Annual Report to Parliament Access to Information Act 2015-2016

The Director General of the Corporate Secretariat is Environment and Climate Change Canada's Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator, and has delegated authority on all matters concerning Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP). The ATIP Division, which is a part of the Corporate Secretariat, is the central coordinating body for all requests received by Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The ATIP Division directs all activities within Environment and Climate Change Canada relating to the administration, application and promotion of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It provides advice to senior management on the implementation of the statutes and prepares reports to Parliament, the Treasury Board Secretariat and senior management. The ATIP Division represents the Department in complaints and investigations conducted by the Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and in any Federal Court applications arising from ATIP matters.

The ATIP Division is currently comprised of 19 officers.

Capacity Development

Environment and Climate Change Canada remains committed to recruiting, training and maintaining a workforce that possesses specialized skills and that will continue to provide the best possible service to both internal and external clients.

During the reporting period, Environment and Climate Change Canada undertook several staffing activities to fill new positions that were created in 2014-2015. In addition, efforts continued to staff vacant positions within the Division.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is also continuing to focus on developing capacity through its ATIP Professional Development Program. The program aims to train employees over a period of three to five years through a combination of competency-based training, professional development training and work assignments. Candidates enter the program at the PM-01 or PM-02 level and graduate as Senior ATIP Advisors at the PM-04 level. Current participants are progressing through the program. 

The Professional Development Program is enabling the ATIP Division to better manage increasing workloads while facilitating succession planning through the transfer of corporate memory. The program also encourages staff to remain with the Department for a longer period of time. A new intake into the Professional Development Program, at both the PM-01 and PM-02 levels is planned for early in the 2016-2017 fiscal year.