Annual Report on the administration of the Access to Information Act 2023-2024

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (ATIA), enacted in 1983, grants Canadian citizens, permanent residents and any person or corporation present in Canada the right to access the records of federal institutions subject to the ATIA. This right enables individuals to access or obtain copies of records of a government institution, subject to specific and limited circumstances under the ATIA. The ATIA complements other policies and procedures to make government information available to the public, such as open-government initiatives and proactive disclosure.

Section 94 of the ATIA requires that, at the end of each fiscal year, the head of every federal government institution prepares a report to Parliament on the administration of the ATIA within the institution.

In conformity with section 20 of the Service Fees Act, the appropriate authority must have a report tabled in Parliament on the fees within the jurisdiction of the responsible authority that are payable.

This Annual Report is tabled in Parliament under section 94 of the ATIA and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. This report describes how the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) fulfilled its responsibilities under these acts for the period beginning April 1, 2023, and ending March 31, 2024.

About the Agency

The Canadian Transportation Agency (the Agency) is an independent regulator and quasi-judicial tribunal with the powers of a superior court. It operates within the context of the very large and complex Canadian transportation system.

The Canada Transportation Act includes the National Transportation Policy, which guides the Agency. It states that competition and market forces are the prime agents in providing viable and effective transportation services and that regulation may be required to meet public policy objectives that cannot be achieved by competition and market forces alone.

The Agency has specific powers assigned to it under this legislation:

• It is an economic regulator of modes of transportation under federal jurisdiction, and develops and applies ground rules that establish the rights and responsibilities of transportation service providers and users and that level the playing field among competitors. These rules can be binding regulations, guidelines, or codes of practice.
• It is a tribunal that hears and resolves disputes like a court. It resolves disputes between transportation service providers and their clients or neighbours, using various tools from facilitation and mediation to arbitration and adjudication.

The Agency’s responsibilities are:

• To help ensure that the national transportation system runs efficiently and smoothly in the interests of all Canadians: those who work and invest in it; the producers, shippers, travellers, and businesses who rely on it; and the communities where it operates.
• To provide consumer protection for air passengers.
• To protect the human right of persons with disabilities to an accessible transportation network.

Additional information on the Agency’s mandate is available at the Canadian Transportation Agency — Canada.ca.

Open court principle

In its role as a quasi-judicial tribunal, the Agency operates like a court when adjudicating disputes and is therefore bound by the open court principle. This means that the Agency’s proceedings must be open and accessible to all Canadians.

Any submission or document filed with the Agency as part of its formal adjudication process will be made part of the public record without redaction, unless a claim for confidentiality has been made to and accepted by the Agency. Requests for information about decisions issued in a dispute proceeding are processed informally and records are released in their entirety unless a request for confidentiality was granted.

While requests for information on the public record are processed informally by other areas of the Agency, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division must also apply the open court principle when these records form part of a response to a request made under the ATIA.

Organizational structure of the ATIP Division

During this reporting period, the ATIP Division was part of the Secretariat and Registrar Services Directorate (SRSD) under the Legal Services and Secretariat Branch. The ATIP Division consists of an ATIP coordinator (and team leader) reporting to the director of SRSD and one ATIP junior officer reporting to the ATIP coordinator; however, it should be noted that there was a large volume of ATIP employee turnover during the reporting period.

The ATIP coordinator is responsible for the daily activities related to the administration and enforcement of the ATIA and the Privacy Act (PA) and for ensuring compliance with the requirements of legislation, policies and directives, as well as of any other ATIP policy instruments issued by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).

Activities of the ATIP Division include:

• Processing requests for information submitted under the ATIA and the PA in accordance with legislation, regulations, policies and TBS guidelines.
• Providing advice and guidance to Agency managers and employees on the interpretation and application of the ATIA and the PA.
• Developing and offering to Agency managers and employees training and awareness sessions on how to meet their obligations under the ATIA and the PA.
• Developing policies, procedures and guidelines on how to enforce the ATIA and the PA, in accordance with the instructions issued by the TBS.
• Collaborating with the Office of the Information Commissioner and with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner on the resolution of complaints filed against the Agency.
• Coordinating the updating of the Agency’s Info Source publication.
• Ensuring that the proactive publication requirements of Part 2 of the ATIA are met.
• Preparing statistical and annual reports for tabling in Parliament with respect to the administration and enforcement of the ATIA and the PA.

ATIP Division’s staffing

The ATIP Division remains committed to recruiting, training and maintaining a workforce that possesses specialized ATIP skills to continue to provide the best possible service to both internal and external clients.

During the 2023–2024 reporting period, the Agency completed several staffing actions, including the recruitment of 1 senior ATIP consultant, 3 junior ATIP analysts and 1 casual employee. In total, 5 full-time employees at various levels were hired at various points in the reporting period to administer the ATIA.

