Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2021-22

Date of Publishing:
November 6, 2022

Introduction

The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as any person or corporation present in Canada, a right of access to information contained in government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions.

Section 94(1) of the Act requires the head of each government institution to prepare an annual report on the administration of the Act within the institution and to submit the report to Parliament. In addition, section 20 of the Service Fees Act requires institutions to report on all statutory fees processed during the reporting period.

This report to Parliament, which is prepared and tabled in accordance with Section 94 of the Access to Information Act, and section 20 of the Service Fees Act, describes the activities of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat in administering these Acts during the period April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

If you require more information or wish to make a request under the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act, please direct your inquiries to the following:

Access to Information and Privacy Office
National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat
P.O. Box 2430, Station "D"
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5W5
Canada

Phone : 1-833-890-0293
Email : ATIP@nsira-ossnr.gc.ca

Who we are

Established in July 2019, NSIRA is an independent agency that reports to Parliament and conducts investigations and reviews of the federal government’s national security and intelligence activities.

The NSIRA Secretariat assists the Review Agency in fulfilling its mandate.

Mandate

NSIRA has a dual mandate to conduct reviews and investigations in relation to Canada’s national security or intelligence activities.

Reviews

NSIRA’s review mandate is broad, as outlined in subsection 8(1) of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Act (NSIRA Act). This mandate includes reviewing the activities of both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), as well as the national security- or intelligence-related activities of any other federal department or agency. This includes, but is not limited to, the national security or intelligence activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and the Department of Justice. Further, NSIRA may review any national security or intelligence matters that a minister of the Crown refers to NSIRA.

NSIRA reviews assess whether Canada’s national security and intelligence activities comply with relevant laws, policies, and ministerial directions, and whether they are reasonable and necessary. In conducting its reviews, NSIRA can make any findings or recommendations it considers appropriate.

Investigations

NSIRA is responsible for investigating national security or intelligence-related complaints from members of the public. As outlined in paragraph 8(1)(d) of the NSIRA Act, NSIRA has the mandate to investigate complaints about:

any activity of CSIS or of CSE;
decisions to deny or revoke certain federal government security clearances;
any complaint referred under subsection 45.53(4.1) or 45.67(2.1) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act,
reports made under section 19 of the Citizenship Act, and
matters referred under section 45 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Access to Information and Privacy Office

NSIRA’s ATIP Office is accountable for the development and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems, and procedures to ensure that the NSIRA Secretariat meets its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

For the reporting period, the NSIRA ATIP office consisted of:

1 full-time ATIP Coordinator
1 part-time ATIP Consultant
1 full-time Senior Director, who managed the ATIP office in addition to fulfilling normal duties as Senior Director of Corporate Services

NSIRA Legal Services supported the ATIP team on an as required basis.

The main activities of the ATIP Coordinator included:

monitoring compliance with ATIP legislation and relevant procedures and policies;
processing requests under both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act;
developing and maintaining policies, procedures, and guidelines to ensure that the NSIRA Secretariat respected the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act;
maintaining Personal Information Banks and conducting privacy impact assessments.
preparing annual reports to Parliament and other statutory reports, as well as other material that might be required by central agencies; and
representing the NSIRA Secretariat in dealings with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the information and privacy commissioners, and other government departments and agencies in matters pertaining to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

To assist the ATIP Office in meeting its legislative obligations, NSIRA relied on a collaborative internal group of subject matter points of contact from all its branches.

Delegation Order

The Executive Director, as the Head of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat and pursuant to s.95(1) of the ATIA, is responsible for the implementation of the ATIA for NSIRA. Through the most recent NSIRA delegation order, the Executive Director has designated the ATIP Coordinator and ATIP Officer to perform the powers, duties, functions, or administrative tasks pertaining to the ATIA. These functions have limited delegation of authority under the Act and the Privacy Act, in accordance with the delegation of authority instrument approved by the Executive Director in August 2022. The recently amended ATIA delegation orders can be found in Appendix A.

Performance and Statistical Overview

Performance in Processing Access Requests

During the reporting period, the number of access requests received by NSIRA increased by 1300% (14) compared to the previous year (1). The Agency also managed one request that was pending from previous years, bringing the total number of cases to 15. Of these, NSIRA closed 5 requests in 2021-22, and 10 were carried over to the next reporting period.

NSIRA’s responses to many requests required intensive review of complex records, including extensive internal and external consultations. In 2021-22, NSIRA’s on-time response rate decreased to 80% from 100% in the previous reporting year.

Consultations

NSIRA was consulted on 12 requests this fiscal year, compared to 7 in the previous reporting period. NSIRA closed 11 consultations and carried over one into 2022-2023.

