2023 to 2024 Annual Report on the Access to Information Act

ISSN: 2818-8136

On this page

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Organizational structure
• 3. Performance 2023 to 2024
• 4. Staff training and awareness
• 5. Policies, guidelines and procedures
• 6. Proactive publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act
• 7. Initiatives and projects to improve access to information
• 8. Summary of key issues and actions taken on complaints
• 9. Monitoring compliance
• 10. Court cases
• Appendix A: Statistical report on the Access to Information Act
• Appendix B: Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
• Appendix C: Delegation order

1. Introduction

The Access to Information Act (hereafter referred to as the act) gives Canadian citizens as well as people and corporations present in Canada, the right to access records under the control of federal government institutions with limited and specific exceptions. The act is intended to complement existing procedures for access to government information and not to limit, in any way, information that is normally available to the public.

Section 94 of the act requires the heads of federal government institutions to submit a report to Parliament on their institution 's administration of the act for each fiscal year. This report, along with all Access to Information annual reports, is tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the act and describes how the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) administered the act for fiscal year 2023 to 2024. This report is also prepared and tabled in accordance with section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

As a part of its commitment to openness and transparency, the CFIA recognizes the right to access information in government records and makes every reasonable effort to assist those that request access to information.

About the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The Agency 's employees are dedicated to safeguarding food safety, animal and plant health to enhance Canada 's environment, economy, and the health and well-being of all Canadians. The CFIA is one of Canada 's largest science-based, regulatory departments/agencies. The CFIA is led by its President, who reports to the Minister of Health, and its employees work across Canada 's 5 operational regions: Atlantic, Quebec, the National Capital Region, Ontario and the West.

The 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
• contribute to market access for Canada 's food, plants, animals and their products

The 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 11 federal statutes, 1 fee notice and 21 regulations that govern the safety and labelling of food sold in Canada and support a sustainable plant and animal resource base.

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 CFIA 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, fishery and their related products.

The CFIA 's activities include:

• verifying the compliance of imported products
• registering and inspecting establishments
• testing food, animals and plants, and their related products
• approving the use of many agricultural inputs

The CFIA also provides scientific advice, develops new technologies, provides testing services, and conducts regulatory research. Its responsibilities and strategic outcomes are illustrated in the Departmental Results Framework, which reflects how the CFIA allocates and manages its resources to achieve the corresponding expected results.

2. Organizational structure

Administration of the act

Administration of the act within the CFIA is the primary responsibility of the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) office, which is part of the agency 's Communications and Public Affairs branch. The ATIP office processes all requests for information and coordinates all activities related to the act, along with associated regulations, directives and guidelines. Proactive publication, in accordance with Part 2 of the act, is a shared responsibility between multiple stakeholders across the agency. The CFIA was not party to any agreements under section 96 of the act during this reporting period.

Resources

The ATIP office is headed by a director who reports to the Executive Director, Digital and Corporate Communications. During the reporting period there were 13.46 full-time and part-time equivalents and 1.663 persons (contracted consultants) dedicated to the ATIP office. In addition to the ATIP office resources, there are also dedicated ATIP advisor positions in the core branches who report 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 applicants in a timely manner.

An estimated $883K in salary costs and $740.7K in operating costs were incurred by the ATIP office to administer the Access to Information Act for the reporting period. These costs do not include resources within each branch (such as the branch ATIP advisors), nor any other expenditures incurred by the branches and program areas to meet the requirements of the act. Operating costs include $278K for the procurement of a new request processing software to replace the current software. The new Software is anticipated to be fully implemented by the 4^th quarter of the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year.

Proactive publication

Responsibilities for proactive publication are shared between the following key offices within the agency:

• the President 's office
• Corporate Client Services
• Horizontal Enterprise Management and Integration
• Financial and Procurement Services
• Strategic Policy and Priorities Division
• Legislative Affairs
• Parliamentary Affairs
• the ATIP office

3. Performance 2023 to 2024

The CFIA received 237 new requests under the act between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. There were 55 outstanding requests from the previous year, bringing the total to 292 requests. Of the 292 requests, 223 were processed during the reporting period, and 69 were carried forward to 2024 to 2025. Refer to section 3.1 of the Supplemental statistical report, found in Appendix B, for a detailed breakdown of the 69 requests carried forward to 2024 to 2025. Of the 223 requests completed, 30 exceeded 1,000 pages and included 5 requests greater than 5,000 but less than 10,000 pages, 2 requests greater than 10,000 but less than 20,000 pages and 1 request over 37,000 pages.

