2018–19 Annual Report to Parliament — Access to Information Act

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Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019

This publication is available upon request in accessible formats.

Contact:

Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
410 Laurier Avenue West, 3rd Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5
Telephone: 613-941-7754
Fax: 613-952-9026
Email: fdo.atip-aiprp.fdo@canada.ca

This publication is also available online at the following address: http://www.feddevontario.gc.ca/eic/site/723.nsf/eng/h_02119.html

Permission to Reproduce

The information in this publication may be reproduced for non-commercial use, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), provided that due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the information reproduced; that FedDev Ontario is identified as the source institution; and that the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the information reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of, FedDev Ontario.

For permission to reproduce the information in this publication for commercial redistribution, please call: 1-866-593-5505, write to: Communications Branch, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, 101-139 Northfield Drive West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 5A6 or email to: fdo.communications-communications.fdo@canada.ca.

PDF Cat. No: Iu93-1/1E-PDF ISSN 2370-0343

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, 2019.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. About the organization
    1. Raison d'être
    2. Responsibilities
    3. Scope of Operations
  3. Structure of the Access to Information and Privacy Office
  4. Delegation of authority
  5. Analysis of the statistical report
    1. Sources of Requests
    2. Disposition and Completion Time
    3. Exemptions and Exclusions
    4. Additional Information
  6. Education and training
  7. Institutional policies and procedures
  8. Complaints, investigations and court action
  9. Monitoring compliance
  10. Annex A – Structure of Access to Information and Privacy Office
  11. Annex B – Delegation Order
  12. Annex C – Statistical Report

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (the Act) gives Canadian citizens, as well as people and corporations in Canada, the right to have access to records under the control of federal institutions that are not of a personal nature. This right of access is consistent with the principles that government information should be available to the public, necessary exceptions to the rights of access should be limited and specific, and decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.

Section 72 of the Act requires that the head of every government institution prepare, for submission to Parliament, an annual report on the administration of the Act within the institution during each financial year. For the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the President has been designated as the head of the institution by Order in Council. Tabling of the report "shall be laid before each House of Parliament within three months after the financial year in respect of which it is made or, if the House is not then sitting, on any of the first fifteen days next thereafter that it is sitting."

This Annual Report describes how FedDev Ontario, in its tenth year of operation, administered its responsibilities under the Act.

About the organization

Raison d'être

FedDev Ontario was created in 2009 to work with communities, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and other levels of government in southern Ontario, to actively promote the region, and to build a strong foundation of investment and partnerships to help secure the region's economic growth and long-term prosperity.

Under Budget 2018, FedDev Ontario was allocated $920 million in renewed core funding over six years for its third mandate. Budget 2019 further announced that starting 2024–25, at the end of the Agency's third mandate, FedDev Ontario would begin receiving permanent funding of $184.5 million per year to continue investing in the southern Ontario region.

Responsibilities

Through its suite of programs and activities, FedDev Ontario works to strengthen economic capacity for innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration; and to promote the development of a strong and diversified southern Ontario economy.

Scope of Operations

FedDev Ontario is headquartered in Waterloo and has regional offices in Ottawa, Peterborough and Toronto. Its mandate covers southern Ontario, which includes 37 Statistics Canada census divisions.

FedDev Ontario is part of the Innovation, Science and Economic Development portfolio. Its President oversees Agency operations and resources and reports to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

Structure of the Access to Information and Privacy Office

Responsibility for processing requests received under the Access to Information Act rests with the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator. The ATIP Coordinator oversees the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act (the Acts) within FedDev Ontario and ensures compliance with the legislation. The ATIP office structure also includes one officer as per the organizational chart in Annex A; this position became vacant in July 2017 and has not yet been filled.

The ATIP Coordinator is responsible for all daily ATIP activities and operations, as well as the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines and procedures necessary to manage the Agency's compliance with the Acts. The ATIP office, which is located in Ottawa's regional office, responds to all formal requests submitted under the applicable Act.

The administration of both Acts at FedDev Ontario is also facilitated at the branch and regional office levels. Each organizational branch has a liaison officer who coordinates activities on the administrative processes and procedures of these Acts.

Delegation of authority

The current ATIP Delegation Order was approved by the President (the head of the institution) on May 3, 2018. It provides full delegated authority to the ATIP Coordinator and to the Corporate Secretary. A copy of the ATIP Delegation Order is attached in Annex B.

Analysis of the statistical report

During the reporting period, FedDev Ontario received 27 Access to Information (ATI) requests, an increase of 42 percent compared to the previous reporting period, and carried forward four requests from 2017–18. This represents a total ATI workload of 31 files. Excluding numbers for 2016–17, when a spike in requests was experienced (likely due to the public's interest in the Agency's Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program), the number of ATI requests received in 2018–19 is in line with other years.

Graph 1: Access to Information Requests Received & Closed by Year

Text version
Year Requests Received Requests Closed
2014–15 24 21
2015–16 31 22
2016–17 53 61
2017–18 18 19
2018–19 27 28

Sources of requests

The breakdown of the 27 new requests received by type of user is as follows:

Media
2
Academia
1
Business
(private sector)
18
Organization
0
Public
3
Decline to identify
3

Of the new requests received, eight, or 30 percent, related to grants or contributions; 15, or 55 percent, concerned the Agency's internal activities; and four, or 15 percent, related to other matters.

