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2014-2015 - Annual Report to Parliament - Access to Information Act

Interpretation of the Statistical Report

Environment Canada’s Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act is included in Appendix A of this report.

Between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, Environment Canada received 1,488 requests under the Access to Information Act. There were 222 requests carried forward from the 2013–2014 reporting period, for a total of 1,710 active requests in the 2014–2015 reporting period. In 2014–2015, a total of 1,452 requests were completed, and 258 were carried forward to the next reporting period.

Figure 1 is a percentage breakdown of the sources of access to information requests received in 2014–2015:

Sources of Access to Information Requests 2014-2015

Long Description of Figure 1

Figure 1 shows a pie chart that represents the percentage breakdown of the sources of access to information requests received in 2014–2015. 71% of access requests came from businesses, 12.7% from the media, 4.5% from organizations, 9.7% from members of the public, 1.9% from academia and 0.1% declined to identity themselves.

 


During the 2014–2015 reporting period, 90 requests were abandoned by applicants for various reasons, including the requirement to pay additional fees.

There were 858 requests for information for which there was no record. Environment Canada receives a number of requests each year for documents pertaining to the environmental compliance of properties. Most of these no record requests consisted of environmental compliance requests where no records were located concerning the properties in question.

In 2014–2015, Environment Canada received 1,488 requests under the Access to Information Act. This represents a 2% increase over the previous reporting period.

Figure 2 displays the number of access to information requests that were received by the ATIP Division from 2009–2010 to 2014–2015.

Access Requests Received Access to Information Act 2009-2015

Long Description of Figure 2

Figure 2 shows a bar chart which provides a visual representation of the number of access requests that were received by the ATIP Secretariat from the 2009-2010 fiscal year to the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

During the 2009-2010 period, 890 requests were received; in 2010-2011, 1,128 requests were received; in 2011-2012, 1,421 requests were received; in 2012-2013, 1,827 requests were received; in 2013-2014, 1,459 requests were received; and in 2014-2015, 1,488 requests were received.

 


The number of access to information requests that were closed by the ATIP Division from 2009–2010 to 2014–2015 is found in figure 3.

Access Requests Closed Access to Information Act 2009-2015

Long Description of Figure 3

Figure 3 shows a bar chart which provides a visual representation of the number of access requests that were closed by the ATIP Secretariat from the 2009-2010 fiscal year to the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

During the 2009-2010 period, 929 requests were closed; in 2010-2011, 1,171 requests were closed; in 2011-2012, 1,425 requests were closed; in 2012-2013, 1,810 requests were closed; in 2013-2014, 1,424 requests were closed; and in 2014-2015, 1,452 requests were closed.

 


In the 2014–2015 reporting period, 110,557 pages of records were retrieved in response to Access to Information requests which represents a decrease of 40% over the 2013–2014 fiscal year. This decrease can be attributed in part to the work undertaken by the ATIP Division to consult with applicants in order to clarify the scope of requests to ensure applicants receive information of interest.

The number of pages processed by the ATIP Division in response to requests under the Access to Information Act from 2009–2010 to 2014–2015 is found in figure 4.

Pages Processed for Access Requests Access to Information Act 2009-2015

Long Description of Figure 4

Figure 4 shows a bar chart which provides a visual representation of the number of pages processed by the ATIP Secretariat in processing access to information requests under the Access to Information Act from the 2009-2010 fiscal year to the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

During the 2009-2010 period, 169,241 pages were processed; in 2010-2011, 163,273 pages were processed; in 2011-2012, 164,777 pages were processed; in 2012-2013, 120,741 pages were processed; in 2013-2014, 185,385 pages were processed; and in 2014-2015, 110,557 pages were processed.

 


Exemptions and Exclusions

The Access to Information Act prescribes a number of exemptions and exclusions that allow or require the Department to refuse to disclose certain types of information. The two most common exemptions invoked by Environment Canada in 2014–2015 were for personal information (section 19) and government operations (section 21). In 2014–2015, exemptions and/or exclusions were cited in 25% of the completed requests where documents were located.

 


Time Limitations

During the 2014–2015 reporting period, 1,047 (72%) of the completed requests were processed within the initial 30-day period. This included 725 requests completed in the first 15 days, and 322 requests completed between 16 and 30 days.

Figure 5 is a breakdown of completion times for requests completed during the 2014–2015 reporting period.

Completion Time for Access Requests 2014-2015

Long Description of Figure 5

Figure 5 shows a pie chart which displays the breakdown of completion times for requests completed during the 2014–2015 reporting period. Environment Canada’s ATIP Secretariat closed 50% of requests in 1 to 15 days, 22% in 16 to 30 days, 9% in 31 to 60 days, 9% in 61 to 120 days, 4% in 121 to 180 days, 4% in 181 to 365 days and 2% in more than 365 days.

 


A total of 163 requests were completed beyond the legislated deadline. Of the 163 late requests, 55 requests were late as a result of the need to conduct external consultations.

In 2014-2015, Environment Canada undertook 19 consultations with Environment Canada’s Legal Services to confirm cabinet confidence exclusions.

 


Extension of Time Limits

Section 9 of the Access to Information Act allows government institutions to extend the deadline for responding to a request if the request requires the institution to search a large number of records, to consult with other government institutions, or to communicate with third parties.

