Archived - 2016-17 Annual Report on the Privacy Act

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ISSN: 2818-8152

Table of Contents

• 1) Introduction
• 2) How Requests Were Processed Under the Act
• 3) Complaints and Investigations
• 4) Court Cases
• 5) Other Reporting Requirements Under the Act
• Appendix A: Statistical Report
• Appendix B: Delegation Order

1) Introduction

The Privacy Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) gives Canadian citizens as well as individuals present in Canada, the right to access personal information about themselves held by the Government. The Act also protects the privacy of individuals by setting out parameters in relation to the collection, use, disclosure, retention and disposal of personal information held by federal government institutions.

Section 72 of the Act requires the heads of federal government institutions to submit a report to Parliament on their institution's administration of the Act each fiscal year. This report, along with all Privacy annual reports, is tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 72 of the Act and describes how the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) administered the Act for fiscal year 2016-17. It was prepared in accordance with the reporting requirements outlined by Treasury Board Secretariat.

The CFIA is mandated to safeguard Canada's food supply and the plants and animals upon which safe and high-quality food depends. As part of its commitment to openness and transparency, the CFIA recognizes the right to access information in government records and is making every reasonable effort to help anyone making an access to information request.

About the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is one of Canada's largest science-based regulatory agencies. It has over 6,927 employees working across Canada in the National Capital Region (NCR) and in four operational Areas (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and Western). The CFIA is dedicated to safeguarding food safety, animal and plant health, which enhances Canada's environment, economy, and the health and well-being of Canada's people.

CFIA develops program requirements and delivers inspection and other services to:

• prevent and manage food safety risks;
• protect plant resources from pests, diseases and invasive species;
• prevent and manage animal and zoonotic diseases;
• contribute to consumer protection; and
• contribute to market access for Canada's food, plants, animals and their products.

CFIA bases its activities on science, effective risk management, commitment to service and efficiency, and collaboration with domestic and international organizations that share its objectives.

The CFIA is responsible for administering and enforcing 14 federal statutes and 36 regulations that govern the safety and labelling of food sold in Canada and support a sustainable plant and animal resource base. In November 2012, the Safe Food for Canadians Act received Royal Assent. This new legislation consolidates and modernizes existing laws and makes them simpler and more consistent. For Canadians, this means safer food and better protection from food safety related risks as it will improve oversight, streamline and strengthen legislative authorities, and enhance international market opportunities for Canadian industry.

The CFIA shares many areas of responsibility with other federal departments and agencies, provincial, territorial and municipal authorities, and other stakeholders. Within this complex operating environment, the Agency works with its partners to implement food safety measures, manage food, animal and plant risks and emergencies, and promote the development of food safety and disease control systems to maintain the safety of Canada's high-quality agriculture, agri-food, aquaculture and fishery products. The Agency's activities include: verifying the compliance of imported products; registering and inspecting establishments; testing food, animals and plants, and their related products; and approving the use of many agricultural inputs. The Agency also provides scientific advice, develops new technologies, provides testing services, and conducts regulatory research.

The CFIA's responsibilities and strategic outcomes are illustrated in its Program Alignment Architecture, which reflects how the Agency allocates and manages its resources to achieve the corresponding expected results. The CFIA is led by its President who reports to the Minister of Health. The Agency is structured so that all Branch Heads have specific accountabilities that contribute to achieving the CFIA's strategic outcome.

Administration of the Act

The administration of the Act is the primary responsibility of the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office of the Integrity and Redress Secretariat. The ATIP Office processes all requests for information and coordinates all activities related to the Act, associated regulations, directives and guidelines. The ATIP Office is headed by a Director who reports to the Chief Redress Officer. During the reporting period, there were 15.48 full-time equivalents and 1.75 persons (consultants) dedicated to working in the ATIP Office.

In addition to the ATIP Office resources, there are also dedicated ATIP Advisor positions in the core Branches who report directly to their Branch Head on Branch-related ATIP issues and activities. These Branch Advisors work with the ATIP Office to ensure an efficient and effective process to respond to the applicant in a timely manner.

Resources

An estimated $193,002 in salary costs and $191,491 in operating costs were incurred by the ATIP Office to administer the Privacy Act for the reporting period. These costs do not include resources within each Branch such as the ATIP Advisors, or any other expenditures incurred by the Branches and program areas to meet the requirements of the Act.

