Source: https://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/transparency/access_information/annual_report/2016_2017/access_information_ar_2016_2017.html
Timestamp: 2018-01-21 06:35:21
Document Index: 423487714

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 10', 'art 1703', 'art 9', 'art 6', 'art 0']

Annual Report to Parliament 2016-2017 - Access to Information Act - National Research Council Canada
NRC Annual Report to Parliament 2016‑2017 – Access to Information Act (PDF, 1.29 MB)
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act for fiscal year April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. Section 72 of the Act requires that the head of every federal government institution submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year
This thirty-third Annual Report on the administration of the Access to Information Act at the NRC provides an overview of the activities of the Council in implementing the Act.
From April 1, 2016 to August 9, 2016, the NRC President delegated full authority for the application and administration of the Access to Information Act to the Director General, Knowledge Management and to the Director, Information Management Services Directorate. Partial authority was delegated to the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator.
The delegation of authority changed as of August 10, 2016. The President delegated full authority for the application and administration of the Access to Information Act to the Vice-President, Business and Professional Services, to the Chief Information Officer & Director General of Knowledge, Information and Technology Services, and to the Director, Information and Data Management Services Directorate. The ATIP Coordinator’s authority remained the same.
During the period covered by this report, the NRC Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) office was part of the Information and Data Management Services Directorate (previously Information Management Services Directorate), within the Knowledge, Information and Technology Services Branch (previously Knowledge Management Branch).
Annex B provides a summarized statistical report on the access requests received and processed by the National Research Council of Canada from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. This section provides an interpretation of the statistical report.
During the fiscal year, NRC received forty-five (45) new access to information (ATI) requests. Four (4) requests were outstanding from the previous fiscal year, for a total of forty-nine (49) requests to be processed in the 2016-2017 fiscal year. NRC completed forty-one (41) access to information requests during this reporting period. Eight (8) requests that were either not completed or had been received at the end of the fiscal year were carried over to the next reporting period.
Long description for volume of access to information requests
Chart 1 indicates an increase in the total number of access to information requests received over a three year period. In addition to volume, the complexity of requests has also increased, primarily due to:
The ATIP office and the information management team are coordinating efforts to provide training and guidance to employees on the effective management of information (drafts, emails, duplicates, etc.), to address challenges with volume.
The breakdown of the source of requestors is as follows: ten (10) from the media, two (2) from academia, sixteen (16) from business, one (1) from organizations, fourteen (14) from the public and two (2) declined to identify.
Long description for access to information requests received by source
As a result of web posting summaries of completed access to information requests, NRC received additional informal requests for previously released information. The ATIP office processed twenty-four (24) informal requests (not subject to the Access to Information Act) in this reporting period, compared to fifteen (15) in 2015-2016, eighteen (18) in 2014-2015 and fourteen (14) in 2013-2014.
Long description for volume of informal access to information requests
In terms of topics, the subject matter of the forty-five new requests received during the fiscal year related to various activities across the organization as follows:
Grants and contributions including the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) - 7
Contracting including call-ups and purchase orders - 8
Program research - 17
With regard to timelines and extensions, out of forty-one (41) completed requests, twenty-six (26) were completed in 30 days or less, seven (7) were completed within 31 to 60 days, seven (7) were completed between 61 and 120 days and one (1) was completed between 121 and 180 days. All levels of NRC worked diligently to ensure that statutory deadlines were met to the greatest extent possible.
Section 9 of the Act provides for the extension of the statutory time limits if consultations are necessary or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing the request within the default time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the organization. In addition, extensions are invoked when consultations are necessary to comply with the request or section 27(1) of the Act. NRC invoked an extension in the case of eight (8) requests. The extensions involved records that contained confidential business information that required OGD and third party consultations, and cases when meeting the original time limit of thirty days would have unreasonably interfered with the operations of the organization.
Sections 2.2 and 2.3 of the Statistical Report focus on the application of exemptions and exclusions from disclosure. NRC invoked exemptions and exclusions pursuant to sections 16(2)(c), 18(a)(b), 19(1), 20(1)(b)(c)(d), 21(1)(a)(b)(d) and 68(a) of the Act, as follows:
Section 18 (Economic interests of Canada) was invoked four (4) times;
Section 19 (Personal information) was invoked fourteen (14) times;
Section 20 (Third party information) was invoked seventeen (17) times;
Section 21 (Advice, etc.) was invoked six (6) times;
Section 68 (material available for purchase by the public) was invoked once.
As a government agency, NRC is asked by other federal departments and agencies, as well as other organizations (such as universities and provincial governments) for its input on disclosure of information originating within the National Research Council. During this reporting year, sixty-one (61) consultation requests were received from other federal departments and agencies and two (2) consultation requests were received from other organizations. This compares with sixty-three (63) from other federal departments and agencies and zero (0) from other organizations in 2015-2016, and fifty-four (54) from other federal departments and agencies and two (2) from other organizations in 2014-2015. The numbers indicate a steady volume of consultation requests received, resulting from an increased workload in ATIP offices of other government departments, as well as NRC’s continued involvement in horizontal/inter-departmental files.
Long description for consultation requests received by source
Within the context of its overall roles and responsibilities, NRC’s ATIP office reviewed a total of one hundred forty-eight (148) parliamentary questions received for the period of 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017, compared to one hundred (100) in 2015-2016 and one hundred and sixty-one (161) in 2014-2015.
To increase the knowledge and understanding of the Access to Information Act across NRC, training and awareness sessions are delivered on an ongoing basis to NRC employees. These sessions provided basic information on the purposes and provisions of the Act, roles and responsibilities, and general best practices for information management. All training sessions include information on the identification and management of personal information and the Privacy Act. During the reporting period, the ATIP office delivered a total of six (6) training sessions to 129 employees in the National Capital Region and in regional offices.
One complaint was filed against NRC in 2016-2017. The reason for the complaint related to the application of a time limit extension pursuant to section 9 of the Act, which the requester considered to be unreasonable.
One (1) outstanding complaint from fiscal year 2011-2012 is now closed. The complaint was discontinued.
There were no court cases in 2016-2017.
Chief Information Officer Director General, Knowledge and Information Technology Services Full authority Full authority
All disclosed 8 6 0
Disclosed in part 10 5 0
All disclosed 469 469 14
Disclosed in part 1703 1644 15
All disclosed 12 257 2 212 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 9 323 5 810 1 511 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 6 0 0 0 6
Disclosed in part 0 0 1 5
Request abandoned 2 0 2 2
30 days or less 1 0 0 1
31 to 60 days 0 0 1 2
61 to 120 days 1 0 2 5
Fee yype
Application 35 $175 6 $30
Received during reporting period 61 2025 2 112
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 3 354 0 0
Closed during the reporting period 64 2379 2 112
Professional services contracts ($75,814)
Others ($14,604)
Full-time employees 1.45