Access to Information Act - CRTC Annual Report - 2022-2023

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, 2022 and ending March 31, 2023.

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 several 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 Act within 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 2022-2023, the CRTC has not entered into any service agreements pursuant to section 96 of the Access toInformation 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 25, 2023. A copy of the Delegation Order is in Appendix A of this Report.

Performance 2022-2023

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

In 2022-2023, the CRTC ATIP Office carried forward 46 requests from 2021-2022 and received 101 new requests in fiscal year 2022-2023 for a total of 147 requests.

In 2021-2022, the CRTC ATIP Office carried forward 23 requests from 2020-2021 and received 65 new requests in fiscal year 2021-2022 for a total of 88 requests.

The numbers represent an increase of 55% of new requests and an increase of 67% of total requests.

1.2 Source of requests

The three most significant categories of requesters by number of requests received were public with 40; business with 27; and decline to identify with 17. There was an increase of 150% in the number of requests from the public compared to the previous fiscal year.

1.3 Informal requests

The number of informal requests received had a notable increase of 676% from the previous fiscal year, with a total of 194 informal requests processed in 2022-2023, compared to 25 requests in 2021-2022. 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 97 requests completed in the reporting period, 40 were closed within 30 days, compared to the previous reporting year when 21 were closed within 30 days.

With respect to disposition, of the 97 closed requests, 21 of the CRTC’s releases were fully disclosed (22% of total requests closed), and 50 were disclosed in part (51% of the total requests closed). No records existed in response to 17 requests (17.5% of the total requests closed), and seven requests (7% of the total requests closed) were abandoned. All records were exempted or excluded in response to two requests (2% of the total requests closed).

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 30 different files, paragraph 21(1)(a) and paragraph 21(1)(b) (discretionary exemptions), which relate to the operations of government, were used in 23 and 20 different files, respectively.

3.3 Exclusions

No exclusions were invoked in any closed files for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

3.4 Format of information released

Of the 97 files completed in 2022-2023, 71 were released in electronic format. For 26 requests, no records were provided as the requests were either abandoned, generated no results or all records were exempted or excluded. There were no requests transferred to other government institutions.

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

In 2022-2023, the CRTC’s ATIP Office processed 4,881 pages compared to 20,873 pages in the previous reporting period, representing a decrease of 77%.

In 2022-2023, the CRTC disclosed 68% of pages processed compared to 2021-2022, where 34% of processed pages were disclosed in the closed files.

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

Of the 97 requests completed during the reporting period, records were disclosed to the requester in 71 files. 58 of the responses contained fewer than 100 pages.

The average page count for the closed requests with disclosure was 64. In 2021-2022, the average page count for the closed requests with disclosure was 464, highlighting a decrease of 86% 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 consultations required as well as legal advice sought, whereas notice to third parties saw a decrease as compared to the previous fiscal year. In 2021-2022, 35 files presented other complexities compared to 34 this fiscal year.

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

During the reporting period, of the 97 requests closed, 67 were closed within their legislative timelines.

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislative timelines

During the reporting period, 30 requests were closed past the legislative timelines due to heavy workload and consultations. However, 69% 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 30 files completed past the legislated timeframe, there were 22 files where extensions were taken. The 30 files took an extension for an additional 1-15 days for two files, 16-30 days for one file, 31-60 days for three files, 61-120 days for seven files, 121-180 days for one file, 181-365 days for six files and two files that required over 365 days. The remaining eight files that were closed past the legislated timeframe did not have any extensions taken.

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 59 extensions were taken on requests closed during the reporting period which represents an increase from 24 extensions during the previous reporting period. Of those 59, 38 file extensions were pursuant to 9(1)(a), six file extensions were pursuant to 9(1)(b), and 15 file extensions were pursuant to 9(1)(c).

The ATIP Office notifies requesters of any extensions taken, and when requesting an extension beyond 30 days, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) is also notified.

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: $485

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 four application fees during the reporting period.

The total cost of administering the Act was $270,000.00 as detailed in Part 10 below.

Section 6: Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

The CRTC received nine new consultations within the reporting period and nine were closed. A total of 85 pages were received and reviewed. Two consultation requests were carried over to the next reporting period. This represents a decrease of 10% in the number of requests and an 81% decrease 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 three of the consultations, the ATIP Office was able to provide a response within 15 days; four responses were provided within 120 days, one response was provided within 365 days, and one response was provided beyond 365 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, 20 new complaints were received from the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) and 17 complaints from previous years were carried forward. During the reporting period, 29 complaints were closed and at the end of the reporting period, eight 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, five of whom are devoted full-time to the administration of the Act, and one on a part-time basis. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the positions staffed equaled 4.0 FTEs, including one part-time/casual employee.

In 2022-2023, the ATIP Office incurred an estimated $270,000 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. 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 2022-2023 fiscal year, the ATIP Office offered training sessions to CRTC employees and management. The ATIP Office held two sessions, one in French and one in English, attended by 148 of the 550 CRTC employees which represents 27% 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.

 Info Source for the CRTC is published on the Commission’s website.

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 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

In the course of the 2022-2023 reporting period, the CRTC ATIP Office successfully closed 29 of the 37 active complaints for the reporting period, leaving only 8 outstanding complaints.

Monitoring Compliance

The CRTC is committed to responding to every ATI request completely and in a timely matter. Therefore, the ATIP Office holds weekly team meetings to review priorities and any potential issues. In addition, the ATIP Coordinator holds weekly bilats with analysts to review on-time performance, and weekly with the Legal sector Office to receive status updates on outstanding files and retrievals. In turn, the Office of the Secretary General raises any concerns at the Senior Management meeting. This committee includes the Deputy Head and all the sector heads that report directly to her.

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.

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: Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Section 3: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Access to Information Act

Section 4: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Privacy Act

Section 5: Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Section 6: Section 6: Universal Access under the Privacy Act

Appendix D: New Exemptions Table