The ATIP Division made efforts to staff vacant positions, but had challenges with employee retention. Budgetary allocations were also an issue later in 2023–2024.

Access to Information and Privacy Communities Development Office (APCDO) membership

The Access to Information and Privacy Communities Development Office (APCDO) was established to address capacity issues in the Access to Information and Privacy communities across Government of Canada institutions subject to the Acts.

The APCDO contributes to the development and sustainability of the Access to Information and Privacy communities via recruitment, retention, learning, networking, and partnership activities with a spirit of diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility through community engagement.

During the reporting period, the ATIP Division staff participated in several training sessions offered by the APCDO and consulted their ATIP professionals pools of PM-01 to PM-04 for the Agency’s hiring needs.

Delegation order

Delegation orders set out the powers, duties and functions for the administration of the ATIA that have been delegated by the head of the institution and specify to whom they have been delegated.

In March 2022, France Pégeot, the Chair and Chief Executive Officer, as head of the Agency, delegated full authority for the administration of the ATIA and the PA to the persons holding the positions of director of SRSD and of chief corporate officer, as well as partial authority to the persons holding the positions of ATIP coordinator and of ATIP analyst.

A copy of the signed delegation instrument is included in Appendix A.

Highlights of 2023–2024

Modernized workplace environment — Hybrid work models

During the reporting period, the Government of Canada has continued with a common hybrid work model that requires public service employees to work on-site at least two to three days each week, or 40–60% of their regular schedule. In order to establish fairness and equity across workplaces, this new model has been applied to all of the core public administration and was strongly recommended to agencies to adopt a similar strategy.

The Agency has adopted the model as recommended. This has fostered a collaborative and supportive work environment that encourages teamwork, innovation and cultivates a culture of belonging.

ATIP Division: Hybrid workplace and impact on operations and staff

The hybrid model (on-site presence) has had a positive effect on the ATIP employees. It has led to improved communication, cooperation and engagement of ATIP activities.

To optimize the Agency’s internal processes and client services in the administration of the ATIA and the PA within a hybrid work environment, the ATIP Division has maintained the following initiatives from the last reporting period:

1. Enabling Employees to Stay Productive in a Hybrid Work Environment
   • Since January 2023, ATIP employees are required a minimum attendance at the workplace, in compliance with the Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace.
   • ATIP employees have been provided with the necessary equipment to continue to work efficiently through telework and on-site: laptops, mobile devices, work surfaces, computer peripherals, access to the Agency’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) and a help-line service with the Information Technology (IT) Unit to remedy any technical problems and difficulties with the equipment or systems, AccessPro Case Management (APCM) system, AccessPro Redaction (APR) system and GoAnywhere Secure Mail for the disclosure of the records to requesters.
   • ATIP employees have been provided with additional temporary resources to respond to increased workloads. These resources were required to maintain the workflow in the electronic processing of requests in order to respond to the requesters within the established timelines.
   • In telework or at the workplace, ATIP employees have maintained their services and activities by using different channels to communicate with their internal Agency clients, requesters and external requesters. The internal communications were transmitted by email, instant messaging (Microsoft Teams), mobile phone and video conferencing. The external communications with requesters were done by email or mobile phone.
2. Running Effective Operations in a Hybrid Work Environment
   • The ATIP Division has ensured transparency in the ATIP process in relation to the “Duty to Assist” requirements, by maintaining proactive communication with the requesters in order to provide timely and complete responses.
   • The ATIP Division has continued to coordinate the processing of the Agency’s proactive disclosure of information on the Open Canada website as required by Part 2 of the ATIA.
   • The ATIP Division, along with other government institutions’ ATIP offices, has been actively participating in TBS’s Online Request Service Pilot Project (ATIP Online Request Service [AORS]) trainings. This initiative simplifies the process of requesting government records by providing a convenient solution, which enables Canadians to submit their ATIP requests and application fees online. In 2023–2024, all 29 (100%) of the ATIA requests received by the Agency were received through AORS.
   • The ATIP Division has participated actively in the virtual TBS ATIP Community meetings. These meetings aim to update the ATIP community on ATIP considerations with regard to the Acts, policies, guidelines and to share best practices on processing requests post-COVID-19 and in the new adopted common hybrid workplace.
   • The ATIP Division has seen a steady rate of inquiries from Agency employees for the administrative review of documents and/or reports processed informally within the spirit of the application of provisions contained under the ATIA and the PA. There has also been a large increase for advice and recommendations on questions about the application, disclosure, administration and processing of the ATIA and the PA due to the hiring of a large number of Complaint Resolution Officers to deal with the Air Travel Complaint backlog.
   • The ATIP Division has received and responded (by mobile phone or email) to at least 200 informal requests/inquiries from Agency employees, clients and the general public.
   • The ATIP Division has maintained its business relations with the Legal Services Division to work more effectively on complex ATIA and PA requests and complaints. The Legal Services Division supports the needs of ATIP employees in the processing of ATIA and PA requests and in responding to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) and to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) complaint investigations, when required. This business relationship has resulted in developing a collaborative team environment that directly impacts the ATIP Division’s success in the administration of the ATIP activities.

