Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Privacy Act 2020-2021

ISSN: 2561-9233

Introduction

The Privacy Act (Act) provides individuals with a right of access to their personal information and protects the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information under the control of government institutions.

This Annual Report was prepared in accordance with section 72 of the Act, which stipulates that annual reports on privacy shall be tabled in Parliament.

About the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (CRCC) operates pursuant to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. R‑10. The CRCC provides civilian review of RCMP members' conduct in performing their policing duties so as to hold the RCMP accountable to the public.

One of the CRCC's main roles is to take public complaints about members of the RCMP. These complaints are then forwarded to the RCMP for initial investigation as mandated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act; however, if the complainant is dissatisfied with the response that he or she receives from the RCMP, the CRCC will review the complaint with a view to determining the reasonableness of the RCMP's response. In appropriate cases, the CRCC will undertake its own investigation or hearing into a complaint. The Chairperson of the CRCC also has the power to file his or her own complaint if he or she feels that a matter is deserving of investigation.

Additionally, even in the absence of a public complaint, the CRCC is empowered to conduct a review of RCMP activities to evaluate compliance with legislation, regulations, ministerial directions, policy, procedures and/or guidelines.

ATIP Responsibilities

At the CRCC, the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Unit consists solely of the ATIP Coordinator. The ATIP Coordinator processes all requests from the public and consultations from other departments or agencies. The ATIP Coordinator also provides

advice to CRCC employees and senior officials on ATIP-related matters, prepares annual ATIP reports, ensures the ongoing accuracy of Info Source, prepares completed Access to Information summaries for proactive disclosure on the CRCC's website, participates in forums for the ATIP community and monitors changes in ATIP policy, guidelines and directives.

When processing requests and consultations under the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, the ATIP Coordinator also benefits from some administrative assistance from personnel in the Information Management Unit of the CRCC.

The CRCC Chairperson, under delegated authority from the Minister of Public Safety, provides the final approval for all responses on ATIP requests and consultations.

During the reporting period, the CRCC was not party to any service agreements under section 73.1 of the Privacy Act.

Delegation Order

The Minister of Public Safety has delegated full authority under the Act to the CRCC Chairperson and Senior Director, Operations. The Minister has also delegated administrative duties and functions to the CRCC ATIP Coordinator. The most recent delegation order was signed by the Minister of Public Safety on July 4, 2016 (see Annex A).

Privacy Requests Received

During the course of the reporting period, forty-six (46) new requests for personal information under the Act were received. Seven (7) requests were carried over from the previous year. Of those fifty-three (53), forty-nine (49) requests were processed during that period and four (4) were carried forward into 2021-2022.

Fifteen (15) of the requests for personal information that were processed during 2020-2021 were from individuals seeking their personal information from public complaints files held by the CRCC. Two (2) were from members of the RCMP seeking their personal information from public complaint files in which they were the subject, held by the CRCC. Thirty-one (31) were from individuals who erroneously applied to the CRCC to obtain law enforcement information from the RCMP and one (1) was a general request searching for their personal information from the CRCC.

Performance

During the reporting period, forty-seven (47) of the forty-nine (49) requests processed (95.9%) were responded to within the established timelines.

The forty-six (46) Privacy requests received by the CRCC in 2020-2021 represent a dramatic increase over the number of Privacy requests received in recent years:

2020-21 46
2019-20 32
2018-19 27
2017-18 11
2016-17 9

Despite the increase in requests, the CRCC still responded to over 90% of requests within legislated timelines.

The increase in number of requests received is likely attributable to the ATIP Online Request Service, which has allowed requesters to submit their requests online to the CRCC since late 2018, many of which it turned out were intended for other institutions.

Of the forty-nine (49) requests processed during the reporting period, seven (7) (14.3%) were released without redaction, ten (10) (20.4%) were released in part with exemptions and two (2) were abandoned by the requestors; however, the CRCC partially released some pages for one (1) of these requests before the request was abandoned. The total number of pages processed was 2,770 pages. In the other thirty (30) requests, no records were found to exist.

