Annual Report to Parliament on the Privacy Act April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020

Table of Contents

Introduction 
Our Mandate 
Our Mission 
Privacy Activities 
Historical Trend Analysis 
Appendix A - Statistical Report 
Appendix B – Supplemental Statistical Report Requests Affected by COVID-19 Measures 
Appendix C – 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, 2019 and ending March 31, 2020. 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 Legal Services and Coordination, 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 and the disclosure of information through informal avenues.

The OCI is not subject to any agreements under section 73.1 of the Privacy Act. 

During the Reporting Period:

Sixteen (16) requests were received and there were no outstanding requests from the previous reporting period for a total of sixteen (16) requests. Eight (8) of these requests were disclosed in part; none were released in their entirety; none were exempted in their entirety; two (2) were abandoned; one (1) had no existing records, and five (5) were carried forward to the next reporting period. All but three (3) 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 eleven (11) requests closed during the reporting period.

The OCI responded to 72.7% of requests within the legislated timelines.

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.

No formal training sessions were provided during the reporting period. 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 two (2) material privacy breaches reported this year. In both of the cases, the privacy breach was a result of human error. In one case, an investigator’s binder was left in an interview room in one of the institutions. Despite an effort by OCI and CSC staff to locate the binder it was never found. The information contained in the binder would be classified as Protected B information about inmates that the investigator was interviewing that day. In the second case, an error was made in sharing an unsevered letter with a reporter. We were able to have the letter returned with a guarantee from the reporter that the information that was shared would not be used or shared. Both incidents were reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the Treasury Board as required and are still outstanding as per the period of this report. The staff members involved were reminded about the caution necessary when dealing with personal information.

The OCI had one (1) outstanding complaint from the previous year. That complaint was completed and found to be resolved with no further action required.

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 .

Covid 19 Response 

As of March 14, 2020, the OCI moved into a state of emergency along with the rest of the Federal Government. Our offices were shut down and restricted to limited access. Within 2 weeks, the OCI was able to have the ATIP Consultant working remotely and continue with file processing.

The office has experienced some delays with response times during this period due to other ATIP offices not able to respond to consultations on time as well as the office managing other state of emergency priorities however for the most part the OCI has been able to maintain regular service levels.

There were four (4) new request received between March 14, 2020 and March 31, 2020. All of those requests were carried forward into the following year.

Costs 

For 2019-2020, the costs directly associated with the administration of the Privacy Act are estimated at $21,172.

Staff - $6,977 
Consultant fees - $14,195

The associated employee resources for 2019-2020 are estimated at 0.04 FTE for administering the Privacy Act .

HISTORICAL TREND ANALYSIS

Over a five year period, from 2015-16 to 2019-20, the OCI received an average of eighteen (18) 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-seven (27). The total average completion rate from 1 to 60 days was 83% of all requests. The average completion time within 30 days was 29% of all requests.

With regards to the number of pages processed, an average of three thousand, four hundred and sixty-eight (3,468) was recorded; the highest number of pages processed in one reporting period was eight thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven (8,967) 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: 51%
• 22(1)(c): 16%
• 21(1)(c): 8%

A total of sixty-three (63) 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: 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-31

PART 1 - Requests Under the Privacy Act 

PART 2 - Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

2.5 Complexity

2.6 Closed requests

2.7 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)

9.1 Privacy Impact Assessments 

Number of PIA (s) completed: 0

Part 10: Material Privacy Breaches

Part 11: Resources Related to the Privacy Act 

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.

Appendix B - Supplemental Statistical Report Requests Affected by COVID-19 Measures

2019-2020 Supplemental Statistical Report – Requests affected by COVID-19 measures

In addition to completing the forms for the Statistical Reports on the ATIA and Privacy Act for 2019-20, institutions are asked to complete this Supplemental Report to help identify the impact of COVID-19 measures on institutional performance for 2019-20 and going forward. The data requirements are set out in the tables below.

Supplemental Statistical Report on the Privacy Act 

The following table reports the total number of formal requests received during two periods; 2019- 04-01 to 2020-03-13 and 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31.

The following table reports the total number of requests closed within the legislated timelines and the number of closed requests that were deemed refusals during two periods 2019-04-01 to 2020-03- 13 and 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31.

The following table reports the total number of requests carried over during two periods; 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-13 and 2020-03-14 to 2020-03-31.

Appendix C - 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