In 2014–2015, 202 requests required extensions of 30 days or less, 282 required an extension of between 31 and 60 days, and 55 required an extension of between 61 to 120 days. There were two requests that required extensions of more than 180 days. In total, 541 requests required an extension past the original deadline of 30 days. The main reason for extensions was due to the requirement to conduct a large search or the high volume of records involved in completing requests.

 


Complexity of Files

A number of files were considered complex for various reasons. Of the 1,452 requests closed during the 2014–2015 reporting period, 413 were considered to be complex. There were 240 requests that were complex due to the need to conduct consultations, 83 requests were considered complex due to the assessment of fees, 36 requests required legal advice, and 54 requests were classified in the “other” category. The “other” category consists of files containing high-profile subject matter, records held in a regional office or another country, or records that are in a language other than French or English.

 


Consultations

As an integral part of departmental processing procedures, other government institutions are consulted if access requests contain issues of interest to them. Although formal consultations are undertaken in writing, additional discussions between ATIP offices are initiated as required in order to facilitate the completion of each case. Consultations are also regularly undertaken with third parties and other levels of government.

In 2014–2015, Environment Canada received 200 access to information consultations from other federal government institutions and 25 consultations from other organizations for a total of 225 consultations received. This constitutes an 18% increase relative to the previous reporting period. There were 11 access consultations outstanding from the previous reporting period. During the 2014–2015 reporting period, 223 access consultations were completed which is an increase of 9% compared with the previous reporting period. Fifteen (15) access consultations were carried forward to the 2015-2016 reporting period.

Figure 6 provides the number of access to information consultations that were received by the ATIP Division from 2009–2010 to 2014–2015.

Access Consulations Received Access to Information Act 2009-2015

Long Description of Figure 6

Figure 6 shows a bar chart which provides a visual representation of the number of access consultation requests that were received by the ATIP Secretariat from the 2009-2010 fiscal year to the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

During the 2009-2010 period, 177 requests were received; in 2010-2011, 159 requests were received; in 2011-2012, 227 requests were received; in 2012-2013, 270 requests were received; in 2013-2014, 191 requests were received; and in 2014-2015, 225 requests were received.

 


The number of access to information consultations that were closed by the ATIP Division from 2009–2010 to 2014–2015 is found in figure 7.

Access Consultations Closed Access to Information Act 2009-2015

Long Description of Figure 7

Figure 7 shows a bar chart which provides a visual representation of the number of access consultation requests that were closed by the ATIP Secretariat from the 2009-2010 fiscal year to the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

During the 2009-2010 period, 134 requests were closed; in 2010-2011, 158 requests were closed; in 2011-2012, 219 requests were closed; in 2012-2013, 256 requests were closed; in 2013-2014, 204 requests were closed; and in 2014-2015, 223 requests were closed.

 


The number of pages processed in response to access to information consultations during the 2014–2015 reporting period decreased over the 2013–2014 reporting period: 6,055 pages were processed for consultations compared to 10,584 pages during the previous period. This is a decrease of 43%.

Figure 8 displays the number of pages processed by the ATIP Division in response to access to information consultations receivedfrom 2009–2010 to 2014–2015.

Pages Processed for Access Consultations Access to Information Act 2007-2013

Long Description of Figure 8

Figure 8 shows a bar chart which provides a visual representation of the number of pages processed by the ATIP Secretariat in processing access to information consultation requests under the Access to Information Act from the 2009-2010 fiscal year to the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

During the 2009-2010 period, 7,563 pages were processed; in 2010-2011, 6,367 pages were processed; in 2011-2012, 12,671 pages were processed; in 2012-2013, 14,768 pages were processed; in 2013-2014, 10,584 pages were processed; and in 2014-2015, 6,055 pages were processed.

 


During the 2014–2015 reporting period, 138 (62%) of the completed access consultations were processed within the initial 30-day period. This included 67 completed in the first 15 days, and 71 completed between 16 and 30 days.

 


Informal Requests

A summary list of completed Access to Information requests is published on Environment Canada’s website on a monthly basis. Between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, Environment Canada received 74 informal Access to Information requests for previously released Access to Information packages. Environment Canada completed 69 of these informal requests during the 2014–20145 reporting period and five informal requests were carried forward to 2015-2016.

Furthermore, throughout the year, the ATIP Division provides advice to departmental staff with respect to informal requests, parliamentary questions and the review of draft audit, evaluation, security and harassment reports.

In 2014-2015, the ATIP Division processed 22 Parliamentary Questions which represents a significant increase relative to previous years. As the work involved in processing these Parliamentary Questions was time intensive, we are expecting that our capacity building efforts will address the resulting surge effect.

The ATIP Division also assists other branches of the department in reviewing various documents such as Investigation Reports and Harassment Complaint files in order to ensure that mandatory exemptions such as personal information and cabinet confidence-related information are properly identified, where appropriate. Over the coming year, the ATIP Division will more closely monitor workload implications.

 


Fees

In the 2014–2015 reporting period, total fees of $13,333 were collected for the processing of 1,448 requests. This consisted of search fees in the amount of $6,238 and application fees totalling $7,095. No other fees were charged for production, preparation or reproduction.

In accordance with Treasury Board Secretariat guidelines, Environment Canada waived fees that individually amounted to $25 or less, although no waiver is granted for the initial $5 application fee.

 


Costs

The costs involved in administering the Access to Information Act were $972,090 for salaries and overtime and $281,931 for goods and services ($117,064 for professional service contracts and $164,867 for other costs). This brings the total costs to $1,254,021.

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