During the reporting period, the CRCC claimed exemptions paragraph 22(1)(b) (Information the disclosure of which could be injurious to lawful investigations), section 22.3 (Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act), section 25 (Safety of individuals), section 26 (Personal information of a third party), and section 27 (Solicitor-client privilege) of the Privacy Act.

External consultation was required for four (4) requests.

The statutory deadlines were not met for two (2) requests due to external consultation.

Six (6) consultations were received from other Government of Canada institutions during the reporting period. These consultations all related to documents having to do with public complaints against RCMP members. All six (6) consultations were closed during the reporting period, resulting in 198 pages processed.

See Annex B for the Statistical Report.

On March 14, 2020, the CRCC implemented exceptional workplace measures to curb the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and protect federal employees and the public.

Since that date, the CRCC Access to Information and Privacy staff has been working from home most of the time, but completes tasks that cannot be performed remotely by attending the CRCC workplace as required. This work is supported by part-time on-site information management staff. However, unlike many federal institutions, these measures have not negatively impacted the CRCC's performance .

Training and Awareness

During the reporting period, no CRCC employees participated in formal privacy training. However, guidance on privacy matters was provided on an ad hoc basis (e.g. in person, by email and through the CRCC's electronic newsletter).

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives

The ATIP Unit has been actively involved in communicating evolving privacy requirements emerging in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the personal information of the CRCC's employees and members of the public that the CRCC serves. These communications include Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat policies and directives on privacy, as well as general advice on email encryption and personal information handling for employees working at home.

Furthermore, due to exceptional workplace measures implemented to curb the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the ATIP Office developed new secure online procedures for the review and approval process for completed requests.

Monitoring of Timeliness

The CRCC monitors the time to process Privacy requests through its case management software. The ATIP Coordinator keeps track of upcoming deadlines for requests and consultations. Reminders of approaching deadlines are provided to senior management at least quarterly. The ATIP Coordinator meets regularly with the CRCC Chairperson and General Counsel to discuss various issues pertaining to in-progress ATIP files.

Privacy Impact Assessments

The CRCC has one privacy impact assessment in progress. Once it is finalized, the CRCC will submit it to Treasury Board and the Privacy Commissioner.

Privacy Breaches

There were no material privacy breaches at the CRCC during the reporting period.

Disclosures Made Pursuant to Paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act

The CRCC made one disclosure of personal information pursuant to paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Act in 2020-2021. A request was made by the sibling of a deceased person for information related to a police investigation into the circumstances of the sibling's death. Concurrent notice under subsection 8(5) was provided to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, explaining the compassionate reasons for the disclosure.

Complaints

There were three (3) new complaints filed against the CRCC during the reporting period (i.e. two involved refusals to make corrections, and one related to an allegation that the CRCC shared personal information improperly with another federal institution).

Ten (10) complaints were filed against the CRCC during previous periods: two (2) complaints about the CRCC's refusal to correct personal information which the complainant alleged was false; six (6) complaints about the refusal to disclose information by improperly invoking exemptions; and two (2) complaints about refusing to disclose information by improperly invoking exemptions and by not conducting a proper search for records.

During the reporting period, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) investigated all thirteen (13) of these new and previous complaints and issued findings on all but one.

The OIC concluded that all four (4) complaints involving the CRCC's refusal to correct personal information were unfounded.

The six (6) complaints that only alleged the improper application of exemptions were unfounded.

For the two (2) complaints concerning the improper application of exemptions as well as the improper search of records, the OPC concluded that the CRCC had properly applied exemptions, but did not conduct a thorough search for records that would not have been disclosable at the time of the response to the requestor. The OPC found these two complaints as conditionally resolved provided that the CRCC release the pertinent records to the requestor. The CRCC did release additional records to the requestor within 30 days of the OPC's finding.

Finally, the OIC investigated the complaint alleging the improper sharing of personal information with another federal institution, but no finding had been issued by March 31, 2021.