Performance 2023–2024

The purpose of the Statistical Report

Statistical reporting on the administration of the ATIA and the PA has been in place since 1983. The statistical reports prepared by government institutions provide aggregate data on the application of the ATIA and the PA. This information is made public annually and is included with the annual report which is tabled in Parliament by each institution.

The statistical reports allow the Agency to monitor trends and to respond to inquiries from members of Parliament, the public and the media regarding the administration of the ATIA.

The following table and graphic provide an overview of the Agency’s data for the last five years regarding requests received and closed under the ATIA (including the current fiscal year 2023–2024).

Overview of requests received and closed over the last five years

Details

Overview of requests received and closed over the last five years

Reporting year	Requests received	Requests closed*	Consultation requests	Informal requests**
2023–2024	29	35	3	18
2022-2023	34	36	19	110
2021–2022	47	41	34	21
2020-2021	54	63	12	3
2019–2020	30	26	25	17
* Includes outstanding requests from the previous fiscal year ** Includes completed access requests

Interpretation of the 2023–2024 Statistical Report on the ATIA

The Agency’s Statistical Report (Statistical Report) details the requests received and processed under the ATIA during the period of April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.

This report also provides an analysis of the Statistical Report and demonstrates the Agency’s ability to meet its obligations under the ATIA during this reporting period.

Requests received during the reporting period

Requests received under the ATIA

During this reporting period, the Agency had a total of 45 active requests. As detailed in Appendix B, 6 requests were outstanding from the 2022–2023 reporting period, 2 requests were outstanding from 2021–2022 reporting period and 29 new ATIA requests were received in 2023–2024. This is a decrease of 15% (5 requests) from the 34 requests it received in the 2022–2023 reporting period. The Agency closed 35 requests (94%) within the prescribed timelines and carried over 1 request (3%) within the legislated timelines to the 2024–2025 reporting period.

The 29 ATIA requests received by the Agency were submitted by the following sources: 4 requests (14%) received from the Media; 1 request (3%) received from academia; 15 requests (52%) received from businesses and private sectors; 1 request (3%) received from organizations; and 8 requests (28%) received from the public. All 29 requests (100%) received were submitted through the TBS ATIP Online Request System.

Consultation requests received (from other government institutions)

In addition, during this reporting period, the Agency received 3 consultation requests under the ATIA from other government institutions involving records with potential interest to the Agency. The Agency has no outstanding requests from the last reporting period for a total of 3 active consultation requests. The Agency responded to 3 (100%) of the 3 consultation requests and none will be carried over the next fiscal year.

The Agency reviewed 24 pages for the 3 consultation requests received and all of the requests were disclosed entirely, within the 15 days requested and/or negotiated with the institutions.

Consultation with legal services on ATIA requests

The ATIP Division sought legal advice in one consultation request in regard to the confirmation of the application of section 69 of the ATIA, cabinet confidences. The consultation request was processed within 7 days. The Legal Services Division reviewed a total of 155 pages of this consultation request.

Informal requests

During this reporting period, the Agency received 18 informal requests. The Agency has 29 outstanding informal requests from the last report 2022–2023 for a total of 47 active informal requests. Eight of the requests were related to a copy of the Agency’s previously released records of a completed ATIA request. For these requests, application fees are not charged under the ATIA and there are no timelines for the Agency to respond. There is also no statutory right of complaint to the Information Commissioner of Canada. The summaries of the Agency’s ATIA completed requests are published online at Completed Access to Information Requests | Open Government, Government of Canada.

The Agency responded to 9 (19%) of the 47 informal requests and carried over 38 (81%) to the next fiscal year. Of the 18 informal requests received during the reporting, 17 (94%) were submitted using the online system and 1 (6%) was submitted by email. The 9 informal requests that were responded to during the reporting period were completed within the timelines established with the requesters. Of the 9 informal requests responded to, 7 (78%) were completed within 15 days, 1 (11%) was completed within 60 days and 1 (11%) request was completed within 120 days. In response to the 9 informal requests, no pages were released for 1 informal request and for the other 8 information requests, the Agency has re-released a total of 1,790 pages to requesters.

Requests closed during the reporting period

The following table provides an overview of the Agency’s performance on closing requests over a five-year period.

