Annual Report to Parliament on the Privacy Act April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019

Table of Contents

Introduction 
Our Mandate 
Our Mission 
Privacy Activities 
Historical Trend Analysis 
Appendix A - Statistical Report 
Appendix B – Delegation Order 
 

INTRODUCTION

The Office of the Correctional Investigator is pleased to submit to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Privacy Act (PA) for the fiscal year commencing on April 1, 2018 and ending March 31, 2019. This report is submitted in accordance with section 72 of the Act . This report is tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

The Privacy Act took effect on July 1, 1983. The PA extends to individuals the right of access to information held by the government, about themselves, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions. The Act also protects individuals’ personal information and gives individuals substantial control over its collection, use and disclosure.

OUR MANDATE

The Office of the Correctional Investigator is mandated by Part III of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act as an Ombudsman for federal offenders. The primary function of the Office is to investigate and bring resolution to individual offender complaints. The Office as well, has a responsibility to review and make recommendations on the Correctional Service's policies and procedures associated with the areas of individual complaints to ensure that systemic areas of concern are identified and appropriately addressed.

OUR MISSION

As the ombudsman for federally sentenced offenders, the Office of the Correctional Investigator serves Canadians and contributes to safe, lawful and humane corrections through independent oversight of the Correctional Service of Canada by providing accessible, impartial and timely investigation of individual and systemic concerns. While an independent organization, the Office of the Correctional Investigator is part of the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness portfolio.

PRIVACY ACTIVITIES

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is the designated head of the institution for the Privacy Act . The Correctional Investigator has been delegated full authority under the Privacy Act by the Minister. Full authority under the Act has also been delegated to the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator. The delegation of authority to administer the Act was confirmed by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness on November 30, 2015 (see Appendix B ).

While the responsibilities of ATIP Coordinator are assigned to the Director of Corporate Services and Planning, the actual processing of requests and any associated activities are generally carried out by a consultant. Given the limited number of requests, it is felt that this is the most cost effective utilization of resources and delivery of these activities.

The ATIP Coordinator is accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures to ensure the OCI’s responsibilities under the Privacy Act are met and to enable appropriate processing and proper disclosure of information. The Coordinator is also responsible for related policies, systems and procedures emanating from the Act .

The main activities of the ATIP Coordinator include:

• Processing requests under the Act ;
• Developing and maintaining policies, procedures and guidelines to ensure the Act is respected;
• Promoting awareness of the Act to ensure the organization’s responsiveness to the obligations imposed on the government;
• Monitoring the Office’s compliance with the Act , regulations and relevant procedures and policies;
• Preparing annual reports to Parliament and other statutory reports, as well as other material that may be required by central agencies;
• Representing the Office in dealings with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privacy Commissioner and other government agencies regarding the application of the Act as they relate to the OCI; and
• Supporting the Office in meeting its commitments in relation to greater openness and transparency through proactive disclosure of information nd the disclosure of information through informal avenues.

During the Reporting Period:

Eight (8) requests were received and there was one (1) outstanding request from the previous reporting period for a total of nine (9) requests. Five (5) of these requests were disclosed in part; four (4) were released in their entirety; none were exempted in their entirety; none were abandoned; none had no existing records, and none were carried forward to the next reporting period. All but two (2) of these requests were processed within the legislative period. Extensions were required for five (5) of the requests. There were no significant issues surrounding the nine (9) requests closed during the reporting period.

Monitoring, by the ATIP Coordinator, of the time required to process these privacy requests was completed in preparing the historical trend analysis below. The Executive Director and the ATIP Coordinator are advised by way of a briefing note when requests are not closed within the required time limits. The briefing note advises of the reason for the late response, which is typically a late or never received response from other government organizations on a consultation.

One formal training session on Privacy Breaches was provided during the reporting period. Approximately 30 of the 42 staff attended the training. Advice, guidance and recommendations were provided by the consultant on an as required basis to Management and staff.

There were no new OCI-specific privacy related procedures, policies or guidelines implemented.

There were five (5) material privacy breaches reported this year. In four of the five cases, the privacy breach was a result of simple human error where the wrong letter was put in the wrong envelope or an enveloped addressed erroneously to the OCI was opened. In one case however, a letter of offer with the employee’s actual salary was inadvertently shared with several staff members who did not need to know this information. A formal investigation was launched. These incidents were reported to the Privacy Commissioner’s Office as well as to the affected individuals. The staff members involved were reminded about the caution necessary when dealing with personal information and a targeted training session was held with all staff.

No Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) were completed; no new data sharing activities took place and the Office made no disclosures of personal information pursuant to subsection 8(2)(m) of the Privacy Act .

Several queries were sent to the OCI by the OPC’s Investigative staff regarding potential complaints but were not followed up on as satisfactory responses were provided to the OPC on those files. The OCI received one formal (1) complaint, which is still outstanding at the time of this report.

For 2018-19, the costs directly associated with the administration of the Privacy Act are estimated at $9,218.

Staff - $2,266 
Consultant fees - $6,952

The associated employee resources for 2018-19 are estimated at 0.09 FTE for administering the Privacy Act .

HISTORICAL TREND ANALYSIS

Over a five year period, from 2014-15 to 2018-19, the OCI received an average of twenty (20) requests annually; the lowest number of requests received in one reporting period was eight (8) and the highest number of requests received in one reporting period was twenty-eight (28). The total average completion rate from 1 to 60 days was 61% of all requests. The average completion time within 30 days was 13% of all requests; the average completion time within 60 days was 48% of all requests.

With regards to the number of pages processed, an average of five thousand, two hundred and seventy-five (5,275) was recorded; the highest number of pages processed in one reporting period was nine thousand five hundred and sixty-two (9,562) and the lowest number of pages processed in one reporting period was one hundred and seventy-five (175).

The most frequently used exemptions were:

• 26: 52%
• 22(1)(c): 20%
• 21(1)(c): 6%

A total of sixty-nine (69) extensions for consultations were recorded for an average of thirteen (13) per reporting period; the highest number of extensions in any given reporting period was twenty-five (25) the lowest number of extensions in any given reporting period was five (5). Four (4) consultations were received from other government organizations.

This baseline data will continue to be used in future years to assess trends, inform ongoing improvement in the processing of Privacy requests and implement corrective measures where necessary.

Appendix A - Statistical Report on the Privacy Act 

Name of institution: Office of the Correctional Investigator

Reporting period: 2017-04-01 to 2018-03-31

PART 1 - Requests Under the Privacy Act 

PART 2 - Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.5 Complexity

2.6 Deemed refusals

PART 3 - Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

PART 4 - Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

PART 5 - Extensions

PART 6 - Consultations Received from Other Institutions and Organizations

Part 7 - Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

Part 8 - Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Part 9: Privacy Impact Assessments ( PIA s)

Number of PIA (s) completed: 0

Part 10: Resources Related to the Privacy Act 

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.

Appendix B - Delegation Order

Privacy Act Delegation Order

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Act , hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister as head of a government institution, that is, the Office of the Correctional Investigator, under the sections of the Act set out in the schedule opposite each position.

Dated at the City of Ottawa this 30th day of November, 2015

Signed by: 
The Honourable Ralph Goodale, P.C., M.P. 
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Date modified 
2022-01-06