2020–2021 Annual Report to Parliament - Privacy Act

Mandate of the Canadian Space Agency

To provide a better understanding of the context in which the Act is implemented at the CSA, this section gives an overview of the CSA's objectives and activities.

The CSA reports to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Its mandate, as set out in the Canadian Space Agency Act, is "to promote the peaceful use and development of space, to advance the knowledge of space through science and to ensure that space science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians."

Mission

The CSA is committed to leading the development and application of space knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and humanity.

To fulfil its mission, the CSA:

• pursues excellence collectively;
• advocates a client-centred attitude;
• supports employee-oriented practices and open communications;
• commits itself to both empowerment and accountability; and
• pledges to co-operate and work with partners for our mutual benefit.

The CSA has been a source of inspiration for Canadians since its creation in 1989. In addition to consolidating major federal space programs, it coordinates all the components of the Canadian Space Program and manages Canada's major space-related activities.

The new Space Strategy for Canada launched in 2019 highlighted the importance of space as a strategic national asset and identified harnessing space science and technology as a priority to solve important issues on Earth. This new plan allowed the CSA to undertake a series of initiatives to support the Canadian space industry so it can take full advantage of the growth in the global space sector, while ensuring that Canada keeps pace.

More information on the CSA's activities can be found at: www.asc-csa.gc.ca.

Delegations of Authority

Under the Act, the head of the CSA is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. In June 2016, some of the powers under the Act were delegated by the Minister to the incumbents of the CSA positions of Vice-President, Chief Information Officer, and Access to Information and Open Data coordinator. The appended grid on delegation of authorities identifies the powers delegated.

During 2020–2021, organizational changes were put in place, which resulted in the delegations of authority residing with the positions of the Chief Information Officer and the Access to Information Coordinator. Following these changes in September 2021, the Information Management and Technologies Directorate, of which the Office of Access to Information and Personal Information (ATIP) is a part, now reports directly to the president of the CSA.

The updated delegations of authority were approved by the Minister in May 2021 (see appendix).

The Access to Information and Open Data coordinator is responsible for implementing the Act on a daily basis and reports to the Chief Information Officer.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office is comprised of the Access to Information and Open Data Coordinator and the Access to Information and Open Data Officer and a junior ATIP officer. In addition, during the year, the ATIP Office was able to benefit from the help of a casual employee in order to compensate for the increase in requests.

This office works closely with all sectors of the CSA to ensure the application of and compliance with the Act.

Lastly, the Act allows government institutions to provide services related to access to information to another government institution presided over by the same minister or under the responsibility of the same minister, or to receive such services themselves from any other such institution. However, at the CSA, no contract for such services, as stipulated in section 73.1 of the Act, has been entered into with any other government institution.

Evolving Role of the ATIP Office

In 2016–2017, the ATIP Office was mandated not only to process requests under the Act and to report on its administration, but also to implement the Open Government and Open Science initiatives.

Open government is becoming a global priority in improving transparency and making information more readily available to the public. The Government of Canada is no exception in that regard and has implemented a series of commitments in which departments and agencies are taking part. Briefly, the goal is to release as much data and information as possible in a manner that is accessible, interoperable and publicly usable. This vision of transparency is closely linked to the vision for the application of the Act.

Further to a decision to link Access-to-Information and Open Government and open science activities, the ATIP Office has become a one-stop shop for CSA employees wishing to share information and members of the public wishing to obtain information.

This innovative and effective pairing, which resulted from a centralization of activities, has made it possible for the CSA to optimize its acquisition and application of knowledge.

Request Processing Procedure

When it receives a request under the Act, the ATIP Office consults the CSA's office of primary interest and, when necessary and appropriate depending on the case, Justice Canada, the information-related communities of practice, the Treasury Board Secretariat or other institutions.

The ATIP Office uses an electronic ATIP request processing system to record the administrative actions taken, to review the records in question and to apply any exemptions and exclusions.

Once the documents have been analyzed and the consultations held, the ATIP Office recommends the application of the exemptions to the Chief Information Officer of the CSA, who is responsible for approving the communication of documents disseminated under the Act. The records in response to the requests are then sent to the requesters.