Reporting year	Requests closed during the reporting	Requests closed within legislated timelines	Performance and percentage (%)
2023–2024	35	28	80%
2022–2023	36	35	97.22%
2021–2022	41	39	95%
2020–2021	63	49	77.8%
2019–2020	26	21	80.8%

Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines

The Agency closed 35 requests during this reporting period and was successful in meeting its obligations under the ATIA. Of the 35 requests closed, 28 were closed within the legislated timelines. The Agency has obtained a completion rate of 80% for processing 17,899 pages and disclosing 9,782 pages to requesters within legislated timelines.

The Agency has decreased its completion rate by 18% from 97% in the last reporting period.

In the last reporting year (2022–2023), the Agency had a rate of 97% for processing 1,594 pages and disclosing 1,380 pages to requesters. However, it should be noted that in the current reporting period 2023–2024, the Agency has a completion rate of 80% for processing 17,899 pages and disclosing 9,782 pages to requesters within legislated timelines. Compared to the last reporting period, the Agency has increased processing by 16,305 pages and released 4,802 more pages.

Percentage of requests closed past legislated timelines

The Agency was unable to close 7 (20%) of the 35 requests within the legislated timelines. These requests were closed past the legislated timeline following an extension of time taken by the Agency.

For these 7 requests, the Agency required an extension of time to complete the processing for the reason of interference with operations due to the workload issues or external and or internal consultations. The requests were subsequently closed as follows: 1 request (14%) between 61–120 days; 2 requests (29%) between 121–180 days; 3 requests (43%) between 181–365 days; and 1 request (14%) over 365 days.

Disposition of closed requests

The Agency disposed of the 35 closed requests as follows: 3 requests (9%) were all disclosed; 15 (43%) requests were disclosed in part; 1 (3%) request was fully exempted; 11 (31%) requests were abandoned; and 5 (14%) requests had no records existing.

Completion time and extensions for closed requests

Of the 35 requests closed during the reporting period, 14 (40%) were completed within 15 days; 5 (14%) were completed within 30 days; 5 (14%) were completed within 60 days; 2 (6%) were completed within 120 days; 2 (6%) were completed within 180 days, 2 (6%) were completed within 365 days; and 5 (14%) were completed over 365 days.

The ATIA allows institutions to extend the time limit to process a request for the following reasons:

• Paragraph 9(1)(a): the request is for a large number of records or necessitates a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution;
• Paragraph 9(1)(b): consultations are necessary to comply with the request that cannot reasonably be completed within the original time limit; or
• Paragraph 9(1)(c): notice of the request is given pursuant to subsection 27(1) of the ATIA.

The ATIP Division determined that it could not meet its legislative timelines for certain ATIA requests and was granted time extensions to complete their processing. The requesters were notified of the extensions taken by the ATIP Division.

The Agency has encountered some processing complexities in 23 ATIA requests processed broken down as follows: 2 requests that were all disclosed to the requester; 18 requests that were disclosed in part to the requester; and 3 requests that were all exempted.

The 2 ATIA requests that were all disclosed to the requester have required another form of consultations in order to complete their processing. Of the 18 ATIA requests that were disclosed in part to the requester, 6 requests required consultation with other institutions in order to complete their processing; 1 request required legal advice to complete its processing; and 11 requests required some other form of consultations to complete their processing. Of the 3 ATIA requests that were all exempted, 2 requests required the ATIP division to consult with other institutions to complete their processing and 1 request required some other form of consultation to complete its processing.

To summarize, the ATIP Division required 8 consultations, 1 request required Legal Services’ advice and 14 required consultations with other services.

Reasons and length for extensions and disposition of requests

Extended processing time was required for 23 (66%) of the 35 requests closed during the reporting period. Of the 23 extended requests, 14 requests (61%) were extended under paragraph 9(1)(a), 5 requests (22%) under paragraph 9(1)(b) and 4 requests (17%) under paragraph 9(1)(c).

Paragraph 9(1)(a) of the ATIA: Interference with operations due to workload issues

The disposition breakdown is as follows for extensions under paragraph 9(1)(a): 2 requests (9%) for which records were all disclosed were extended; 11 requests (48%) for which records were disclosed in part were extended; and 1 request (4%) for which records were fully exempted was extended.

Paragraph 9(1)(b) of the ATIA: Third-Party Consultations

The disposition breakdown is as follows for extensions under paragraph 9(1)(b): 4 requests (17%) for which records were disclosed in part were extended and 1 request (4%) for which records were fully exempted was extended.

Paragraph 9(1)(c) of the ATIA: Third-Party Notice to disclose

The disposition breakdown is as follows for extensions under paragraph 9(1)(c): 3 requests (13%) for which records were disclosed in part were extended and 1 request (4%) for which records were fully exempted was extended.