Staff Training and Awareness

An effort was made by the ATIP Office to maximize training by reaching out to CFIA employees through Webinar sessions. The ATIP Office provided 35 training sessions to 1023 employees in the National Capital Region and in the four Areas during the fiscal year 2016-17. This represents an increase of 541% trained employees in comparison to the last reporting period. The aim of the training sessions was to increase awareness of the Act, clarify requirements under the Act, and highlight processes that support the CFIA in meeting its obligations. In addition to the training delivered by the ATIP Office, Branch ATIP Advisors provide awareness sessions.

Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

The CFIA continued to work on process improvements for ATIP in order to provide greater oversight and accountability. The activities related to access to information and privacy are reviewed quarterly by the Senior Management Committee.

As part of Canada's commitment to "Open Government", the ATIP Buy-online was implemented at the CFIA in January 2014. It enables Canadians to make privacy requests online for information held by the Agency. Adherence of Canadians to Buy-online services continues to increase from last fiscal year, from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, the Agency received 24 privacy requests through this system, which represents 54% of the requests in comparison to 50% in the last reporting period. In this reporting period, the Agency focused on establishing a new protocol to manage privacy breaches and define clear roles and responsibilities of the Chief Privacy Officer, the Agency Security Officer and the IT Security in response to a breach. In addition, the Agency has developed a Privacy Compliance Measurement Framework to examine and report on the level of compliance and effectiveness of policies and practices.

2) How Requests Were Processed Under the Act

The CFIA received 44 new privacy requests under the Privacy Act between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017. This represents an increase of 15% from the previous reporting period. There were seven (7) outstanding requests from the previous year, keeping the total to 51 requests that required processing. Forty-nine (49) requests were completed during the reporting period leaving a total of two (2) to be carried forward in FY 2017-18. From the completed requests, a total of 24,271 pages were reviewed and 16,954 were released pursuant to the Act, which represents an increase of 263% in comparison to the last reporting period.

The following table outlines the cycle of Privacy requests at CFIA for the last five fiscal years:

Fiscal Year	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Received	89	24	23	38	44
Completed	94	38	32	31	49
Outstanding from previous FY	28	23	9	0	7
Carried forward	23	8	0	7	2

The ATIP Office also received 13 informal requests for personal information and reviewed 442 pages during 2016-17. This represents an increase of 38% requests over the previous year.

The following table outlines the cycle of informal Privacy requests received at CFIA for the last five fiscal years:

Fiscal Year	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Informal requests	25	2	9	8	13

Consultations

There were no consultations received from other institutions during the reporting period.

Completion Times and Extensions

The 49 requests completed in 2016-17 were processed in the following timeframes:

• 38 within 30 days or less (78%);
• 6 within 31 to 60 days (12%);
• 2 within 61 to 120 days (4%); and
• 3 over 121 days (6%).

The CFIA monitors the performance of responding to requests by reporting quarterly to senior officials of the Agency.

Disposition of Completed Requests

The following represents the disposition of the 49 completed requests:

• 7 were fully disclosed (14%);
• 18 were partially disclosed (37%);
• 8 where no records existed (16%); and
• 16 were abandoned (33%).

All requesters received copies of the requested information as opposed to reviewing the information on site.

Exemptions and Exclusions

The CFIA invoked exemptions pursuant to the Act a total of 24 times. The exemptions were invoked as follows:

• 2 for personal information obtained in confidence (s. 19);
• 18 for personal information (s. 26); and
• 4 for solicitor-client privilege (s. 27).

The Agency did not exclude any information under the Act.

3) Complaints and Investigations

The CFIA received two complaints from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in 2016-17. This represents the same number of complaint received in the previous reporting period. During fiscal year 2016-17, no complaints were completed.

4) Court Cases

There were no applications filed with the Federal Court of Canada for the fiscal year 2016-17.

5) Other Reporting Requirements Under the Act

Privacy Breaches

There were 3 privacy breaches that occurred during the reporting period, of which none were material breaches.

Privacy Impact Assessments

There was one (1) Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) completed during the reporting period. The PIA was entitled "Designation Authority Management System". This new system is to enhance the management of designations, cards, letters and badges issued by the CFIA. The summary of the PIA will be posted on the CFIA website.

