2011-2012 Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act

Foreword

Each fiscal year, the head of every government institution has to prepare and submit to Parliament an annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act (ATIA).

This annual report is tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 72 of the ATIA under the direction of the Minister of National Revenue and the Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It describes how the CRA administered and fulfilled its obligations under the ATIA during the period April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012. It also discusses issues of interest related to program delivery, emerging trends, and areas of focus for the year ahead.

The Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act (ATIA) came into force on July 1, 1983. It gives Canadian citizens, along with persons and corporations physically present in Canada, the right to request access to federal government records.

The ATIA is based on three main principles:

• Government information should be available to the public.
• Exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific.
• Decisions about disclosures should be reviewable independently of government.

The ATIA’s formal processes do not replace other means of getting government information. The CRA encourages individuals, businesses, and other groups to consider obtaining information through the following informal methods:

• topical indexes on the CRA Web site: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/azindex/menu-eng.html
• forms and publications: 1-800-959-2221
• TTY (Teletypewriter for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing or who have a speech impairment): 1-800-665-0354
• individual income tax enquiries line: 1-800-959-8281
• enquires line for businesses and self-employed individuals: 1-800-959-5525
• universal child care benefit, Canada child tax benefit, and related provincial and territorial programs, child disability benefit, and children's special allowances enquiries: 1-800-387-1193
• Charities Client Assistance (information about registered charities): 1-800-267-2384
• International Tax Services Office: non-resident individuals, 1-800-267-5177; non‑resident corporations, non-resident corporation accounts, and non‑resident trusts, 1-800-561-7761; Part XIII tax and non-resident withholding accounts, 1-800-267-3395.

Table of contents

• Overview of the Canada Revenue Agency
• The Access to Information and Privacy Directorate
• The Access to Information and Privacy Oversight Review Committee
• Access to Information Act
• Schedule – Access to Information Act
• Statistical report – interpretation and explanation
• Operational environment
• Policies, guidelines, and procedures
• Collaboration with oversight bodies
• Public reporting
• Complaints and investigations
• Conclusion
• Appendix A - Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Overview of the Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories. It also administers various social and economic benefit and incentive programs delivered through the tax system. In addition, the CRA has the authority to enter into new partnerships with the provinces, territories, and other government bodies—at their request and on a cost-recovery basis—to administer non-harmonized taxes and other services. Overall, the CRA promotes compliance with Canada's tax legislation and regulations and plays an important role in the economic and social well-being of Canadians.

The Minister of National Revenue is accountable to Parliament for all of the CRA's activities, including administering and enforcing the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act.

The Canada Revenue Agency Act provides for the establishment of a Board of Management consisting of 15 directors appointed by the Governor in Council. They include the Chair, the Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, a director nominated by each province, one director nominated by the territories, and two directors nominated by the federal government. Under the provisions of the Canada Revenue Agency Act, the Board of Management oversees the organization and administration of the CRA, including the management of its resources, services, property, personnel, and contracts. In fulfilling this role, the Board of Management brings a forward-looking strategic perspective to the CRA’s operations, fosters sound management practices, and is committed to efficient and effective service delivery.

As the CRA's chief executive officer, the Commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day administration and enforcement of the program legislation that falls under the Minister's delegated authority. The Commissioner is accountable to the Board of Management for managing the CRA, supervising employees, and implementing policies and budgets. Moreover, the Commissioner must assist and advise the Minister with respect to legislated authorities, duties, functions, and Cabinet responsibilities.

The CRA is made up of 13 branches and 5 regional offices across the country.