Length of extension and disposition of requests

Paragraph 9(1)(a) of the ATIA: Interference with operations due to workload issues

The length of the extensions is broken down as follows: 2 requests (9%) were extended for fewer than 30 days; 2 requests (9%) were extended for 31 to 60 days; 7 requests (30%) were extended for 61–120 days; 1 request (4%) was extended for 121–180 days; and 2 requests (9%) were extended for 365 days or more.

Paragraph 9(1)(b) of the ATIA: Third-Party Consultations

The length of the extensions is broken down as follows: 1 request (4%) was extended for 31–60 days; 2 requests (9%) were extended for 61 to 120 days; and 1 request (4%) was extended for 181 to 365 days.

Paragraph 9(1)(c) of the ATIA: Third-Party Notice to disclose

The length of the extensions is broken down as follows: 1 request (4%) was extended for 31–60 days; 1 request (4%) was extended for 61–120 days; 1 request (4%) was extended for 121–180 days; and 1 request (4%) was extended for 181–365 days.

Exemptions and exclusions of requests

Exemptions and exclusions are the only grounds to withhold information found in records that are requested under ATIA, their application being limited and specific. During the reporting period, sections 13, 16, 19, 20, 21, 23 and 69 were applied by the Agency to deny access to the requested records.

Section 13 allows for the refusal to disclose information that was obtained in confidence from the governments, organizations or institutions. This provision was invoked in 1 request.

Section 16 allows for the refusal to disclose information that could reasonably be expected to facilitate the commission of an offence. This provision was invoked in 1 request.

Section 19 allows for the refusal to disclose personal information about an individual other than the individual who made the request. This provision was invoked in 15 requests.

Section 20 allows for the refusal to disclose third-party information (subject to the requirement for notification in accordance to section 27), including but not limited to, trade secrets, confidential financial, commercial, scientific or technical information and information used for emergency management plans. As defined in section 3 of the Access to Information Act, “third party” means “any person, group of persons or organization other than the person that made the request or a government institution.” The definition of third party encompasses government bodies and ATIP offices to which the Act does not apply. This provision was invoked in 30 requests.

Section 21 allows for the refusal to disclose certain records relating to the activities of government institutions. This provision was invoked in 22 requests.

Section 23 allows for the refusal to disclose personal information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege or the professional secrecy of advocates and notaries or to litigation privilege. This provision was invoked in 6 requests.

Section 69 excludes information concerning confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. It allows for the refusal to disclose personal information about an individual other than the individual who made the request. This provision was invoked in 1 request.

Interpretation of the 2023–2024 Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Outstanding open requests and complaints under the ATIA

At the end of the 2023–2024 reporting period, the Agency had 2 requests which remained open. These 2 requests were carried over to the next reporting period, 2024–2025. One request was opened within the legislated timeline as of March 31, 2024, and one request was opened beyond the legislated timeline as of March 31, 2024.

The Agency also has a total of 4 outstanding complaints which remain open from previous fiscal years; 2 outstanding complaints received in the last fiscal year 2022–2023 and 2 outstanding complaints received this year.

The Agency’s statistical report on the ATIA for reporting year 2023–2024 is provided in Appendix B and the 2023–2024 Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act in Appendix C.

Operational resources and fees for the purpose of the Service Fees Act

Fees collected Under the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on all fees collected by the institution under the ATIA.

In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the ATIA issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the ATIA that came into force on June 21, 2019, the Agency waives all fees prescribed by the ATIA and Regulations, except the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.

With respect to the $5 application fee collected under the ATIA, the information below is reported by the Agency in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

Accordingly, the Agency charged requesters the prescribed $5 application fee under the ATIA to process their access to information requests. The Agency has collected $145 in application fees for the 29 requests received during the reporting period. There were no application fees waived for this period.

Operational costs for the Administration of the ATIA

The total cost of operation for the administration of the ATIA for the Agency was $321,710, including $230,575 for employee salaries and $91,135 for professional services, contracts and program resources. A total of 2.567 employees were dedicated to the ATIA activities; including 2.067 full-time employees; 0.150 part-time employees and casual employees; and 0.350 consultants and Agency personnel.

Initiatives and projects to improve Access to Information at the Agency

During the current reporting period, there were no new projects that were initiated or completed by the ATIP Division. The ATIP Division had continued improving its internal ATIA process and the communication between the ATIP employee, Liaison Officer (LO) and Office of Primary Interest (OPI) when processing requests.

Training and awareness

During this reporting period, the ATIP Division delivered no formal training but has continued its outreach to Agency managers and employees. The ATIP Division provided ongoing guidance and recommendations on the application and interpretation of the ATIA and communicated the TBS policies and guidelines through ongoing dialogue, informal discussions and informal group training to enable Agency employees to better meet the requirements of the ATIA.