Disposition and Completion Time

During the 2018–19 reporting period, 28 requests were completed and three requests were carried forward to financial year 2019–2020. A detailed statistical report on Access to Information requests is attached in Annex C.

The 28 completed requests were disposed of as follows: two requests were fully disclosed, 10 requesters were granted partial disclosure, one request was fully exempted, 12 requests had no existing records, one request was transferred and two requests were abandoned by the requester. No requests were excluded in full.

Thirteen requests held responsive records to Access to Information requests. One of those requests was eventually abandoned (2,500 pages were processed and none were disclosed for that request). For the remaining 12 requests with responsive records, FedDev Ontario processed 1,477 pages and disclosed 866 pages.

Of the 28 completed requests, the Agency responded to 23 requests within the 30-day completion range, three within the 31-60 day range, one within the 181-365 days completion range and one in more than 365 days.

One request closed past the legislated deadlines. This represents an on-time completion rate of 96 percent (4 percent Deemed Refusal).

During the reporting period, extensions were required under the Act three times, under subsection 9(1)(a) for volume/search time/interference with operations.  There was one extension taken under subsection 9(1)(c) to allow for consultations with third parties.

It is important to note the fact that the number of extensions does not necessarily equate to the number of files for which extensions were taken. This is because any given file could require extensions for more than one reason (for example, for volume/interference with operations and for consultation with a third party; the statistical table would reflect this as two separate extensions).

Exemptions and exclusions

As noted in Annex C, exemptions were taken under sections 19, 20, 21 and 22. FedDev Ontario did not invoke any exclusion pursuant to section 69 of the Act during the reporting period.

Additional information

The Agency received 16 new access consultation requests from other government institutions, a decrease of 61 percent from the previous reporting period.

Graph 2: Access Consultations Received & Closed by Year

Text version
Year Requests Received Requests Closed
2014–15 15 15
2015–16 28 28
2016–17 31 33
2017–18 41 40
2018–19 15 16

Overall, the Agency completed a total of 44 requests related to the Access to Information Act (28 access requests and 16 access consultation requests).

Education and training

During the 2018–19 fiscal year, the ATIP Coordinator travelled to the Waterloo and Toronto offices to provide ATIP training for FedDev Ontario employees. A total of 63 people, or 22 percent of Agency staff, participated.

All FedDev Ontario employees are required to take the Canada School of Public Service course on Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals. Between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, 30 people completed the course.

Throughout the reporting period, the ATIP Coordinator provided ongoing advice and coaching to employees on access to information related matters as required.

Guidelines and procedures are provided to staff as part of the tasking documentation when they are tasked to respond to an access to information request.

Institutional policies and procedures

The ATIP office determines and implements best practices on an ongoing basis as topics arise.

The ATIP office actively encourages open communication with its Liaison Officers and Offices of Primary Interest (OPIs).

Complaints, investigations and court action

There were no complaints received from the Office of the Information Commissioner pursuant to Section 32 during the reporting period concerning the administration of the Act. There were no investigations or court action during this period.

Monitoring compliance

The ATIP office monitors a number of metrics for Access to Information requests. Response rates from OPIs are monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that responses are within allowable periods.

A weekly report is provided to the President via the Operations Committee listing the number of active requests (including access consultations and privacy requests), the number of new requests received, the status of each request and the estimated release date for each.

Ad hoc reporting takes place as required. The Corporate Secretary, Vice- Presidents, Director Generals or the Office of the President are notified as appropriate.

Annex A – Structure of Access to Information and Privacy Office

Access to Information and Privacy Office

Marian Tomlinson
Corporate Secretary
613-941-3502

Dawn Cobden
ATIP Coordinator
613-941-7754

Vacant
ATIP Analyst

Annex B – Delegation Order

Text version

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order

Arrêté sur la délégation  en vertu de la Loi sur l'accès à l'information et de la Loi sur protection des renseignements personnels

The President of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers and functions of the President as the head of a government institution, under the sections of the Acts set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders.

En vertu de l'article 73 de la Loi sur l'accès à l'information et la Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels, la Présidente de 1'Agence fédérale de développement économique pour le Sud de l'Ontario délègue aux titulaires des postes mentionnés à l'annexe ci-après, ainsi qu'aux personnes occupant à titre intérimaire lesdits postes, les attributions dont il est, en qualité de responsable d'une institution fédérale, investie par les articles des lois mentionnées en regard de chaque poste.  Le présent décret de délégation remplace et annule tout décret antérieur.

