Access to Information Act - CRTC Annual Report - 2020-2021

Introduction

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is pleased to present its Annual Report to Parliament, in accordance with section 94(1)^{Footnote 1} of the Access to Information Act (the Act) and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. The report describes the activities that support compliance with the Act for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2020 and ending March 31, 2021.

The Purpose of the Access to Information Act

Section 2(a) of the Act provides Canadians with a right of access to federal government records under the control of a government institution. The Act further states in Section 3 that it is intended to complement and not replace existing procedures for access to government information, and is not intended to limit in any way access to the type of government information that is normally available to the general public.

CRTC Mandate and Responsibilities

The CRTC is an administrative tribunal within the Government of Canada that is responsible for regulating and supervising Canada’s communication system in the public interest.

The CRTC operates under a number of legislative authorities and Acts of Parliament. These include the following: the CRTC Act, the Bell Canada Act, the Broadcasting Act, the Telecommunications Act, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation and the Canada Elections Act, which includes provisions that established the Voter Contact Registry.

At the heart of our mandate is the duty to serve the public interest by putting Canadians at the centre of the communication system. To this end, our role encompasses consulting Canadians on communication issues of importance to them, dealing with the many applications we receive by making decisions and rules, responding to enquiries and complaints, as well as reporting to Canadians on the progress and outcomes of our work. The CRTC promotes and enforces compliance with its regulatory policies and decisions. It encourages and facilitates industry co-regulation and self-regulation through consultations, committees and working groups with various industry stakeholders. The CRTC also plays a key role in resolving industry disputes. Finally, in the current dynamic and evolving communication environment, the CRTC collaborates with various domestic and international stakeholders to leverage capacity and intelligence on a host of interrelated policy issues and questions.

The CRTC delivers its mandate from offices in the National Capital Region and regional offices throughout Canada.

Organizational Structure

The CRTC’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office is located within the Information Management section of the Information Management and Information Technologies Directorate.  When fully staffed, the CRTC ATIP Office has six indeterminate employees.

The activities of the ATIP Office include:

• publishing all proactive disclosure;
• receiving and processing requests in accordance with the Act;
• promoting awareness of the Actwithin the Commission;
• preparing the annual reports to Parliament, the annual statistical report and maintaining the Department’s Info Source chapter;
• monitoring Commission compliance with the Act; and
• providing professional advice and guidance to senior management and all Commission staff on the Act.

The ATIP Office uses the AccessPro Case Management system and an imaging and electronic redaction software solution, AccessPro Redaction. The Office works closely with 14 departmental ATIP liaison officers who are appointed by the sectors. The liaison officers are responsible for ensuring that requests tasked to their groups are handled promptly and that relevant records are forwarded to the ATIP Office on time.

In 2020-2021, the CRTC has not entered into any service agreements pursuant to section 96 of the Access to Information Act.

Delegation Order

Decision-making responsibility for the application of the various provisions of the Access to Information Act has been formally established and is outlined in the Delegation Order approved by the Chairperson and CEO of the CRTC on July 30, 2020. A copy of the Delegation Order is in Appendix A of this Report.

Performance 2020-2021

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

In 2020-2021, the CRTC ATIP Office carried forward 12 requests from 2019-2020 and received 96 new requests in fiscal year 2020-2021 for a total of 108 requests.

In 2019-2020, the CRTC ATIP Office carried forward four requests from 2018-2019 and received 52 new requests in fiscal year 2019-2020 for a total of 56 requests.

The numbers represent an increase of 85% of new requests and an increase of 92% of total requests.

1.2 Source of requests

The three most significant categories of requesters by number of requests received were public with 35; media with 19; and decline to identify with 27. There was an increase of 84% in the number of requests from the public compared to the previous fiscal year.

1.3 Informal requests

The number of informal requests had a notable increase of 169% from the previous fiscal year, with a total of 105 informal requests processed in 2020-2021, compared to 39 requests in 2019-2020. Informal requests are made on the basis of the posted summaries of the completed requests, which are available on Canada’s Open Government website.

Section 2: Reasons for Declining to Act on Requests

During the reporting period, there were no requests made to the Office of Information Commissioner to decline to act on requests that were vexatious, made in bad faith or an abuse of the right to make a request for access to records.

Section 3: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

Of the 85 requests completed in the reporting period, 58 were closed within 30 days, compared to the previous reporting year when 23 were closed within 30 days. 57% of all requests were closed within the first 60 days, while the percentage last fiscal year was 65%.

The 4% of requests that were closed in 181 days or more is indicative of the volume of records and complexity of files processed by the CRTC during the reporting period, which is explained further in section 3.5 of this report.

With respect to disposition, of the 85 closed requests, 17 of the CRTC’s releases were fully disclosed (20% of total requests closed), and 40 were disclosed in part (47 % of the total requests closed). No records existed in response to 22 requests (26% of the total requests closed), and three requests (4% of the total requests closed) were abandoned. All records were exempted or excluded in response to one request (1%).