Ongoing group and individual training were provided to the multiple newly hired ATIP resources to assist in their ATIP tasks and responsibilities and to provide support on the use of the electronic ATIP process, which contributed to the achievements of the ATIP Division throughout the reporting period.

ATIP coaching services for employees

Individual coaching sessions on MS Teams were provided upon request to OPIs and ATIP LOs to improve their searches for relevant records and to assist in providing a relevant record package to the ATIP Division within the established timelines.

The coaching required that ATIP employees be available to assist OPIs and/or LOs through the ongoing electronic process review by providing step-by-step training on how to respond to an ATIP and/or prepare an OPI’s response when sending a package of relevant records. The ATIP employees assisted the OPIs with formulating their recommendations by using the KOFAX Power PDF (Nuance) software. This training gave the OPIs and LOs the knowledge and skills to respond to ATIP requests and to process the requests efficiently and effectively.

Policies, guidelines and procedures

The ATIP Division continued its efforts to improve and update its processes and guidelines for processing ATIP requests to assist Agency employees, particularly the ATIP LOs and OPIs. These continued efforts have proven to be beneficial in assisting employees to better understand their responsibilities and the importance of their role in the processing (searching and retrieving) of records under the ATIA. This support maximized the efficiency in processing requests and enabled requesters to receive the requested information in a timely manner.

During the reporting period, the Agency implemented the ATIP Division’s electronic ATIP process 2023 and used the related materials to streamline the process for the OPIs, LOs and all employees tasked with an ATIP request.

Transition to an electronic ATIP request process

The ATIP Division has continued processing ATIP requests by using electronic material for the retrieval of the ATIA and the PA requests. The ATIP Division is now operating in a hybrid work environment and paperless environment. The ATIP Division undertook the following actions to improve the ATIP processing culture at the Agency:

• The OPIs work with electronic forms to submit their records, recommendations and their approvals. These electronic forms have ensured continuity in the processing of requests and compliance within statutory deadlines.
• The OPIs’ search for records is done electronically and the records found are provided in electronic format to the ATIP Division. The OPIs search the shared drives, their emails and their personal drives, while IM searches for the pertinent records in the Records, Document and Information Management System (RDIMS) and paper files. If there are relevant paper records, IM scans the records into electronic format for processing.
• The Case Management System RDIMS Portal is used by the ATIP Division to create ATIP files in the Agency’s File Plan in RDIMS, the Agency’s corporate repository for record-keeping. The ATIP Division does not keep any paper records of ATIP requests.
• The approvals for the disclosure of the ATIA and PA requests records are completed by the ATIP director through APCM. The approval process to disclose the requested records to requesters is completed electronically.
• The records are electronically disclosed to the requester through the Agency secure file transfer system “GoAnywhere”. The ATIP Division is now able to securely disclose to the requester electronic records packages that are larger than 30MB.
• The ATIP Division, in collaboration with the LOs, OPIs, IM/IT and Legal Services, continues to improve its processing efficiency and increase productivity. The Agency implemented the ATIP Division’s electronic ATIP process 2023 and put into use the related materials. The electronic ATIP process 2023 is making the ATIP process more manageable for the OPIs, LOs and any employees tasked with an ATIP request.

Proactive disclosure under Part 2 of the ATIA

The Government of Canada is working hard to enhance the role of Parliament and the proactive disclosure of information so Canadians are better able to hold Parliament, their government, and public sector officials accountable.

The Agency is committed to transparency and the highest ethical standards. As a result, in compliance with Part 2 – Proactive Publication of Information of the ATIA and with the coordinating of the proactive disclosing process by the ATIP Division, the Agency has continued to proactively disclose the required information within required deadlines.

In order to meet the publishing requirements within the timeline stipulated in sections 74 to 78 and 82 to 88 found in Part 2 of the ATIA for the related disclosure listed below, the ATIP Division has continued to send the programs monthly and quarterly reminders to prepare and publish their respective proactive publications and prepared guidance material to assist them through the publishing process, including a descriptive table of roles and responsibilities.

• Travel and hospitality expenses (within 30 days after the end of the month)
• Briefing note titles (within 30 days after the end of the month)
• Briefing packages for deputy heads (within 120 days after appointment)
• Reports tabled in Parliament (within 30 days after tabling)
• Briefing packages for parliamentary committee appearances (within 120 days after appearance)
• Contracts over $10,000 (quarterly – within 30 days after the end of quarters Q1-Q3 and within 60 days after the end of Q4)
• Reclassification of positions (quarterly – within 30 days after the end of the quarter)

The Agency’s 2023–2024 proactive disclosures are listed below and are published on the Open government portal and/or the Agency website.