Requests Treated Informally

In 2021-2022, NSIRA responded to 7 informal requests for records previously released under the ATIA process. This is an increase from no informal requests in 2020-2021. NSIRA responded to all 7 requests within 30 days of the request.

Complaints and Investigations of Access Requests

Subsection 30(1) of the Act describes how the Office of the Information Commissioner receives and investigates complaints from individuals regarding the processing of requests under the Act. NSIRA received one new complaint during the reporting period and worked closely with the Office of the Information Commissioner to resolve the complaint. This complaint concerned NSIRA’s delay in providing a response to a request before the established legislative deadline. NSIRA’s delay was largely due to extended external consultations; however, the complaint was closed as “well-founded” in 2022-2023 reporting period.

Access to Information Act fees for the Purposes of the Service Fees Act

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, NSIRA waived or refunded all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations during the reporting period.

Training

In 2021–22, the ATIP office provided orientation sessions to new and current employees. In all, 3 separate sessions on access and privacy legislation were provided to 60 employees.

Privacy policies, guidelines, procedures and initiatives

NSIRA did not revise policies, guidelines, or procedures related to the Access to Information Act—or implement new ones—during the reporting period.

Monitoring processing time

Request processing times are monitored through the Access Pro software dashboard. The ATIP Coordinator notifies the Executive Director and suggests a course of action should any legislative timelines for responding to an ATIA request appear to be at risk.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

Access to Information Act Designation Order

The Executive Director of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, pursuant to section 95 of the Access to Information Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions or acting in these positions, set out in the schedule hereto to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Executive Director of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency as the head of a government institution under the section of the Access to Information Act set out in the schedule opposite each position.

Privacy Act Designation Order

The Executive Director of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Act*, hereby designates the persons holding the positions or acting in these positions, set out in the schedule hereto to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Executive Director of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency as the head of a government institution under the section of the Privacy Act set out in the schedule opposite each position.

Appendix B: 2019-2020 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: National Security and Intelligence Review Agency

Reporting period: 2019-04-01 – 2020-03-31

Section 1: Request Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of Requests

	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	14
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	1
Total	15
Closed during reporting period	5
Carried over to next reporting period	10
Carried over within legislated timeline	9
Carried over beyond legislated timeline	1

1.2 Sources of requests

Source	Number of Requests
Media	4
Academia	0
Business (private sector)	0
Organization	0
Public	10
Decline to Identify	0
Total	14

1.3 Channels of requests

Source	Number of Requests
Online	12
E-mail	1
Mail	1
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	14

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

	Number of Requests
Received during reporting period	7
Outstanding from previous reporting periods	0
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	0
Total	7
Closed during reporting period	7
Carried over to next reporting period	0

2.2 Channels of informal requests

Source	Number of Requests
Online	7
E-Mail	0
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	7

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

Completion Time
1 to 15 days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More than 365 Days	Total
0	7	0	0	0	0	0	7

2.4 Pages released informally

Less Than 100 Pages Processed		101-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2.5 Pages re-released informally

Less Than 100 Pages Processed		101-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
7	121	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

	Number of Requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Sent during reporting period	0
Total	0
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Withdrawn during reporting period	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0

Section 4: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of Requests	Completion Time
Disposition of Requests	1 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
Request transferred	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	5

4.2 Exemptions

Section	Numbers of Requests
13(1)(a)	0
13(1)(b)	0
13(1)(c)	0
13(1)(d)	0
13(1)(e)	0
14	0
14(a)	0
14(b)	0
15(1) – I. A. *	0
15(1) – Def. *	2
15(1) – S.A. *	0
16(1)(a)(i)	0
16(1)(a)(ii)	0
16(1)(a)(iii)	0
16(1)(b)	1
16(1)(c)	2
16(1)(d)	0
16(2)	0
16(2)(a)	0
16(2)(b)	0
16(2)(c)	0
16(3)	0
16.1(1)(a)	0
16.1(1)(b)	0
16.1(1)(c)	0
16.1(1)(d)	0
16.2(1)	0
16.3	0
16.31	0
16.4(1)(a)	0
16.4(1)(b)	0
16.5	0
16.6	0
17	0
18(a)	0
18(b)	0
18(c)	0
18(d)	0
18.1(1)(a)	0
18.1(1)(b)	0
18.1(1)(c)	0
18.1(1)(d)	0
19(1)	2
20(1)(a)	0
20(1)(b)	0
20(1)(b.1)	0
20(1)(c)	0
20(1)(d)	0
20.1	0
20.2	0
20.4	0
21(1)(a)	1
21(1)(b)	0
21(1)(c)	0
21(1)(d)	0
22	0
22.1(1)	0
23	2
23.1	0
24(1)	1
26	0