3.2 Exemptions

Sections 13 through 24 of the Act set out the specific and limited exemptions that may be applied to protect information pertaining to a particular public or private interest. Section 26 of the Act is an administrative exemption relating to the publication of information.

The CRTC makes every effort to disclose as much information as possible and uphold both the spirit of the Act and the severability provision of section 25. The majority of the exemptions invoked by the CRTC fell under three sections of the Act: subsection 19(1) (mandatory exemption), which protects personal information, was used in 29 different files, paragraph 21(1)(b) (discretionary exemption), which is related to the operations of government, was used in 30 different files and paragraph 20(1)(b) (mandatory exemption), which protects a third party’s information, was used in 25 different files.

3.3 Exclusions

Paragraph 68(a) specifies that the Act does not apply to published material or material available for purchase by the public. Paragraph 68(a) of the Act was invoked in eight instances in this fiscal year. This number does not include files for which the ATIP Office provided web links to enable the requester to find publicly available information related to their request.

Under section 68.1 of the Act, information related to journalistic, creative and programming activities held by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is excluded from the Act. It protects information about journalistic sources, as well as the creative and programming independence of the CBC. Section 68.1 was not invoked in this fiscal year.

3.4 Format of information released

Of the 85 files completed in 2020-2021, 57 were released in electronic format. For 28 requests, no records were provided as the requests were either abandoned, generated no results or all records were exempted or excluded.  Two requests were transferred to other government institutions.

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

In 2020-2021, the CRTC’s ATIP Office processed 521,761 pages compared to 51,421 pages in the previous reporting period, representing an increase of 915%.  This significant increase is derived from a large complex file that had been open since 2015 and was closed in fiscal year 2020-2021 that had 479,782 pages processed.

In 2020-2021, the CRTC disclosed 5% of the processed pages compared to 2019-2020, where 36% of the processed pages were disclosed in the closed files. This significant decrease is derived from the large file that had been open since 2015 and was closed in fiscal year 2020-2021 that had 12,194 pages disclosed and 479,782 pages processed.

The ATIP Office noticed an increase in the number of duplicates being provided.  The number of duplicate pages across all closed files was 15,871 which is a significant increase of 256% compared to the previous year where 4,456 pages were deemed to be duplicates.  This in large part is derived from the 2015 file that was closed where 11,312 pages were duplicates.

In addition, of all the pages received, 5,881 were deemed to be not relevant which represents a 29% decrease over the previous fiscal year where 8,294 pages were determined to be not relevant to the request for which they were received. Of the 5,881 not relevant pages received, 1,006 of those pages were from the closed file that had been open since 2015.

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

Of the 85 requests completed during the reporting period, records were disclosed to the requester in 57 files. 44 of the responses contained fewer than 100 pages.

The average page count for the closed requests with disclosure was 458. In 2019-2020, the average page count for the closed requests with disclosure was 630, highlighting a decrease of 37% of pages per file with disclosure.

3.5.3 Other complexities

For the purposes of the report, CRTC’s ATIP Office used the “Other” designation to track the number of requests where a consultation was required; a legal opinion was sought; an assessment of fees was undertaken; or a notice pursuant to subsection 28(1)^{Footnote 2} was sent to a third party.

Analysing the table above, we can see an increase in other complexities among the requests. In 2019-2020, 12 files presented other complexities compared to 19 this fiscal year, a 58% increase.

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

During the reporting period, of the 85 requests closed, 81 were closed within their legislative timelines.

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislative timelines

During the reporting period, four requests were closed past the legislative timelines due to heavy workload. However, 95.3% of requests were closed on time. This demonstrates the CRTC’s commitment to ensuring timely access to records.

3.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislative timelines

For the four files completed past the legislated timeframe, extensions where taken. The four files took an additional 38 days, 60 days, 86 days and 123 days in addition to the extensions.

3.8 Requests for translation

There were no requests for translation made during the reporting period.

Section 4: Extensions

4.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Subsection 9(1) of the Access to Information Act allows the head of a government institution to extend the initial period under the following three circumstances:

• 9(1)(a): large number of records or requires a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would interfere unreasonably with the institution's operations;
• 9(1)(b): consultation is necessary and it cannot be completed within the 30-day statutory deadline;
• 9(1)(c): notice is given to a third party under subsection 27(1) of the Access to Information Act.

4.2 Length of extensions

A total of 43 extensions were taken on requests closed during the reporting period. 17 pursuant to 9(1)(a), 12 pursuant to 9(1)(b) and 14 pursuant to 9(1)(c).

When requesting an extension beyond 30 days, the ATIP Office notifies the requester as well as the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC).

Section 5: Fees

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

Enabling authority: Access to Information Act

Fee amount: $5

Total Revenue: $415

Fees waived: In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, the CRTC waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations. The CRTC waived 13 application fees during the reporting period.

The total cost of administering the Act was $230,556.00 as detailed in Part 9 below.