• Travel and hospitality expenses
• Contracts over $10,000
• Reclassification of positions
• Briefing note titles and numbers
• Access to Information and Privacy Annual Reports
• Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) – February 27, 2024 | Canadian Transportation Agency (otc-cta.gc.ca)

Percentage of proactive publication requirements completed during the reporting period

The following table indicates the percentage of proactive publication requirements that were completed and published within the legislated timelines by the Agency during the reporting period 2023–2024.

As broken down in the table below, the Agency successfully completed the publishing requirements with a rate of 75% for the disclosure of 9 of the 12 titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent that are received by their office. A rate of 83% was attained for publishing 10/12 reports on time for the disclosure of travel expenses and hospitality expenses. And a rate of 100% was attained for the disclosure of 4/4 reports tabled in Parliament, 4/4 contracts over $10,000 and 1/1 report of packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent’s appearance before a committee of Parliament.

Percentage of proactive publication requirements that were completed and published within the legislated timelines by the Agency in 2023–2024

All Government Institutions as defined in section 3 of the Access to Information Act

Legislative requirement	Section	Publication timeline	Institution Completion Rate Percentage (%)
Travel expenses	82	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement	83%
Hospitality expenses	83	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement	83%
Reports tabled in Parliament Departmental Plan 2023–2024 | Canadian Transportation Agency (otc-cta.gc.ca) Departmental Results Report 2022–2023 | Canadian Transportation Agency (otc-cta.gc.ca) Annual Report 2022–2023 | Canadian Transportation Agency (otc-cta.gc.ca) Annual Report on the administration of the Access to Information Act 2022–2023 | Canadian Transportation Agency (otc-cta.gc.ca) Annual Report on the Administration of the Privacy Act 2022–2023 | Canadian Transportation Agency (otc-cta.gc.ca)	84	Within 30 days after tabling	100%

Government entities or Departments, agencies and other bodies subject to the Act and listed in Schedules I, I.1, or II of the Financial Administration Act

Legislative requirement	Section	Publication timeline	Institution Completion Rate Percentage (%)
Contracts over $10,000	86	Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter	100%
Grants and contributions over $25,000	87	Within 30 days after the quarter	N/A
Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent	88(a)	Within 120 days after appointment	N/A
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent, that is received by their office	88(b)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received	75%
Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent’s appearance before a committee of Parliament Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) – February 27, 2024 | Canadian Transportation Agency (otc-cta.gc.ca)	88(c)	Within 120 days after appearance	N/A

Government institutions that are departments named in Schedule I of the Financial Administration Act or portions of the core public administration named in Schedule IV of that Act (that is government institutions for which Treasury Board is the employer)

Legislative requirement	Section	Publication timeline	Institution Completion Rate Percentage (%)
Reclassification of positions	85	Within 30 days after the quarter	N/A

Ministers

Legislative requirement	Section	Publication timeline	Institution Completion Rate Percentage (%)
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for new or incoming ministers	74(a)	Within 120 days after appointment	N/A
Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister that is received by their office	74(b)	Within 30 days after the end of the month received	N/A
Package of question period notes prepared by a government institution for the minister and in use on the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December	74(c)	Within 30 days after last sitting day of the House of Common in June and December	N/A
Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister’s appearance before a committee of Parliament	74(d)	Within 120 days after appearance	N/A
Travel expenses	75	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement	N/A
Hospitality expenses	76	Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement	N/A
Contracts over $10,000	77	Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter	N/A
Ministers’ Offices Expenses *Note: This consolidated report is currently published by TBS on behalf of all institutions.	78	Within 120 days after the fiscal year	N/A

Additional disclosures during the reporting period

Summaries of completed access requests

The Agency is required to post summaries of completed access requests on a monthly basis on the Government of Canada’s Open Government Portal. During the reporting period, the ATIP Division posted 83% with 10/12 summaries of completed access to information requests on open.canada.ca.

Parliamentary questions relating to ATIP

During the 2023–2024 reporting period, the Agency received 1 parliamentary question relating to ATIP. The Agency provided a nil response for Q-1379:

• March 29, 2023 — Mr. Berthold (Mégantic—L’Érable) — With regard to privacy breaches that occurred since January 1, 2022, broken down by department, agency, or other government entity: (a) how many breaches have occurred; and (b) what are the details of each breach, including (i) the date, (ii) the number of individuals whose information was involved, (iii) the summary or description of the incident, (iv) the government program or service that was impacted by the breach, (v) whether or not the individuals whose information was involved were contacted, (vi) the date and method of how the individuals were contacted, (vii) whether or not the Privacy Commissioner was notified, (viii) the description of any measures provided to individuals impacted, such as free credit monitoring services?