Requests Received and Processed

This year, the number of requests for access to personal information received by the CSA decreased slightly. In fact, the number of requests received was 35 in 2019–2020 and 33 in 2020–2021, which represents a decrease of 6%.

Of these, the CSA processed 35 requests during the year, including three requests carried over from the previous year, while one request was carried over to the next fiscal year.

The following table illustrates the trend in requests received and carried over during the last five fiscal years:

Provisions and Processing Times

The Act stipulates that responses to access requests must normally be provided within 30 calendar days. Of the requests processed in 2020–2021, 28 (80%) were processed within this timeframe, while responses for 7 requests (20%) took more than 30 days.

It is important to note that the Act provides for the extension of processing times for some requests if, for instance, consultations must be held or if processing the requests would interfere with the operations of the government institution (for example, a large volume of requests). This year, consultations were required to process three requests, so they were extended as required by law. So, taking into account the extension cases, 94% of the requests processed by the ATIP Office were answered within the prescribed timeframe.

Of the 35 requests processed this year, 7 requests (20%) were disclosed in part, while 16 requests (46%) were fully disclosed. Of the remaining requests, 14% were abandoned by the requesters and 20% had no documents.

The following table presents all the provisions invoked.

Exemptions and Exclusions Invoked

For the 7 partially disclosed requests, section 26 (information concerning other individuals) was invoked. In addition, for two of these requests section 27 (professional secrecy and privilege) was also invoked.

The CSA also had to use the Access to Information Act to protect certain information found in a request that contained information relating to reviews and audits.

Format of Information Disclosed

Of the 23 requests that were answered this year, a total of 21 disclosures (91%) were made electronically, while one request (4%) was disclosed in paper format and another (4%) was been delivered by hand.

Pages Reviewed and Disclosed

The number of pages disclosed can vary considerably from year to year, depending on the subject of the requests and the amount of relevant documents held by the CSA.

The increase in the number of requests processed in 2020–2021, however, did not translate into an increase in the average number of pages disclosed. In 2019–2020, an average of 161 pages disclosed per request, while this year the average of pages disclosed is 134.

The number of pages processed during the year also increased and represented additional complexity for the ATIP Office. A total of 4,802 pages were processed, compared to 4,391 the previous year.

A total of 19 requests contained less than 100 pages, two requests were between 101 and 500 pages, one request between 501 and 1,000 pages, and finally, a single request required processing over 1,000 pages.

The following table illustrates the fluctuation in the number of pages disclosed over the last five years:

Consultations and Extensions

This year, three requests were extended under paragraph 15 (a) (ii) - consultation. These three requests required consultations with other federal institutions, other organizations or legal services. Note that the same request may require consultations with more than one category.

The applicants for each of these requests have been notified of the extension of time, as specified by law.

Consultations Received from Other Federal Institutions

It is rare for the CSA to receive consultation requests from other government institutions or organizations relating to personal information. In 2020–2021, the CSA did not receive any such requests.

Administration Fees and Costs

For the reporting period, operating costs have been estimated at $124,128 for the reporting period. Of this amount, 74% of the costs were dedicated to salary with an amount of $91,346. The cost of goods and services represented 26% ($32,782). These expenses are related to the maintenance of the electronic system to process access requests and to the awarding a contract for a security assessment and authorization in support of a privacy impact assessment, in addition to containing costs related to the purchase of administrative and other supplies.

Impact of COVID‑19

Throughout the year, the CSA has been able to receive and process requests, despite the exceptional situation of COVID-19. Request processing had already undergone a digital transition before the pandemic. This has made it possible to continue processing with teleworking resources. The processing of requests was possible, regardless of the transmission channels, the classification level of information and the format of the documents to be processed.

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order

The Minister of Industry, pursuant to subsections 95(1) of the Access to Information Act and 73(1) 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 and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, under the section of the Acts set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order

The Minister of Industry Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and 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 and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, under the section of the Acts set out in the schedule opposite each position. This Delegation Order supersedes all previous Delegation Orders

Section 1: Requests Under the Privacy Act

Section 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

Section 3: Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 4: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Section 5: Extensions

Section 6: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

Section 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Section 8: Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Section 9: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) and Personal Information Banks (PIB)

Section 10: Material Privacy Breaches

Section 11: Resources Related to the Privacy Act