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

4.3 Exclusions

Section	Numbers of Requests
68(a)	0
68(b)	0
68(c)	0
68.1	0
68.2(a)	0
68.2(b)	0
69(1)	0
69(1)(a)	0
69(1)(b)	0
69(1)(c)	0
69(1)(d)	0
69(1)(e)	0
69(1)(f)	0
69(1)(g) re (a)	0
69(1)(g) re (b)	0
69(1)(g) re (c)	0
69(1)(g) re (d)	0
69(1)(g) re (e)	0
69(1)(g) re (f)	0
69.1(1)	0

4.4 Format of information released

Paper	Electronic				Other
Paper	E-record	Data set	Video	Audio	Other
2	1	0	0	0	0

4.5 Complexity

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

Number of Pages Processed	Number of Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests
63	63	3

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

Disposition	Less Than 100 Pages Processed		101-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Disposition	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	3	63	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	3	63	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

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

Disposition	Less Than 60 Minutes Processed		60 – 120 Minutes Processed		More than 120 Minutes Processed
Disposition	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

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

Disposition	Less Than 60 Minutes Processed		60 – 120 Minutes Processed		More than 120 Minutes Processed
Disposition	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed	Number of Requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.7 Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation Required	Total
Disposition	All disclosed	0	0
Disclosed in part	2	2
All exempted	0	0
All excluded	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0
Total	2	2

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines

	Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines	4
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	80

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Number of Requests Closed Past the Legislated Timelines	Principal Reason
Number of Requests Closed Past the Legislated Timelines	Interference with Operations/Workload	External Consultation	Internal Consultation	Other
1	0	0	1	0

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

Number of Days Past Legislated Timelines	Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where No Extension Was Taken	Number of Requests Past Legislated Timeline Where an Extension Was Taken	Total
1 to 15 Days	1	0	1
16 to 30 Days	0	0	0
31 to 60 Days	0	1	0
61 to 120 Days	0	0	0
121 to 180 Days	0	0	0
181 to 365 Days	0	0	0
More than 365 Days	0	0	0
Total	1	0	1

4.8 Requests for translation

Translation Requests	Accepted	Refused	Total
English to French	0	0	0
French to English	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation
Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/Workload	Section 69	Other
All disclosed	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0
Request abandoned
No records exist	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

5.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation
Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/Workload	Section 69	Other
30 days or less	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
365 days or more	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

Section 6: Fees

Fee Type	Fee Collected		Fee Waived		Fee Refunded
Fee Type	Number of Requests	Amount	Number of Requests	Amount	Number of Requests	Amount
Application	0	$0.00	14	$0.00	0	$0.00
Other fees	0	$0.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00
Total	0	$0.00	14	$0.00	0	$0.00

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

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

Consultations	Other Government of Canada Institutions	Number of Pages to Review
Received during reporting period	12	143
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	0	0
Total	12	143
Closed during the reporting period	11	123
Carried over within regotiated timelines	1	20
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines	0	0

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

Recommendation	Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests
Recommendation	1 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
Disclose entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		101-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Number of Days	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of Days	Fewer Than 100 Pages Processed		101-500 Pages Processed		501-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Number of Days	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate	Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate	Section 35 Formal Representations
0	0	1

9.2 Investigations and Reports of finding

Section 37(1) Initial Reports			Section 37(2) Final Reports
Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner	Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 10: Court Action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

Section 41
Complainant (1)	Institution (2)	Third Party (3)	Privacy Commissioner (4)	Total
0	0	0	0	0

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

Section 44 – under paragraph 28(1)(b)
0

11.1 Allocated Costs

Expenditures	Amount
Salaries	$24,082
Overtime	$0
Goods and Services	$0
Professional services contracts	$0
Other	$0
Total	$24,082

11.2 Human Resources

Resources	Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees	0.300
Part-time and casual employees	0.000
Regional Staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	0.000
Students	0.000
Total	0.300

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

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

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

	Number of weeks
Able to receive requests by mail	52
Able to receive requests by email	52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service	52

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

2.1 Number of weeks your institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels

	Full capacity	Total
Unclassified Paper Records	52	52
Protected B Paper Records	52	52
Secret and Top Secret Paper Records	52	52

2.2 Number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels

	Full capacity	Total
Unclassified Paper Records	52	52
Protected B Paper Records	52	52
Secret and Top Secret Paper Records	52	52