Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Privacy Act 2016-2017

1. INTRODUCTION

The Privacy Act (Act) provides individuals with a right of access to their personal information and protects the privacy of individuals with respect to personal 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 privacy 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 Senior Director, Operations, 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. PRIVACY REQUESTS RECEIVED

During the course of the reporting period, nine (9) new requests for personal information under the Act were received. Eight (8) of those requests were processed during that period and one was carried forward into 2017-2018. No requests were carried over from the previous year.

Seven (7) of the requests for personal information that were processed during 2016-2017 were from individuals seeking their personal information from public complaint files held by the CRCC. The other was a request for a transcript from a CRCC investigation.

Additionally, the CRCC received two requests for correction to records. These were refused, but notations to the documents were put on file.

6. STATISTICAL REPORT

The nine (9) Privacy requests received by the CRCC in 2016-2017 represents a noticeable increase over the number of Privacy requests received in recent years:

2016-17     9
2015-16     7
2014-15     3
2013-14     2

Of the eight (8) requests processed during the reporting period, one was released without redaction and four (4) were released with exemptions claimed under paragraph 22(1)(b) (Information the disclosure of which could be injurious to lawful investigations), section 26 (Personal information of a third party) and section 27 (Solicitor-client privilege) of the Privacy Act. In the other three (3) requests, no records were found to exist.

External consultation was required for one request. The statutory deadlines were met for all requests. The total number of pages processed for the five (5) requests where information was found to exist was 843 pages.

Six (6) consultations were received from other Government of Canada institutions during the reporting period. All six consultations were closed during the reporting period, resulting in 136 pages processed.

See Annex B for the Statistical Report.

7. TRAINING

During the reporting period, CRCC employees were involved in a number of training and educational opportunities relating to access to information and privacy.

One CRCC staff member earned a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) designation with the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Two staff members each completed two courses towards the Information Access and Protection of Privacy Program at the University of Alberta.

One staff member attended the Canada Access & Privacy Association 2016 Conference. And another staff member attended a one-day Privacy Conference.

8. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

The CRCC did not implement any new policies, guidelines or procedures related to Privacy 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. Reminders of approaching deadlines are provided to senior management at least once a month. The ATIP Coordinator meets regularly with the Senior Director, Operations and Legal Counsel to discuss various issues pertaining to in-progress ATIP files.

10. PRIVACY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

One privacy impact assessment was initiated during the reporting period. A consultant was hired to seek input from staff on the CRCC’s proposed use of new powers afforded to the CRCC in a recent legislative amendment. The draft privacy impact assessment is being finalized and the CRCC plans to submit it to Treasury Board and the Privacy Commissioner this fiscal year.

11. PRIVACY BREACHES

There were no material privacy breaches at the CRCC during the reporting period.

12. DISCLOSURES MADE PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 8(2)(m) OF THE PRIVACY ACT

The CRCC made one disclosure of personal information pursuant to paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Act in 2016-2017. A request was made by the parents of a deceased person for information related to a police investigation into the circumstances of their child’s death. Notice under subsection 8(5) was provided to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, explaining the compassionate reasons for the disclosure. The day after the Privacy Commissioner responded, the CRCC released the information to the requesters.

13. COMPLAINTS

No complaints under the Act were filed against the CRCC, nor were any audits or investigations conducted, during the reporting period.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

The Minister of Public Safety Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy 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 of July 2016.

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

ANNEX B: Statistical Report

Reporting period: 2016-04-01 to 2017-03-31