Branches

• Appeals
• Assessment and Benefit Services
• Compliance Programs
• Corporate Audit and Evaluation
• Enterprise Risk Management
• Finance and Administration
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• Legal Services
• Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs
• Public Affairs
• Strategy and Integration
• Taxpayer Services and Debt Management

Regions

• Atlantic
• Ontario
• Pacific
• Prairie
• Quebec

The Access to Information and Privacy Directorate

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate supports the CRA in meeting its requirements under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Privacy Act (PA). To fulfill this mandate, the ATIP Directorate:

• responds to requests and enquiries under the ATIA and the PA;
• provides advice and guidance to CRA employees on requirements related to requests for, and the proper management of, personal information under the CRA’s control;
• coordinates privacy impact assessment processes within the CRA, including providing expert advice to CRA employees on privacy implications, risks, and options for avoiding or reducing risks;
• provides training and awareness sessions on the ATIA, the PA, and the practices and requirements for managing personal information;
• communicates with the Treasury Board Secretariat and the offices of the information and privacy commissioners of Canada about complaints, audits, and policy or legislative requirements; and
• fulfills corporate planning and reporting obligations such as the CRA’s annual reports to Parliament on the administration of the ATIA and the PA.

Marie-Claude Juneau is the Director of the ATIP Directorate. She reports to the Assistant Commissioner of the Public Affairs Branch.

In 2011-2012, 130 full-time employees were responsible for administering the ATIA and the PA. The ATIP Directorate is made up of two main components: production, and program support and training (internal and CRA-wide). In addition to its headquarters office in Ottawa, the ATIP Directorate has one office in Vancouver and one in Montreal.

The Access to Information and Privacy Oversight Review Committee

The Access to Information and Privacy Oversight Review Committee is an executive-level committee with representatives from branches across the CRA. The committee facilitates senior horizontal review of emerging access to information and privacy issues that could have an impact on the CRA. The committee reviews privacy impact assessments and examines federal government policies and initiatives that pertain to access to information and privacy at the CRA. In 2011-2012, committee membership was extended to the Enterprise Risk Management Branch and the Legal Services Branch in a further effort to address potential legal and high-risk issues.

Access to Information Act

As head of the CRA, the Minister of National Revenue is responsible for how the CRA administers the ATIA and complies with Treasury Board Secretariat policy instruments. Section 73 of the ATIA gives the Minister of National Revenue the authority to designate one or more officers or employees of the CRA to exercise or perform all, or part, of the Minister’s powers, duties, and functions under the Act.

The CRA’s current Designation Order for the ATIA was signed by Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue, on June 8, 2011. It identifies specific provisions of the ATIA and its regulations that the Minister has delegated to various positions within the CRA.

The ATIP Director, assistant directors, and managers of the production units approve responses to ATIA and PA requests. Delegations are extended to assistant commissioners, although they are exercised only in exceptional cases, if ever. In 2011-2012, there were no cases where delegation was exercised by assistant commissioners.

Schedule – Access to Information Act

Officers authorized to perform the powers, duties, and functions given to the Minister of National Revenue as head of a government institution under the provisions of the Access to Information Act and its regulations.

Subsection 4(2.1); paragraphs 7(a) and (b); subsection 8(1); section 9; subsections 11(2) to (6); paragraphs 12(2)(b) and 12(3)(b); sections 13 to 16; sections 17 to 26; subsections 27(1) and (4); paragraph 28(1)(b); subsections 28(2) and (4); subsection 29(1); section 33; paragraph 35(2)(b); and subsections 37(4), 43(1), 44(2), and 71(1) of the Access to Information Act; as well as subsections 6(1), 7(2), and 7(3) and sections 8 and 8.1 of the Access to Information Regulations

• Commissioner
• Deputy Commissioner
• Assistant commissioners
• Chief Audit Executive and Director General Program Evaluation, Corporate Audit and Evaluation Branch
• Director, Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate, Public Affairs Branch
• Assistant directors, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch
• Managers, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch

Section 16.5 of the Access to Information Act

• Commissioner
• Deputy Commissioner
• Chief Audit Executive and Director General Program Evaluation, Corporate Audit and Evaluation Branch
• Assistant Commissioner, Public Affairs Branch
• Director, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch
• Assistant directors, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch

Paragraph 52(2)(b) and subsection 52(3) of the Access to Information Act

• Commissioner
• Deputy Commissioner
• Assistant commissioners
• Chief Audit Executive and Director General Program Evaluation, Corporate Audit and Evaluation Branch
• Director, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch
• Assistant directors, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch

Section 72 of the Access to Information Act

• Commissioner
• Deputy Commissioner
• Assistant Commissioner, Public Affairs Branch
• Director, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch
• Assistant directors, ATIP Directorate, Public Affairs Branch

Statistical report – interpretation and explanation

Appendix A provides a statistical report on the ATIA for the 2011-2012 reporting period. The following explains and interprets the statistical information.

Requests under the Access to Information Act

During the reporting period April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, the CRA received 2,237 new access to information requests. This is 352 fewer requests than the previous year, but is still more than the five-year average of 2,059 requests per year. Since 1,027 requests were carried forward from 2010-2011, there was a total of 3,264 active requests.

The following table shows the number of requests the CRA received and completed in the past five fiscal years.

Fiscal year	Requests received	Requests completed	Pages processed
2007-2008	1,903	1,636	426,750
2008-2009	1,770	1,540	568,090
2009-2010	1,798	1,651	1,068,810
2010-2011	2,589	2,605	1,116,838
2011-2012	2,237	2,683	998,802

A further 15,667 pages were processed for requests that were later treated informally; therefore, in total the ATIP Directorate processed 1,014,469 pages in 2011-2012.

In addition, the ATIP Directorate’s Program Support and Training Division responded to 800 emails and 876 telephone enquiries from both inside and outside the CRA. Responses to enquiries included giving advice and guidance on processes and procedures relating to the ATIA or the PA and providing alternative contact information.

Sources of requests

The following table shows the sources of the requests received in 2011-2012.

Source	Number of requests	Percentage
Media	60	2.68%
Academia	3	0.13%
Business (private sector)	799	35.72%
Organization	13	0.58%
Public	1,362	60.89%

Disposition of requests

During the reporting period, the ATIP Directorate completed 2,683 access to information requests. The following shows the disposition of the requests.

Disposition	Number of requests	Percentage
All disclosed	375	13.98%
Disclosed in part	1,600	59.63%
All exempted	16	0.60%
All excluded	68	2.53%
No records exist	205	7.64%
Request transferred	5	0.19%
Request abandoned	362	13.49%
Treated informally	52	1.94%

For more details, including completion times, see Appendix A.

Exemptions

The following table shows the number of requests in which the listed sections under the ATIA were invoked.

Section	Description	Number of requests	Percentage
13	Obtained in confidence from other governments	140	5.22%
14	Injurious to federal-provincial affairs	35	1.30%
15	Injurious to the conduct of international affairs, the defence of Canada or an allied state, or pertains to subversive activities	87	3.24%
16	Law enforcement and investigation information or security of institutions	1,150	42.86%
17	Safety of individuals	10	0.37%
18	Prejudice to the economic interests of Canada	11	0.41%
19	Personal information	1,046	38.99%
20	Third-party business information	53	1.98%
21	Operations of government – advice	596	22.33%
22	Testing procedures, tests, and audits	21	0.82%
23	Solicitor-client privilege	268	10.06%
24	Statutory prohibitions	1,194	44.58%
26	Information to be published	2	0.07%

Exclusions

Exclusions were cited 99 times under section 68, and 43 times under section 69 in 2011-2012.

Format of information released

In 2011-2012, the Montreal ATIP Directorate office launched a pilot project that gave requestors the choice of receiving their response package on CD or DVD. Providing electronic documents drastically reduced manual processes and paper consumption. Of the 1,975 access to information requests for which information was disclosed in full or in part, 46% were released in paper format and 52% were released electronically. A further 2% were released through other formats (such as viewing the material in a reading room).