There were no audits or other investigations conducted during the reporting period.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

CRCC ATIP staff is in the process of developing more rigorous procedures for retrieving records from Offices of Primary Interest after examining its practices during complaint investigations during the 2020-2021 reporting period.

Appendix A: Delegation Order

The Minister of Public Safety Canada, pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Act*, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out below, or acting in those positions, to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister as the head of a government institution, that is, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, under the section of the Act set out opposite each position.

Delegation Order – Privacy Act
Section Chairperson Senior Director, Operations ATIP Coordinator
8(2)(j) Disclosure for research purposes
 
8(2)(m) Disclosure in the public interest or in the interest of the individual
 
8(4) Copies of requests under 8(2)(e) to be retained
8(5) Notice of disclosure under 8(2)(m)
 
9(1) Record of disclosures to be retained
 
9(4) Consistent uses
 
10 Personal information to be included in personal information banks
 
14 Notice when access requested
15 Extension of time limits
17(2)(b) Language of access
17(3)(b) Access to personal information in alternative format
18(2) Exemption (exempt bank) – Disclosure may be refused
 
19(1) Exemption – Personal information obtained in confidence
 
19(2) Exemption – Where authorized to disclose
 
20 Exemption – Federal-provincial affairs
 
21 Exemption – International affairs and defence
 
22 Exemption – Law enforcement and investigations
 
22.3 Exemption – Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act
 
23 Exemption – Security clearances
 
24 Exemption – Individuals sentenced for an offence
 
25 Exemption – Safety of individuals
 
26 Exemption – Information about another individual
 
27 Exemption – Solicitor-client privilege
 
28 Exemption – Medical record
 
31 Notice of intention to investigate
33(2) Right to make representation
35(1) Findings and recommendations of Privacy Commissioner (complaints)
35(4) Access to be given
36(3) Report of findings and recommendations (exempt banks)
37(3) Report of findings and recommendations (compliance review)
51(2)(b) Special rules for hearings
 
51(3) Ex parte representations
 
72(1) Annual report to Parliament
 
Delegation Order – Privacy Regulations
Section Chairperson Senior Director, Operations ATIP Coordinator
7 Retention for 2 years
9 Reasonable facilities and time provided to examine personal information

11(2)

Notification that correction to personal information has been made

11(4)

Notification that correction to personal information has been refused

13(1)

Disclosure of personal information relating to physical or mental health may be made to a qualified medical practitioner or psychologist for an opinion on whether to release information to the requestor

14

Disclosure of personal information relating to physical or mental health may be made to a requestor in the presence of a qualified medical practitioner or psychologist

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, 4th of July 2016.

Signed by the Honourable Ralph Goodale, P.C., M.P., Minister of Public Safety Canada

*R.S.C. 1985, c. P-21

Appendix B: Statistical Report

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Privacy Act

  Number of Requests
Received during reporting period 46
Outstanding from previous reporting period 7
Total 53
Closed during reporting period 49
Carried over to next reporting period 4

Section 2: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of 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
All disclosed 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 7
Disclosed in part 0 8 1 1 0 0 0 10
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 3 25 2 0 0 0 0 30
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 5 38 4 1 0 1 0 49

2.2 Exemptions

Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests
18(2) 0 22(1)(a)(i) 0 23(a) 0
19(1)(a) 0 22(1)(a)(ii) 0 23(b) 0
19(1)(b) 0 22(1)(a)(iii) 0 24(a) 0
19(1)(c) 0 22(1)(b) 4 24(b) 0
19(1)(d) 0 22(1)(c) 0 25 2
19(1)(e) 0 22(2) 0 26 9
19(1)(f) 0 22.1 0 27 3
20 0 22.2 0 27.1 0
21 0 22.3 1 28 0
    22.4 0

2.3 Exclusions

Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests Section Number of Requests
69(1)(a) 0 70(1) 0 70(1)(d) 0
69(1)(b) 0 70(1)(a) 0 70(1)(e) 0
69.1 0 70(1)(b) 0 70(1)(f) 0
70(1)(c) 0 70.1 0

