)

● ● ●

8.1

Limitations in respect of format

● ●  

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, 18th of January 2012.

Signed by the Honourable Vic Toews, P.C., Q.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety Canada

Appendix B: Statistical Report

Reporting period: 2015-04-01 to 2016-03-31

Part 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 12
Outstanding from previous reporting period 2
Total 14
Closed during reporting period 7
Carried over to next reporting period 7

1.2 Sources of requests

Source Number of Requests
Media 5
Academia 0
Business (private sector) 0
Organization 1
Public 4
Decline to Identify 2
Total 12

1.3 Informal requests

Completion Time
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Note: All requests previously recorded as “treated informally” will now be accounted for in this section only.

Part 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of Requests Completion Time
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
All disclosed 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 5
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request transferred 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 7

2.2 Exemptions

Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests
* I.A.: International Affairs Def.: Defence of Canada S.A.: Subversive Activities
13(1)(a) 0 16(2) 1 18(a) 0 20.1 0
13(1)(b) 0 16(2)(a) 0 18(b) 0 20.2 0
13(1)(c) 0 16(2)(b) 0 18(c) 0 20.4 0
13(1)(d) 1 16(2)(c) 0 18(d) 0 21(1)(a) 1
13(1)(e) 0 16(3) 0 18.1(1)(a) 0 21(1)(b) 0
14 0 16.1(1)(a) 0 18.1(1)(b) 0 21(1)(c) 0
14(a) 0 16.1(1)(b) 0 18.1(1)(c) 0 21(1)(d) 0
14(b) 0 16.1(1)(c) 0 18.1(1)(d) 0 22 0
15(1) 0 16.1(1)(d) 0 19(1) 5 22.1(1) 0
15(1) - I.A.* 0 16.2(1) 0 20(1)(a) 0 23 1
15(1) - Def.* 0 16.3 0 20(1)(b) 0 24(1) 0
15(1) - S.A.* 0 16.4(1)(a) 0 20(1)(b.1) 0 26 0
16(1)(a)(i) 1 16.4(1)(b) 0 20(1)(c) 0    
16(1)(a)(ii) 0 16.5 0 20(1)(d) 0    
16(1)(a)(iii) 0 17 2        
16(1)(b) 0            
16(1)(c) 1            
16(1)(d) 0            

2.3 Exclusions

Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests
68(a) 0 69(1) 0 69(1)(g) re (a) 0
68(b) 0 69(1)(a) 0 69(1)(g) re (b) 0
68(c) 0 69(1)(b) 0 69(1)(g) re (c) 0
68.1 0 69(1)(c) 0 69(1)(g) re (d) 0
68.2(a) 0 69(1)(d) 0 69(1)(g) re (e) 0
68.2(b) 0 69(1)(e) 0 69(1)(g) re (f) 0
69(1)(f) 0 69.1(1) 0

2.4 Format of information released

Disposition Paper Electronic Other Formats
All disclosed 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 4 1 0
Total 4 1 1

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Disposition of Requests Number of Pages Processed Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
All disclosed 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 7570 4598 5
All exempted 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 1
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0
2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests
Disposition Less Than 100
Pages Processed		 101-500
Pages Processed		 501-1000
Pages Processed		 1001-5000
Pages Processed		 More Than 5000
Pages Processed
Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed Number of Requests Pages Disclosed
All disclosed 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 2 45 0 0 1 502 1 1034 1 3017
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 45 0 0 1 502 1 1034 1 3017
2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation Required Assessment of Fees Legal Advice Sought Other Total
All disclosed 1 0 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 5 0 0 0 5
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 1 0 0 1
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 6 1 0 0 7

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline
Number of Requests Closed Past the Statutory Deadline Principal Reason
Workload External Consultation Internal Consultation Other
1 0 1 0 0
2.6.2 Number of days past deadline
Number of Days Past Deadline Number of Requests Past Deadline Where No Extension Was Taken Number of Requests Past Deadline Where An Extension Was Taken Total
1 to 15 days 0 1 1
16 to 30 days 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 0 0 0
61 to 120 days 0 0 0
121 to 180 days 0 0 0
181 to 365 days 0 0 0
More than 365 days 0 0 0
Total 0 1 1

2.7 Requests for translation

Translation Requests Accepted Refused Total
English to French 0 0 0
French to English 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0

Part 3: Extensions

3.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken 9(1)(a)
Interference With Operations		 9(1)(b)
Consultation		 9(1)(c)
Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
All disclosed 0 0 1 0
Disclosed in part 1 0 5 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0
Total 2 0 6 0

3.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions 9(1)(a)
Interference With Operations		 9(1)(b)
Consultation		 9(1)(c)
Third-Party Notice
Section 69 Other
30 days or less 1 0 3 0
31 to 60 days 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 days 1 0 3 0
121 to 180 days 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 days 0 0 0 0
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 2 0 6 0

Part 4: Fees

Fee Type Fee Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
Number of
Requests		 Amount Number of
Requests		 Amount
Application 7 $35 0 $0
Search 0 $0 0 $0
Production 0 $0 0 $0
Programming 0 $0 0 $0
Preparation 0 $0 0 $0
Alternative format 0 $0 0 $0
Reproduction 0 $0 0 $0
Total 7 $35 0 $0

Part 5: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

Consultations Other Government of Canada Institutions Number of Pages to Review Other Organizations Number of Pages to Review
Received during reporting period 11 284 1 2
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 0 0 0 0
Total 11 284 1 2
Closed during the reporting period 11 284 1 2
Pending at the end of the reporting period 0 0 0 0

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

Recommendation Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
Disclose entirely 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Disclose in part 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 11

5.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Recommendation Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 Days 31 to 60 Days 61 to 120 Days 121 to 180 Days 181 to 365 Days More Than 365 Days Total
Disclose entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclose in part 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Part 6: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

6.1 Requests with Legal Services

Number of Days Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed 101-500 Pages Processed 501-1000
Pages Processed		 1001-5000
Pages Processed		 More Than 5000
Pages Processed
Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of Days Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed 101‒500 Pages Processed 501-1000
Pages Processed		 1001-5000
Pages Processed		 More Than 5000
Pages Processed
Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed Number of
Requests		 Pages Disclosed
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Part 7: Complaints and Investigations

Section 32 Section 35 Section 37 Total
0 0 0 0

Part 8: Court Action

Section 41 Section 42 Section 44 Total
0 0 0 0

Part 9: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

9.1 Costs

Expenditures Amount
Salaries $37,382
Overtime $0
Goods and Services $0
- Professional services contracts $0  
- Other $0  
Total $37,382

9.2 Human Resources

Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Note: Enter values to two decimal places.
Full-time employees 0.50
Part-time and casual employees 0.00
Regional staff 0.00
Consultants and agency personnel 0.00
Students 0.00
Total 0.50
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