Complexity of requests

Based on the Treasury Board Secretariat’s complexity criteria, many requests that the CRA processed are considered complex because of their number of pages. Of the access to information requests closed during 2011-2012, 34% involved processing 100 pages or more. In fact, 19 of these requests involved processing an average of 7,570 pages. In total, the CRA processed 998,802 pages during 2011-2012. It is important to mention that many requests involving 100 pages or less were also considered complex because of subject matter and sensitivity of the file. For more details, see Appendix A.

Deemed refusals

Of the 2,683 requests that were closed in 2011-2012, 869 (32%) were closed past the statutory deadline for reasons including workload capacity, and the need to carry out consultations. This figure is higher than normal because the CRA focused on eliminating aged inventory in 2011-2012.

The number of requests that took an extended period of time to process was also significantly higher in 2011-2012 compared to previous fiscal years. Again, this is in large part because of the CRA’s decision to focus primarily on eliminating aged inventory this fiscal year.

Requests for translation

No translations were needed to respond to access to information requests during the fiscal year.

Completion time and extensions

The following table outlines the completion time frames for the 2,683 requests processed in 2011-2012.

Completion time	Number of requests	Percentage
30 days or under	911	33.96%
31 to 60 days	703	26.20%
61 to 120 days	380	14.16%
121 days or more	689	25.68%

The ATIP Directorate completed 1,814 (68%) requests within the time frame required by law. This means that responses were provided within 30 calendar days or, where an extension was claimed, within the extended deadline.

The ATIP Directorate claimed extensions on 1,497 requests closed in 2011-2012. Of these, 609 extensions were applied to requests from prior fiscal years and 888 were applied in 2011-2012. The large number of extensions applied to requests from prior fiscal years is due to the successful elimination of aged inventory. The extensions were applied because the CRA contended that meeting the original 30-day time limit would have interfered unreasonably with operations or because the CRA needed to consult with third parties or other government institutions.

Fees

During the reporting period amounted to $56,805.00. For more details, see Appendix A.

Consultations

During 2011-2012, the ATIP Directorate closed 93 consultation requests from other government institutions and organizations. A total of 9,698 pages were reviewed to respond to these requests. A further 9 requests were carried forward to fiscal year 2012-2013.

For more details on consultations received from other government institutions and organizations, including disposition and completion times, see Appendix A.

Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

There were no consultations on Cabinet confidences in 2011-2012.

Costs

In 2011-2012, the ATIP Directorate’s cost to administer the ATIA was $5,862,880.00 excluding coordination support from the branches.

For more details, see Appendix A.

Operational environment

The CRA’s ATIP Directorate processes a large volume of access to information requests. In fact, the CRA processed the second largest volume of access to information requests among all government institutions in 2010-2011, the last year for which statistics are available from the Treasury Board Secretariat. The ATIP Directorate’s workload has increased steadily over the years: from 129,942 pages in 1999, to 344,394 pages in 2005-2006, to 998,802[1] pages in 2011-2012.

In addition to its workload, several concurrent challenges have strained the ATIP Directorate’s operations. The major challenges include:

• Aged inventory: one third of the CRA’s access to information inventory for 2011-2012 consisted of inventory from previous fiscal years.
• Bulk requestors: 28.1% of all access to information requests received during 2011-2012 were from five requestors. In fact, 17.9% of requests were from one requestor.
• Less experienced staff: 39% of the ATIP Directorate’s staff began working in the directorate in 2011-2012. These employees require more support, training, and oversight to fulfill their responsibilities effectively.
• Sensitive and complex requests: these requests require more detailed analysis and multi‑jurisdictional consultations or litigation.

To respond to these challenges, the CRA developed and began implementing a multi-year action plan in 2010-2011. The plan focused on implementing specific activities in four key areas:

• communications
• training
• staffing
• efficiency measures

As the following illustration highlights, the CRA has made significant progress in implementing this action plan.

Actions

Communications

In 2011-2012, the ATIP Directorate focused most of its communications activities on raising awareness of how all CRA employees can help Canadians to access information from the CRA. Communications activities also focused on providing Canadians with improved information to support their right of access to this information. A summary of some of the key activities completed in 2011-2012 follows.