The ATIP office reviewed a total of 210,380 pages during the reporting period, of which 49,639 were released. This represents a 27% increase in the number of pages reviewed compared to the last reporting period.

The ATIP office improve its service standard to approximately 88% of requests closed within legislated timelines. This represents a 10% increase from the previous reporting period.

The following table outlines the cycle of access to information (ATI) requests at CFIA for the last 5 fiscal years (FY):

The following represents a breakdown of the sources of requests received during the fiscal year:

• 95 requests from businesses (40%)
• 9 requests from the media (4%)
• 21 requests from organizations (9%)
• 76 requests from the public (32%)
• 14 requests from academia (6%)
• 22 declined to self-identify (9%)

Consultations

During the reporting period, the CFIA received 58 consultations from other government institutions and organizations concerning the release of CFIA records. This represents a decrease of 16 consultation requests (roughly 22%) from last year, during which 74 consultations were received. The CFIA completed 57 consultations, which required the review of 2,376 pages.

Additional information on the processing of consultations from other institutions and organizations can be found in the Statistical report on the Access to Information Act, found at Appendix A.

Completion times and extensions

The 223 requests completed in 2023 to 2024 were processed within the following timeframes:

• 110 within 30 days or less (49%)
• 20 within 31 to 60 days (9%)
• 51 within 61 to 120 days (23%)
• 42 over 121 days (19%)

The CFIA was able to close 49% of requests within the first 30 days; this represents a 10% decrease from the last reporting period where 59% were closed within the first 30 days.

It was necessary to extend the 30 calendar day time limit for 112 requests. This represents roughly half of the requests closed in this reporting period. All extensions were calculated and applied as prescribed in the act. Of the 173 extensions taken, 69 were required for third-party consultations pursuant to section 27 of the act, 60 for interference with operations and another 44 for consultations with federal or provincial authorities. The CFIA monitors performance through weekly updates and quarterly reports to senior CFIA officials.

Dispositions of completed requests

There were 223 requests completed in 2023 to 2024. The dispositions of the requests are as follows:

• 14 were fully disclosed (6%)
• 129 were partially disclosed (58%)
• 2 were fully exempted (1%)
• 1 was fully excluded (0.5%)
• 60 where no records existed (27%)
• 17 were abandoned by the applicants (7.5%)

Exemptions and exclusions

The CFIA invoked exemptions pursuant to the act a total of 447 times. The exemptions were invoked as follows:

• 28 instances for records dealing with information obtained in confidence (s. 13)
• 11 instances for records concerning federal-provincial affairs (s. 14)
• 25 instances for records deemed injurious to the conduct of international affairs (s. 15)
• 39 instances for records concerning law enforcement and investigations (s. 16)
• 6 instances for safety of individuals (s. 17)
• 0 instances for economic interests of Canada (s. 18)
• 111 instances for records containing personal information (s. 19)
• 205 instances for records containing third-party business information (s. 20)
• 92 instances for records relating to the internal decision-making processes of government (s. 21)
• 2 instance for records relating to testing procedures, tests and/or audits (s. 22)
• 20 instances for records containing solicitor-client privilege (s. 23)
• 2 instances for statutory prohibition against disclosure (s.24)

4 exclusions were invoked for published material. No exclusions were invoked during the reporting period for Confidences of the King 's Privy Council for Canada.

Fees

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act:

• Enabling authority: Access to Information Act
• Fees payable: $5 application fee is the only fee charged for a request under the Access to Information Act
• Total revenue: $1,125 for 225 requests
• Fees waived: $60 for 12 requests
• Fees refunded: $0
• Cost of operating the program: $1,623,711 in salaries, goods and services

4. Staff training and awareness

The ATIP office delivered 15 virtual training sessions to 320 employees during fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The purpose of these training sessions was to increase awareness of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, clarify requirements under the act, and highlight processes that facilitate the CFIA in meeting its obligations. General ATIP training remains a mandatory requirement for all CFIA employees.

5. Policies, guidelines and procedures

The CFIA continuously works on process improvements in order to provide greater oversight and accountability for ATIP activities. The activities related to ATIP are reviewed semi-annually and weekly updates regarding request volumes and performance are provided to the offices of both the Ministers of Health and Agriculture and Agri-food, CFIA 's senior management cadre and key internal partners. No new policies, guidelines, or procedures were implemented during the reporting period.