2.4 Format of information released

Paper Electronic Other
6 11 0

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed
Number of Pages Processed Number of Pages Disclosed Number of Requests
2770 1519 19
2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed 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
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 4 143 3 384 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 6 86 4 490 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 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 416 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 11 229 7 874 0 0 1 416 0 0
2.5.3 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation Required Legal Advice Sought Interwoven Information Other Total
All disclosed 1 0 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 2 0 0 0 2
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0 1
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 0 0 0 4

2.6 Closed requests

2.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines
  Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines 47
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) 95.9

2.7 Deemed refusals

2.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines
Number of Requests Closed Past the Legislated Timelines Principal Reason
Interference with Operations / Workload External Consultation Internal Consultation Other
2 0 2 0 0
2.7.2 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 Timelines Where an Extension Was Taken Total
1 to 15 days 0 0 0
16 to 30 days 0 1 1
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 1 1
More than 365 days 0 0 0
Total 0 2 2

2.8 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 3: Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Paragraph 8(2)(e) Paragraph 8(2)(m) Subsection 8(5) Total
0 1 0 1

Section 4: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Disposition for Correction Requests Received Number
Notations attached 0
Requests for correction accepted 0
Total 0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1  Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Number of requests where an extension was taken 15(a)(i) Interference with operations 15 (a)(ii) Consultation 15(b)
Translation purposes or conversion
Further review required to determine exemptions Large volume of pages Large volume of requests Documents are difficult to obtain Cabinet Confidence Section (Section 70) External Internal
4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0

5.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions 15(a)(i) Interference with operations 15 (a)(ii) Consultation 15(b)
Translation purposes or conversion
Further review required to determine exemptions Large volume of pages Large volume of requests Documents are difficult to obtain Cabinet Confidence Section (Section 70) External Internal
1 to 15 days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 days 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
31 days or greater               0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0

Section 6: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

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

Consultations Other Government of Canada Institutions Number of Pages to Review Other Organizations Number of Pages to Review
Received during reporting period 6 198 0 0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 0 0 0 0
Total 6 198 0 0
Closed during the reporting period 6 198 0 0
Pending at the end of the reporting period 0 0 0 0

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

Recommendation Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation 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 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Disclose in part 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 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 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 6

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Recommendation Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation 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
Disclose in part 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All Exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 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 7: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

7.1 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
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

7.2 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
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 8: Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Section 31 Section 33 Section 35 Court action Total
3 12 12 0 27

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

9.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

Number of PIA(s) Completed 0

9.2 Personal Information Banks

Personal Information Banks Active Created Terminated Modified
  1 0 0 0

Section 10: Material Privacy Breaches

Number of material privacy breaches reported to TBS 0
Number of material privacy breaches reported to OPC 0

Section 11: Resources Related to the Privacy Act

11.1  Costs

Expenditures Amount
Salaries $50,001
Overtime $0
Goods and Services $25
  • Professional services contracts $0
$0
  • Other $25
$0
Total $50,026

11.2  Human Resources

Resources Person Years Dedicated to Access to Information Activities
Full-time employees 0.468
Part-time and casual employees 0.00
Regional staff 0.00
Consultants and agency personnel 0.00
Students 0.00
Total 0.468

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.

Supplemental Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests

Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to receive ATIP requests through the different channels.

 

Number of Weeks

Able to receive requests by mail

51

Able to receive requests by email

52

Able to receive requests through the digital request service

52

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records

2.1 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels.

 

No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Paper Records

1

0 51 52
Protected B Paper Records

1

0 51 52

Secret and Top Secret Paper Records

1

51 0 52
2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels.

 

No Capacity Partial Capacity Full Capacity Total
Unclassified Electronic Records

0

0 52 52
Protected B Electronic Records

0

0 52 52

Secret and Top Secret Electronic Records

52

0 0 52
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