Section 6: Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations

The CRTC received 22 new consultations within the reporting period and 21 were closed. A total of 576 pages were received and reviewed. One consultation request was carried over to the next reporting period. This represents a decrease of 40% in the number of requests and a 40% increase in the number of pages reviewed compared to the previous reporting period.

6.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada Institutions

For 19 of the consultations, the ATIP Office was able to provide a response within 15 days; the remaining two responses were provided within 30 days.

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

No consultation was received from other organizations.

Section 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

No consultations on Cabinet Confidences were necessary during the reporting period.

Section 8: Complaints and Investigations

During the reporting period, four new complaints were received from the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) and six complaints from previous years were carried forward. During the reporting period, one complaint was closed and at the end of the reporting period, nine complaints remained open. The CRTC ATIP Office is committed to resolving these complaints.

Section 9: Court Action

The CRTC was not involved in Federal Court cases regarding ATIP during this reporting period.

Section 10: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

When fully staffed, the CRTC ATIP Office has six indeterminate employees, three of whom are devoted full-time to the administration of the Act and three on a part-time basis. This equates to 5.25 FTEs devoted to activities related to the Act. However, due to unforeseen circumstances and staff turnover, the positions staffed equaled 3.383 FTEs for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

In 2020-2021, the ATIP Office incurred an estimated $230,556 in salary costs for the processing of requests received pursuant to the Act. These costs do not include the resources expended by the program areas of the CRTC to meet the requirements of the Act.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, new workplace measures and processes were put in place mid-March 2020. Prior to the pandemic, the CRTC had started the process of receiving all responsive records electronically in the ATIP Office. However, not all sectors had been doing so by the middle of March 2020. These new workplace measures allowed ATIP staff to train and coach the sectors as they adapted to this new electronic tasking and retrieval process.  This fully digital process is now implemented at the CRTC and the sectors are responding efficiently with this electronic environment.

Training

Over the course of the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the ATIP Office offered training sessions to CRTC employees and management. The ATIP Office held six sessions, one in French and five in English, attended by 33 of the 450 CRTC employees which represents 7% of staff. The ATIP Office continues to promote the roles and responsibilities of all CRTC staff with respect to the Act and is continuously meeting with individuals to provide one-on-one support.

The CRTC intranet, which is accessible to all employees, includes a section that describes the ATIP Office’s roles and responsibilities and provides information on the Act and related Commission policies and procedures. The ATIP Office is constantly looking for new methods to increase awareness throughout the Commission and is working on an initiative to include items in the CRTC Weekly News to all employees.

Policies, Guidelines and Procedures and Initiatives

Info Source is a series of publications containing information on the Government of Canada and on the government’s data collection activities. Info Source is intended to help the public access government information and to exercise their rights under the Privacy Act and Access to Information Act.

Each year, the ATIP Office prepares updates on the CRTC’s activities and information holdings for publication in Info Source, which are published on the Commission’s website. During 2020-2021, the Commission continued to revise its Info Source chapter based on the Strategic Outcomes and Program Alignment Architecture.

The CRTC’s website provides information on the Commission’s policies, its organizational structure and the means to contact Commission officials. In accordance with the federal government’s policy on proactive disclosure, the CRTC’s website also provides access to travel and hospitality expenses, contracts, job reclassifications, summaries of completed access to information requests and titles of briefing materials addressed to the Deputy Head.

The ATIP office has also prepared its own internal administrative manual to ensure consistency among team members and to be able assist new ATIP analysts.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits

Six complaints were carried forward from 2019-2020. One was filed in 2017-2018 and the five others were filed in 2018-2019. In the course of the 2020-2021 reporting period, four new complaints were received and one was closed within the same fiscal year.

The OIC filed one results of findings during the reporting year, it was deemed resolved.

Monitoring Compliance

The CRTC is committed to responding to every ATI request completely and in a timely matter. Therefore, the ATIP Office holds weekly meetings to review priorities and any potential issues. In addition, the ATIP Coordinator meets weekly with each analyst to review on-time performance, and with the Office of the Secretary General to provide a briefing on the status of the open files. In turn, the Office of the Secretary General raises any concerns at the Senior Management meeting. This committee includes the Deputy Head and all of the sector heads that report directly to him.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

Delegation Order for the Administration of the Access to Information Act

I, the undersigned, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), pursuant to section 95 (1) of the Access to Information Act*, hereby designate the person or persons holding the position or positions set out in the schedule hereto to exercise and perform the powers, duties and functions of the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, as the head of the government institution, under the sections of the Act set out in the attached schedule for each position.

As well, the designation of all powers, duties and functions under the Access to Information Act prior to June 21, 2019 remain in effect.

This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders with respect to the CRTC, or any portion thereof.

*R.S.C. 1985, Ch. A-1

Appendix C: Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Name of institution: CRTC

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Capacity to Receive ATIP Requests

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records

Appendix D: New Exemptions Table