6. Proactive publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act

Pursuant to section 81 of the act, the CFIA is a government entity for the purposes of Part 2 of the act. The CFIA is listed in Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act. The following table outlines the proactive publication requirements the CFIA is subject to, links to proactive disclosures and the percentage of publications published within the legislative timelines:

Please note, the CFIA is a member of the health portfolio and therefore Health Canada is responsible for proactive publication for requirements under section 74, including Question Period notes and packages of briefing materials for the Minister. As a separate employer, the CFIA is exempt from proactive publication of reclassifications of positions.

7. Initiatives and projects to improve access to information

The CFIA is in the process of acquiring a new request processing software to enhance its ability to respond to requests under the act. The new software includes a suite of modernized tools which should allow the agency to maintain or increase its current service standard in responding to requests. Configuration and implementation of the new software will be completed in the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year and it is anticipated that the new software will be fully operational by the 4th quarter of 2024 to 2025. The CFIA will continue to run its current software in parallel with the new system for a period of time.

The ATIP office continued to increase its use of various electronic tools, including the ATIP online management tool and ePost Connect to transfer response packages to requesters in electronic fashion. The use of these tools allows requesters to access their response packages more quickly. Moreover, the use of secure electronic tools allows the ATIP office to communicate more quickly and efficiently with requesters as well as reduce the transit time for consultations with third parties and other government departments.

During the reporting period, the ATIP office undertook deep dive training sessions for staff on 2sections of the act, s.21 and s.69 of the ATIA. These sessions were designed to provide staff with an in-depth understanding of the content and application of the sections involved. The training provided valuable guidance regarding when consultations are necessary and facilitated an updated approach to determining when consultations are required. Additionally, it helped ATIP staff better understand how to balance the public 's right to access government information with the need to protect sensitive aspects of government operations and decision-making processes.

8. Summary of key issues and actions taken on complaints

The CFIA received 9 complaints from the Office of the Information Commissioner in 2023 to 2024. This represents a decrease of 4 complaints over the previous reporting period, in which 13 complaints were received. The reasons cited for the new complaints are as follows:

• 3 concerned the exemption of information
• 1 concerned a delay
• 5 concerned time extensions

Between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, 11 complaints were completed, including complaints carried forward from previous years. Of the 11 complaints closed, 2 were discontinued, 3 were not substantiated, 5 were resolved as "ceased to investigate", and 1 were resolved as well founded.

9. Monitoring compliance

The CFIA monitors the time taken to process access to information requests through weekly updates to senior management, including the President, on files closed by the ATIP office. These updates include the date requests were received, the due date and the date each file was closed. Also included are the number of files past their legislated due date.

Analysts are required to confer with their team leader or manager prior to taking lengthy extensions to explore options for reducing the required extension. Options can include having discussions with requesters to identify time-saving measures (such as, clarification of the scope of requests) and review to determine if (third party, inter-institutional, inter-governmental) consultations can be reduced or eliminated. When it is clear that consultations cannot be eliminated, a case-by-case assessment of the need to consult with other parties is undertaken and the team leader or manager is engaged. These activities are done on a continuous basis as a part of the everyday work of the ATIP office.

10. Court cases

3 new applications were filed with the Federal Court of Canada and 1 court case was closed during the reporting period. The new applications were filed pursuant to section 44 of the act. Section 44 allows a third party, to whom the head of a government institution must give notice regarding the disclosure of a record, to apply to the court for a review of the matter.

Appendix A: Statistical report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Reporting period: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

1.2 Sources of requests

1.3 Channels of requests

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion times of informal requests

2.4 Pages released informally

2.5 Pages re-released informally

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on declining to act on requests

Section 4: Requests closed during the reporting period

4.1 Dispositions and completion times

4.2 Exemptions

4.3 Exclusions

4.4 Format of information released

4.5 Complexity

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

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

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

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

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

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

4.5.7 Other complexities

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

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

4.8 Requests for translation

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and dispositions of requests

5.2 Length of extensions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

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

7.2 Recommendations and completion times for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

7.3 Recommendations and completion times for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

Section 8: Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 9: Investigations and reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

9.2 Investigations and reports of finding

Section 10: Court actions

10.1 Court actions on complaints

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

Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated costs

11.2 Human resources

Appendix B: Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Reporting period: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Section 1: Open requests and complaints under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

1.2 Number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

Section 2: Open Requests and Complaints under the Privacy Act

2.1 Number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

2.2 Number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods

Section 3: Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Section 4: Universal access under the Privacy Act

Appendix C: Delegation order

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act delegation orders

The President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency pursuant to section 95 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

Original signed by:

Dr. Siddika Mithani, Ph.D.
President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Ottawa, Canada
May 10, 2021