Right to Know Week

Right to Know Week is an international initiative promoted in Canada by the Office of the Information Commissioner. The purpose is to raise awareness about people’s right to access government information. In September 2011, the CRA undertook a wide range of activities to promote Right to Know Week within the CRA:

• A customized intranet site was developed to inform staff of duty-to-assist principles. Thousands of employees visited the site and many of them participated in interactive activities including an ATIP myth-busters exercise.
• Duty-to-assist awareness sessions were attended by over 800 CRA staff.
• The Commissioner sent a national email to all CRA staff to inform them about the week and planned activities.

CRA intranet

An ongoing priority for the ATIP Directorate is to ensure that all CRA employees have the tools they need to fulfill their access-related responsibilities. In 2011-2012, the ATIP Directorate revamped its intranet site to provide online tools for all CRA stakeholders involved in responding to ATIP requests. The information included guidance on how to respond to an ATIP request, how to make recommendations, and an enhanced frequently-asked-questions section.

CRA Internet

To support Canadians in exercising their right to access CRA information, the ATIP Directorate revised the CRA Web site. It also added new content that tells the public about the information they need to make an ATIP request; tells them about how Canadians can request information informally; and tells them about the CRA’s practices for collecting, using, and disclosing personal information.

In support of Canada’s Open Government initiative, the CRA also began posting the summary lines of completed access to information requests on its Web site in January 2012. These summary lines tell Canadians about the kind of information that has been requested, and gives them an opportunity to access it informally.

Internal engagement

To effectively manage ATIP-related matters, the ATIP Directorate continued to work closely with the ATIP Oversight Review Committee. The committee’s input and guidance was particularly useful in advising the ATIP Directorate about required content on the CRA Web site.

The ATIP Directorate also worked with the Strategy and Integration Branch to include content related to access to information during Information Management Awareness Week.

Training

The ATIP Directorate substantially expanded training to key audiences within the CRA during 2011-2012. Training and awareness material was amended to emphasize duty-to assist principles. These principles mean that it is the duty of all CRA employees to make every reasonable effort to assist applicants, to respond to requests accurately and completely, and to provide prompt access to records. These principles were further reinforced during Right to Know Week.

Training on access to information and privacy was delivered to 3,538 employees in 169 sessions across Canada. This represents a 218% increase in employees trained compared to fiscal year 2010-2011.

Further training was also offered to management through the CRA’s MG Learning Program: 22 sessions were delivered to 440 managers. Also, the Legal Services Branch delivered 6 training sessions to 94 employees on the application of ATIA and PA legislation and jurisprudence.

The ATIP Directorate also gave extensive training to employees working within the directorate. Specifically, training was provided on the in-house tracking and electronic redaction system (scanning and severing application), and all new analysts were given comprehensive training on the ATIA and PA and how they apply within the CRA.

Staffing

In 2011-2012, the ATIP Directorate received significant resources to implement its multi-year improvement plan. As a result, the ATIP Directorate:

• hired 32 term employees to process files more quickly;
• expanded the team established in 2010-2011 to focus on eliminating aged inventory; and
• hired more staff to strengthen privacy governance, expand communications and training, and implement efficiency measures.

These staffing measures enabled the ATIP Directorate to exceed its production targets. Indeed, at the end of 2011-2012, the ATIP Directorate had eliminated 100% of its pre-April 2010 inventory and 92.4 % of the inventory it carried forward from the previous fiscal year. The latter was well over the 75% target established within the workload elimination plan.

As a result of these measures, the ATIP Directorate completed 19.9% more requests than it received in 2011-2012. The number of files carried forward (581) to 2012-2013 was the lowest it has been since 2006-2007.