Schedule / Annexe

Position / Poste

Regulations /

Access to Information Act / and Regulations

Loi sur l'accès à l'information et règlements

Privacy Act and Regulations

Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels et reglements

Corporate Secretary / Secrétaire générale

Full authority / Autorité absolue

Full authority / Autorité absolue

and

Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator, Corporate Secretariat / Coordonnateur de l'accès à l'information et de la protection des renseignements personnels, Secrétariat ministériel

Full authority / Autorité absolue

Full authority / Autorité absolue

Dated at the City of Ottawa this 3rd day of May, 2018

Daté en la ville d'Ottawa ce 3e jour de mai 2018

James Meddings, President
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

James Meddings, Président
Agence fédérale de développement économique pour le Sud de l'Ontario

Annex C – Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of Institution: FedDev Ontario

Reporting Period: 2018-04-01 to 2019-03-31

Part 1 — Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of Requests
  Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 27
Outstanding from previous reporting period 4
Total 31
Closed during reporting period 28
Carried over to next reporting period 3
1.2 Sources of Requests
Source Number of Requests
Media 2
Academia 1
Business (Private Sector) 18
Organization 0
Public 3
Decline to Identify 3
Total 27
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
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
Disclosed in part 1 6 2 0 0 1 0 10
All exempted 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 12
Request transferred 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 14 9 3 0 0 1 1 28
2.2 Exemptions
Section Number of Requests
13(1)(a) 0
13(1)(b) 0
13(1)(c) 0
13(1)(d) 0
13(1)(e) 0
14(a) 0
14(b) 0
14 0
15(1) — IA 0
15(1) — Def 0
15(1) — S.A. 0
16(1)(a)(i) 0
16(1)(a)(ii) 0
16(1)(a)(iii) 0
16(1)(b) 0
16(1)(c) 0
16(1)(d) 0
16(2) 0
16(2)(a) 0
16(2)(b) 0
16(2)(c) 0
16(3) 0
16.1(1)(a) 0
16.1(1)(b) 0
16.1(1)(c) 0
16.1(1)(d) 0
16.2(1) 0
16.3 0
16.4(1)(a) 0
16.4(1)(b) 0
16.5 0
17 0
18(a) 0
18(b) 1
18(c) 0
18(d) 0
18.1(1)(a) 0
18.1(1)(b) 0
18.1(1)(c) 0
18.1(1)(d) 0
19(1) 4
20(1)(a) 0
20(1)(b) 1
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 5
20(1)(d) 1
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 0
21(1)(b) 1
21(1)(c) 1
21(1)(d) 0
22 0
22.1(1) 0
23 0
24(1) 0
26 0
2.3 Exclusions
Section Number of Requests
68(a) 0
68(b) 0
68(c) 0
68.1 0
68.2(a) 0
68.2(b) 0
69(1) 0
69(1)(a) 0
69(1)(b) 0
69(1)(c) 0
69(1)(d) 0
69(1)(e) 0
69(1)(f) 0
69(1)(g) re (a) 0
69(1)(g) re (b) 0
69(1)(g) re (c) 0
69(1)(g) re (d) 0
69(1)(g) re (e) 0
69(1)(g) re (f) 0
69.1(1) 0
2.4 Format of Information Released
Disposition Paper Electronic Other Formats
All disclosed 0 2 0
Disclosed in part 0 10 0
Total 0 12 0
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 12 0 2
Disclosed in part 1,226 866 10
All exempted 239 0 1
All excluded 0 0 0
Request abandoned 2,500 0 2
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 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 8 77 1 39 1 750 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Abandoned 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 11 77 2 39 1 750 1 0 0 0
2.5.3 Other Complexities
Disposition Consultation required Assessment of fees Legal advice sought Other Total
All disclosed 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 5 0 0 0 5
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 8 0 0 0 8
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 13 0 0 0 13
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
2 1 0 1 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 0 0
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 1 1
181 to 365 days 0 0 0
More than 365 days 0 1 1
Total 0 2 2
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 0 0
Disclosed in part 1 0 0 1
All exempted 1 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 1 0
Total 3 0 1 1
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 2 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 1 0 0 1
61 to 120 days 0 0 1 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 3 0 1 1

Part 4 — Fees

Fee Type Fees Collected Fee Waived or Refunded
Number of Requests Amount Number of Requests Amount
Application 5 $25.00 0 $0.00
Search 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Production 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Programming 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Preparation 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Alternative format 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Reproduction 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Total 5 $25.00 0 $0.00

Part 5 — Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

5.1 Consultations received from other government institutions and organizations
Consultations Other Government of Canada institutions Other organizations
Consultations received Number of pages to review Consultations received Number of pages to review
Received during the reporting period 15 3 0 0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 1 5 0 0
Total 16 8 0 0
Closed during the reporting period 16 8 0 0
Pending at the end of the reporting period 0 0 0 0
5.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other government 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 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 14
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 13 3 0 0 0 0 0 16
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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Part 6 — Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

6.1 Requests with Legal Services
Number of Days 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
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 1 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 1 0 0 0
6.2 Requests with Privy Council
Number of Days 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
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 1 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 1 0 0 0 0 0

Part 7 — Complaints and Investigations

Section 31 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 $83,911
Overtime $0
Goods and Services $9,322
Professional services contracts $6,844  
Other $2,478  
Total $93,233
9.2 Human Resources
Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees 0.95
Part-time and casual employees 0.03
Regional Staff 0
Consultants and agency personnel 0
Students 0
Total 0.98