Content page

From [Institution name]

2022-2023 Annual Report on the Privacy Act

About this publication

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, 2023

Catalogue No.: AC2-15/2E-PDF

ISSN: 2817-3716 – 2022-2023 Annual Report to Parliament – Privacy Act

1. INTRODUCTION

The Privacy Act (hereinafter the Act) gives individuals the right to access their personal information held by federal institutions listed in the schedule of the Act and to request corrections to that information. The Act also imposes obligations on those institutions to respect privacy rights by limiting the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

This report is prepared in accordance with section 72 of the Act, which requires that the head of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) prepare, for tabling in Parliament, an annual report on the administration of the Act.

ACOA’s mandate is to create opportunities for economic growth in Atlantic Canada by helping businesses become more competitive, innovative and productive, by working with diverse communities to develop and diversify local economies, and by championing the strengths of Atlantic Canada. Additional information is available on ACOA’s website (https://www.canada.ca/en/atlantic-canada-opportunities.html).

2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate oversees the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. It consists of a director (ATIP coordinator), an ATIP analyst and a support staff member located at ACOA’s head office in Moncton, N.B. The ATIP Directorate is responsible for processing all access and privacy requests, and for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines and procedures to manage the Agency’s compliance with the ATIP acts.

The ATIP Directorate also reviews various documents before publication to ensure that they do not contain information that would be subject to exemption or exclusion under the Act. During this reporting period, the ATIP Directorate reviewed records prepared in response to 112 written parliamentary questions.

The administration of the legislation within ACOA is also facilitated at the branch and regional levels. Each sector and corporate branch has a liaison officer (generally reporting to the deputy minister or an assistant deputy minister) who coordinates the records-retrieval process.

The Agency did not enter into any service agreements with another government institution under section 73.1 of the Act during the reporting period.

3. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

For the purpose of the Privacy Act, the President delegated full authority to the Vice-President, Finance and Corporate Services and Corporate Secretary and partial authority to the ATIP Coordinator.

A copy of the signed delegation instrument for the Privacy Act is attached as Annex A.

4. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE STATISTICAL REPORT

As can be seen from the statistical reports in Annex B and Annex C, the Agency responded to three requests under the Privacy Act in 2022-2023. All requests were completed within the legislated timelines. Two requests were completed within 1 to 15 days, and one within 61 to 120 days. All records were disclosed in response to one request, records were disclosed in part for one request and no records existed for one request. There were no active requests or complaints as of the last day of the reporting period.

The processing of one request required an extension of 30 days beyond the statutory time limit since it necessitated a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would have unreasonably interfered with the operations of government.

The cost of administering the Privacy Act in 2022-2023 was $13,494, which comprised a portion of salary costs as well as operations and maintenance costs.

The following table shows the trend in the number of requests closed in the last 10 fiscal years.

The Agency did not receive any requests for consultations from other federal or provincial governments in 2022-2023.

The measures taken by the Agency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic did not have an impact on the organization’s ability to fulfill its responsibilities under the Privacy Act.

5. TRAINING AND AWARENESS

The ATIP Directorate provides ongoing advice to Agency officials on the processing of privacy requests as well as the interpretation of the Act to ensure the efficient and consistent processing of all requests received by the Agency.

Informal briefings on the requirements of the Privacy Act were provided to staff by the ATIP coordinator throughout the reporting period. No formal training sessions were given.

6. POLICIES, GUIDELINES, PROCEDURES AND INITIATIVES

The Agency developed and implemented an identity verification procedure for personal information requests in accordance with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Privacy Implementation Notice 2022-02. This procedure provides guidance on the requirement to validate the identity of requesters under the Act.

7. COMPLAINTS AND AUDITS

No privacy complaints were received, and no investigations or audits were conducted during the reporting period.

8. MATERIAL PRIVACY BREACHES

No material privacy breaches were reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Information and Privacy Policy Division during the reporting period.

9. PRIVACY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is a risk management process that helps institutions ensure they meet legislative requirements, and identify the impacts their programs and activities will have on the privacy of individuals. To fulfill its mandate, some of the Agency’s responsibilities require the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

During this reporting period, a PIA on e-recruitment was approved and submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. This PIA sets out the Agency’s assessment and resolution of privacy implications related to recruitment video and audio recordings. A summary of the Agency’s PIA on e-recruitment is available at: E-recruiting - Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) summary - Canada.ca.

10. PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURES

The Agency did not disclose personal information pursuant to paragraph 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act during the reporting period.

11. MONITORING

In light of the limited number of privacy requests received, no monitoring was required during the reporting period.

ANNEX A

ANNEX B

Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Reporting period: April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023

Section 1 – Requests Under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of requests received

1.2 Channels of requests

Section 2 – Informal requests

2.1  Number of informal requests

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

2.4 Pages released informally

Section 3 – Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

3.2 Exemptions

3.3 Exclusions

3.4 Format of information released

3.5 Complexity

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

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

3.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

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

3.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

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

3.5.7 Other complexities

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislative timelines

3.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

3.8 Requests for translation

Section 4 – Disclosure Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 5 – Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Section 6 – Extensions

6.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

6.2 Length of extensions

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 time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

7.3 Recommendations and completion time 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 – Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Section 10 – Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIB)

10.1 Privacy Impact Assessments

10.2 Institution-specific and Central Personal Information Banks

Section 11 –Privacy Breaches

11.1 Material Privacy Breaches reported

11.2 Non-material Privacy Breaches

Section 12 – Resources Related to the Privacy Act

12.1 Allocated Costs

12.2 Human Resources

ANNEX C

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

Name of institution: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Reporting period: April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023

Section 1 – Capacity to Receive Requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

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

Section 2 – Capacity to Process Records under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

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

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

Section 3 – Open Requests and Complaints Under the Access to Information Act

3.1  Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

3.2  Enter the number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Section 4 – Open Requests and Complaints Under the Privacy Act

4.1  Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

4.2  Enter the number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Section 5 – Social Insurance Number

Section 6 – Universal Access under the Privacy Act