Efficiency measures

Making operations sustainable over the longer term remains a critical goal for the ATIP Directorate. Toward this end, the ATIP Directorate implemented a number of efficiency measures in 2011-2012. The most significant were the following:

• Reorganized its divisions according to the subject matter of requests. Reorganizing divisions along these lines is intended to maximize productivity, support CRA employees, and better meet taxpayers’ needs.
• Launched a pilot project in Montreal that gave requestors the option of receiving their response package on CD or DVD. Providing the documents electronically drastically reduced manual processes and paper consumption in the directorate.
• Added information toolkits to its intranet site to help employees fulfill their ATIP-related duties.
• Processed all new requests using the electronic redaction system, a scanning and severing application, which resulted in the reduction of manual processes.

Policies, guidelines, and procedures

The CRA did not roll out any policies, procedures, and guidelines related to access to information during 2010-2011. However, the CRA complies with the Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act and all other related Treasury Board Secretariat policies, guidelines, and procedures.

Collaboration with oversight bodies

The CRA continues to work closely with both the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Treasury Board Secretariat on matters related to access to information that concern both of our organizations. In consultation with the Office of the Information Commissioner, for instance, the CRA revised processes and procedures to ensure effective management of the following matters:

• special delegation complaints[2];
• large case files, and
• complaints from bulk requestors.

The Office of the Information Commissioner also provided support to the CRA during Right to Know Week.

The CRA also consulted and collaborated with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Information and Privacy Policy Division to fulfill its obligations and to strengthen its existing operations. As part of the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Open Government initiative, for instance, the CRA began posting the summary lines of completed access to information requests on the CRA Web site in January 2012. The CRA was also an active participant on a Tiger Team established by the Treasury Board Secretariat to define functional requirements for a future pan‑governmental ATIP system.

Public reporting

In 2011-2012, the CRA revised its Info Source chapter to ensure the information it contains is accurate. Through this process, classes of records and personal information banks were updated.

The ATIP Directorate also reported on its access to information performance by responding to the lines of evidence 12.4, and 12.6 in the 2011-2012 Management Accountability Framework. The Framework is a key performance management tool that the federal government uses to support the accountability of deputy heads and to improve management practices across departments and agencies.

The following table outlines the CRA’s Management Accountability Framework results since 2008-2009.

Fiscal year	Results of line of evidence 12.4 (Access to information)	Results of line of evidence 12.6 (Governance and capacity)
2008-2009	Opportunity for improvement	Not evaluated
2009-2010	Acceptable	Not evaluated
2010-2011	Acceptable	Strong
2011-2012	Acceptable	Strong

Complaints and investigations

During 2011-2012, the CRA received 380 complaints: 200 of them (52.6%) were from one requestor.

The following table details the 257 complaints closed during the fiscal year. Of these, 71% were discontinued. Some of these complaints were received in previous fiscal years.

Disposition	Number of complaints	Percentage
Discontinued	182	71%
Well-founded resolved without recommendation	40	16%
Not well-founded	29	11%
Well-founded/resolved	2	0.007%
Settled	2	0.007%
Resolution mediated	1	0.004%
Abandoned	1	0.004%

Conclusion

The CRA is committed to providing all Canadians with access to information in accordance with the ATIA. To this end, the CRA has made significant progress in addressing its challenges by implementing its multi-year improvement plan. Having greatly reduced its aged inventory, the CRA is well positioned to continue strengthening its operations by taking the following actions:

• rolling out targeted communication and training products to key audiences to ensure they understand duty-to-assist principles;
• expanding informal disclosure mechanisms wherever possible within the CRA;
• launching upgraded technology, including a new version of the ATIP tracking system and electronic redaction system; and
• implementing additional efficiency measures.

Appendix A - Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

[1] The CRA processed an additional 15,667 pages in response to informal requests for information, for an overall total of 1,014,469 pages in 2011-2012.

[2] Special delegation complaints are complaints that involve the application of specific exemptions within the ATIA which concern either (1) information that was obtained in confidence from a foreign government or an international organization (section 13) or (2) information that, if released, could be injurious to the conduct of international affairs (section 15).

Date modified:

2012-06-29