Disclosures under Section 8(2)(m) of the Act

There were no disclosures made pursuant to section 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act during the fiscal year 2016-17. Section 8(2)(m) relates to the disclosure of personal information for any purpose where, in the opinion of the head of the institution, clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result from the disclosure, or would clearly benefit the individual to whom the information relates.

Appendix A: Statistical Report

Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Reporting Period: 2016/04/01 to 2017/03/31

Part 1 – Requests under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of Requests

	Number of Requests
Received during the reporting period	44
Outstanding from previous reporting period	7
Total	51
Closed during reporting period	49
Carried over to next reporting period	2

PART 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	Total
All disclosed	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	7
Disclosed in part	0	9	5	1	3	0	0	18
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
No records exist	3	4	1	0	0	0	0	8
Request abandoned	12	3	0	1	0	0	0	16
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	17	21	6	2	3	0	0	49

2.2 Exemptions

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

2.3 Exclusions

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

2.4 Format of information released

Disposition	Paper	Electronic	Other formats
All disclosed	5	2	0
Disclosed in part	11	7	0
Total	16	9	0

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

Disposition of requests	Number of pages processed	Number of pages disclosed	Number of requests
All disclosed	1397	1384	7
Disclosed in part	19217	14527	18
All exempted	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0
Request abandoned	1445	0	16
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0
Total	22059	15911	41

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.3 Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation required	Legal Advice Sought	Interwoven Information	Other	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	1	0	1	0	2
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0
Total	1	0	1	0	2

2.6 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

Number of requests closed past the statutory deadline	Principal Reason
	Workload	External consultation	Internal consultation	Other
6	3	1	0	2

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

Number of days past deadline	Number of requests past deadline where no extension was taken	Number of requests past deadline where an extension was taken	Total
1 to 15 days	1	1	2
16 to 30 days	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	1	1
61 to 120 days	0	3	3
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
More than 365 days	0	0	0
Total	1	5	6

2.7 Requests for translation

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

PART 3 – Disclosures under subsection 8(2) and 8(5)

Paragraph 8(2)(e)	Paragraph 8(2)(m)	Paragraph 8(5)	Total
3	0	0	3

PART 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

PART 5 – Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and dispositions of requests

Disposition of requests where an extension was taken	15(a)(i) Interference with operations	15(a)(ii) Consultation		15(b) Translation or conversion
		Section 70	Other
All disclosed	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	9	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	1	0	0	0
Total	10	0	0	0

5.2 Length of extensions

Length of extensions	15(a)(i) Interference with operations	15(a)(ii) Consultation		15(b) Translation purposes
		Section 70	Other
1 to 15 days	1	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	9	0	0	0
Total	10	0	0	0

PART 6 – Consultation 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 the reporting period	0	0	0	0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0
Closed during the reporting period	0	0	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	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed 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

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	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed 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

PART 7 – Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

PART 8 – Complaints and investigations notices received

Section 31	Section 33	Section 35	Court action	Total
2	0	0	0	2

PART 9 – Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

Number of PIA(s) completed	1

PART 10 – Resources related to the Privacy Act

10.1 Costs

Expenditures	Amount
Salaries	$193,002
Overtime	$0
Goods and Services Professional services contracts ($180,337) Other ($11,154)	$191,491
Total	$384,493

10.2 Human Resources

Resources	Person years dedicated to Privacy activities
Full-time employees	2.66
Part-time and casual employees	0.00
Regional staff	0.00
Consultants and agency personnel	1.50
Students	0.00
Total	4.16

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.

Appendix B: Delegation Order

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Orders

The President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act, and section 73 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 President as the head of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency Delegation Schedule

Position/Titles	Schedule Access to Information Act and Regulations	Schedule Privacy Act and Regulations
Executive Vice-President	Full authority	Full authority
Chief Redress Officer, Integrity and Redress Secretariat (IRS)	Full authority	Full authority
Director, Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP), IRS	Full authority	Full authority
Manager, ATIP, IRS	Full authority	Full authority
Team Leader, ATIP, IRS	Full authority	Full authority
Senior Analyst and Analyst, ATIP, IRS	Sections of the Access to Information Act: 4(2.1), 7, 9, 11(2), 11(3), 11(4), 11(5), 27(1), 27(4), 28(1)(b), 33 and 35(2)(b). Sections of the Access to Information Regulations: 7(2) and 7(3)	Sections of the Privacy Act: 8(4), 15 and 33(2)