Summary of key issues and actions resulting from complaints

During the reporting period, the Agency had 10 active complaints with the OIC comprising of 4 new complaints received during the reporting period and 6 outstanding from the previous reporting period. Complainants submitted 4 complaints that were notices to the Agency pursuant to section 32 of the ATIA, 6 complaints under subsection 30(5); and 1 complaint under section 35. The Agency closed 7 complaints of the 10 active complaints from both, the current and last reporting period.

The reasons for the complaints are: 3 pertaining to delays, 3 related to the exemptions applied to the records, 3 related to the conduct of the search for records and 1 for disclosing illegible records.

Investigation under section 32 of the ATIA

During the reporting period, the OIC issued to the Agency 4 notices of intention to investigate under section 32 of the ATIA relating to 4 cases. The complaints from the OIC are broken down as follows: 1 complaint pertaining to delays, 2 complaints related to exemptions applied to the records and 1 complaint related to the conduct of the search for records.

Investigation under section 35 of the ATIA and complaints closed

During the reporting period, the Agency received 1 notice under section 35 for formal representation to the OIC. The Agency provided the representation to the OIC without delay and the Information Commissioner’s final report found the complaint to be not well founded under subsection 37(2). No orders by the Information Commissioner were issued to the Agency.

During this reporting period, the Agency closed 7 complaints filed with the OIC under subsection 30(5) and section 35 of the ATIA. Furthermore, 6 complaints filed under subsection 30(5) were ceased to investigate by the OIC and 1 complaint filed under section 35 was closed by the OIC as not well founded.

The Agency has collaborated with the OIC pursuant to sections 30, 32, 35 and 37 of the ATIA by providing them with all documents, information or representations required to complete investigative complaints and report of findings in closing the complaints. The collaboration proved to be beneficial for both the OIC and the Agency.

Appendix C provides a breakdown of the Agency’s active complaints that are outstanding from previous reporting periods, in the order in which they were received. The Agency has 3 requests for which there are 4 outstanding complaints for the current and previous year as indicated under The Interpretation of the 2023–2024 Supplementary Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Monitoring compliance

During the reporting period, the Agency continued to use APCM to track and monitor all administrative activities and set due dates in order to meet statutory timelines. Due dates for all actions were communicated to LOs and OPIs, and reminders were sent as required. All actions taken have also been detailed in a separate tracking tool and the status of each request was communicated weekly to the director of SRSD, ensuring the review of the performance, priorities and issues in the processing of requests.

Public reading room

The ATIA requires government institutions to provide facilities where the public may inspect any manual used by employees of the institution in administering or carrying out programs or activities of the institution that affect the public. A reading room is located at the Agency’s ATIP Division offices at 60 Laval Street, Gatineau, Quebec, J8X 3G9.

During the current reporting, the Agency did not receive any requests for public consultation.

Appendix A: Delegation order

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Transportation Agency, pursuant to subsection 95(1) of the Access to Information Act and subsection 73(1) of 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, duties and functions of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer as the head of Canadian Transportation Agency, under the provisions of the Acts and regulations set out in the Schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Original signed by

France Pégeot

Chair and Chief Executive Officer

Date: March 30, 2022

Access to Information Act, Access to Information Regulations – Delegated Authorities

Part 1 of the Access to Information Act – Access to government records

Part 2 of the Access to Information Act – Proactive publication of information

Privacy Act, Privacy Regulations – Delegated Authorities

Appendix B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Canadian Transportation Agency
Reporting period: April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

1.2 Sources of the requests

1.3 Channels of requests

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

2.4 Pages released informally

2.5 Pages re-released informally

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on declining to act on requests

Section 4: Requests closed during the reporting period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

4.2 Exemptions

• I.A.: International Affairs
• Def.: Defence of Canada
• S.A.: Subversive Activities

4.3 Exclusions

4.4 Format of information released

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats

4.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper, e-record and data set formats by size of requests

4.5.2 Continued. Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper, e-record and data set formats by size of requests

4.5.2 Continued. Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper, e-record and data set formats by size of requests

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of request

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of request

4.5.7 Other complexities

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

4.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

4.8 Requests for translation

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.2 Length of extensions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

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

7.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

Section 8: Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 9: Investigations and reports of findings

9.1 Investigations

9.2 Investigations and reports of finding

Section 10: Court action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

10.2 Court action on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated costs

11.2 Human Resources

Appendix C: 2023–2024 Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Section 1 – Open requests and complaints under the Access to Information Act

1.1 - The following table reports the total number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting.

1.2 The following table reports the total number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Section 2 – Open requests and complaints under the Privacy Act

2.1 – The following table reports the total number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

2.2 – The following table reports the total number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Section 3: Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Section 4: Universal access under the Privacy Act