2023-2024 Annual Report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act

1. Introduction

The purpose of the Access to Information Act (ATIA) is to provide a right of access to information of records under the control of a government institution in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific, and that decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.

The Act provides every person who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident with a right of access to any record under the control of a government institution, with some specific, limited exceptions.

The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) is fully committed to both the spirit and the intent of the Access to Information Act to ensure openness and transparency within the department.

This report summarizes the activities of CanNor, for the period of April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, in implementing the ATIA, and fulfills the requirement under Section 94 of the Act which stipulates that, the head of every government institution shall prepare for submission to Parliament an annual report on the administration of this Act within the institution during each financial year.

CanNor works with partners to advance economic development in Canada's territories. The Agency supports, invests in and advocates for national, territorial and community level economic development; fosters growth and innovation; contributes to building capacity; and invests in foundational economic development projects in the territories. In addition, through the Northern Projects Management Office, the Agency coordinates federal participation in the territorial environmental review processes and maintains the Crown consultation record for major projects.

The Agency works closely with all federal partners to advance a whole of government approach to economic development in the territories.

CanNor supports the implementation of the Government of Canada priorities and the mandate letter for the Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister Responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.

2. Organizational Structure

For the purposes of the Access to Information Act, the President of CanNor has delegated powers, duties and functions under the Act to the Corporate Secretary who performs the role of ATIP Coordinator responsible for leading the ATIP Program. The ATIP Coordinator administers the Act with assistance of a part-time Administrative Officer, with the addition in 2023-2024 of ad hoc support provided through a professional personnel service contract.

The ATIP Coordinator is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems, and procedures to meet responsibilities under the Act, and to permit processing requests, and disclosure of information. Additionally, the ATIP Coordinator provides strategic support and advice to the executive management of the Agency regarding the administration of the ATIP Program, and is responsible for all access to information activities and operations pursuant to the ATIA such as:

• processing and responding to all formal requests and interdepartmental consultations under the Access to Information Act;
• providing strategic advice to the Agency about ATIP-related matters;
• preparing guidance documents in support of access legislation;
• updating Info Source based upon the program alignment architecture and in keeping with the TBS Decentralized Publishing Requirements;
• preparing the Annual Report to Parliament on the Access to Information Act;
• training employees on their roles and responsibilities under the ATIA; and
• responding to informal inquiries.

3. Delegation Order

The President's Access to Information Delegation Order (Annex A), was updated on December 11, 2023. It provides delegated authority to the Corporate Secretary and the Manager, IM/IT and Chief Information Officer.

4. Performance 2023-2024

CanNor's 2023-2024 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act is attached as Annex B. The following is an overview of key data on CanNor's performance for the fiscal year:

5. Training and Awareness

Formal training was conducted during the CanNor Administrative Professionals Annual Training Meeting in January, 2024. This session captured all sectors of CanNor and focused on record collection, internal processes, timelines and exemptions. In addition, informal briefings were provided to CanNor Middle Managers on the administration of the Access to Information Act. These were conducted one-on-one as needed via in person or online video meetings and telephone calls.

6. Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

CanNor uses tools to assist the Office of Primary Interest with identifying sensitivities in records which makes it easier to identify types of information that may qualify for an exemption. Using standardized retrieval email and template letters improves efficiency.

7. Proactive Publication

CanNor is a government institution listed in Schedule I.1 of the Financial Administration Act and complies with the proactive publication requirement under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act.

Summaries of completed access to information requests are disclosed on the Government of Canada's "Open Government" portal. Posting these summaries demonstrates consistent procedures across government institutions and helps make released records from previously made Access to Information requests discoverable and available at no cost.

The Treasury Board Secretariat's Directive on Proactive Publication under the Access to Information Act outlines the reporting requirements and schedules for disclosure of an institution's information including identifying prescribed publishing platforms and retention and disposition of information related to publication. Section 4.1.8 of the Directive also establishes a requirement to track the processing, approval, and publication of proactive disclosure.  The Directive on Proactive Publication under the Access to Information Act came into effect June 28, 2023.

CanNor Corporate Services branch developed an internal process that identifies the groups and positions that are responsible for ensuring proactive publication requirements are met. CanNor program areas, which produce the materials for proactive disclosure, provide those data to the Corporate Services branch for uploading to the Open Government portal. Other ad hoc proactive disclosures such as briefing materials (binders) are submitted as vetting files to the CanNor ATIP Program. Once the file has been vetted, the program area then reviews recommendations before submitting the file for posting online.

The formal implementation of this process took place April 1, 2024 and therefore no compliance rate figures are available for this reporting period.

8. Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

In addition to providing enhanced training to employees and managers on implementing the ATIA; the Agency actively employs TBS approved technological tools, to efficiently process requests.

9. Summary or Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints or Audits

There were no complaints received concerning the administration of the Access to Information Act, and no audits, investigations or appeals to the Federal Court were undertaken.

10. Reporting on Access to Information fees for the purposes of the Services Fees Act

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.

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; CanNor waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations.

The ATIP Coordinator administers the Act with assistance of a part-time Administrative Officer, and with the addition in 2023-2024 of ad hoc support provided through a professional personnel service contract. In 2023-24 the CanNor ATIP directorate had a total operating cost to administer the Act of $129,000, as compared to $33,000 in 2022-23, broken down as follows: a 0.25 of 1 full-time equivalent employee salary and a 1.0 part-time equivalent employee salaries, as well as a 0.25 full-time equivalent contract professional service support personnel.

11. Monitoring Compliance

As the official responsible for completion timelines, the ATIP Coordinator is made aware of new and outstanding requests on a continual basis. A shared request database is used when processing Access to Information and Consultation requests which tracks deadlines and allows for effective monitoring.

Annex A – Access to Information Act Delegation Order

Pursuant to the powers of designation conferred upon me by Subsection 95(1) of the Access to Information Act, the persons exercising the functions or positions of Manager, IM/IT and Chief Information Officer (position number 000139900), and Corporate Secretary (position number 146270) and their respective successors, including in their absence, a person or officer designated in writing to act in the place of the holder of any such functions or positions are hereby designated to exercise those powers, duties or functions of the President as the Head of the government institution under the Act, and as set out in Schedules A and B.

President - Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

Dated at Ottawa, the 11th of December 2023

Annex B – Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Reporting period: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024