Access to Information and Privacy

Transcription

1 What a manager needs to know Senior Management Management Access to Information and Privacy Annual reports Complaints Management Efficient and effective information life-cycle management Manager's responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and regulations Understanding the scope of requests Importance of Access to Information and Privacy time frames Making sound recommendations What Do I Need to Know if I Am an ATIP Liaison Officer? The importance of meeting Access to Information and Privacy time frames Identifying appropriate program areas within the branches Advising the ATIP and Disclosure Policy Division if additional branches should be tasked Conveying clear recommendations on what information should or shouldn't be released Knowing when to request an extension How and when to compile a fee Preparing a search fee estimate

2 Senior Management Annual reports Senior management is responsible for ensuring that their staff understand their roles and responsibilities related to access to information and privacy (ATIP) legislation. Management must also ensure that sufficient resources are available to discharge its legislated responsibilities under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Privacy Act (PA). The department must report to Parliament each year and provide information to the offices of the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner in order for the commissioners to prepare their own reports. The commissioners' reports provide an overall view of an institution's ATIP performance, policies and procedures. They highlight recent developments and accomplishments, such as changes aimed at expediting processing activities and reducing turnaround times for requests, and reference any improvements to the provision of information through both formal and informal access channels. Reports also identify issues that have privacy implications, such as legislative, policy and service delivery initiatives, privacy impact assessments, data-matching and data-sharing agreements and the impact of new technologies. The Access Information Agency s experts can help your department that meet the statutory requirements imposed upon your institution. Efficient and effective information life-cycle management The Access Information Agency s client manage all of their information holdings as corporate resources, make the widest possible use of information, organize information holdings to facilitate access to those who require it, and continually work towards eliminating any unnecessary collection of information. The Access Information Agency s clients follow the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Policy on Information Management. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that information under the control of the Government is managed effectively and efficiently throughout its life cycle. Government institutions must manage information in a privacy protective manner that supports informed policy and decision making and the delivery of high-quality programs, services and information through a variety of channels and in both official languages. Complaints Management The Privacy Commissioner and the Information Commissioner are responsible for ensuring that government institutions and companies in the private sector collect, use or disclose personal information in a manner that is responsible and transparent. The acts that govern personal information provide the commissioners with the authority to ensure organizations

3 and Government of Canada departments are held accountable for their information handling practices. Each commissioner has the power to summon and enforce the appearance of persons and to compel them to give evidence (either oral or written) under oath and to produce documents and additional items judged appropriate to the investigation (except for Cabinet documents and solicitor/client privilege documentation). He or she may enter any premises occupied by the department, including local and regional offices, converse in private with anyone in such premises and examine or make copies of any records relevant to an investigation. The commissioners are impartial and non-partisan, which means they can act independently from the Government to investigate complaints from requestors. As such, the commissioners can make recommendations to improve how personal information is handled, publicize recommendations and reports and, in some cases, refer cases to the Federal Court. As ombudsmen, the commissioners don't issue orders or impose penalties, but rather arrive at decisions through a process of inquiry and persuasion - a process that underlines the impartiality and dedication to problem resolution. It is a criminal offence to obstruct the commissioners during an investigation or audit and to knowingly dispose of information that is likely to be subject to an access to information request. The Access Information Agency s experts can help you very effectively to resolve impasses that occurred with the Information Commissioner and / or the Privacy Commissioner. The Access Information Agency s experts research and develop solutions to problems arising from organizational compliance with the ATIA and PA legislative requirements, including consulting and negotiating with external authorities (such as Privy Council Office; Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners; Department of Justice Canada; and other level of Governments and third parties).

4 Management Manager's responsibilities under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and regulations Pursuant to the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Privacy Act (PA), managers have the obligation to: Ensure employees are aware of the importance of the ATIA and the PA; Ensure adequate resources are available to respond within the legislated time frames; Ensure justifiable recommendations and rationales about disclosures, or nondisclosures, are being given; and Ensure that records are being managed in accordance with the Policy on Information Management. The Access Information Agency s consultants can assist you, especially for high volume files, in ensuring that the identified records are relevant and in providing sound recommendations about disclosures. Understanding the scope of requests When searching and locating records to respond to a request, managers must determine the time frame, and the scope of the request. Physical searches of paper copies in employee files or records room may be required or searches on employees' computers for particular s or documents, depending on the scope of the request. If you are unsure of what a request is asking for, you need to advise the branch/regional Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) liaison officer immediately that clarification is needed. When an ATIP request is made, there must be sufficient enough detail to allow an experienced employee, with a reasonable effort, to identify the records that are being requested. Requestors should be contacted in cases where clarification is required and provided with assistance to help the requestor understand any of the difficulties that may be encountered in processing the request or that fees may apply. The Access Information Agency s consultants may assist you in the identification of records and in the determination of search fees that may be requested. Importance of Access to Information and Privacy time frames The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate must respond to requests within the legislated 30 calendar days or be in a deemed refusal status and possibly receive a complaint from the Office of the Information Commissioner or Privacy Commissioner, depending on which act the request was filed under.

5 Every manager must be aware of their obligations and responsibilities when responding to an ATIP request. The ATIP training being offered by The Access Information Agency will help ensure all officials are aware of how to process a request in a timely and complete manner, which will help the ATIP Directorate to meet the legislated time frame. Making sound recommendations The program areas are considered to be the subject matter experts on the documents being provided in response to Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests. The Access Information Agency s consultants are the experts on obtaining legislated extensions, charging search and preparations fees to the requestor, and applying the provisions of the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Privacy Act (PA). When the program areas retrieve documents, they are to provide recommendations as to what information they believe should not be released and rationales to support their recommendation. The Access Information Agency s consultants can make and/or review the recommendations and determine if there are sustainable grounds to apply provisions of the ATIA or the PA.

6 What Do I Need to Know if I Am an ATIP Liaison Officer? The importance of meeting Access to Information and Privacy time frames The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Directorate must respond to requests within the legislated 30 calendar days or be in a deemed refusal status and possibly receive a complaint from the Office of the Information Commissioner or Privacy Commissioner, depending on which act the request was filed under. Every ATIP Liaison Officer must be aware of their obligations and responsibilities when responding to an ATIP request. The ATIP training being offered by The Access Information Agency will help ensure all ATIP Liaison Officers are aware of how to process a request in a timely and complete manner, which will help the ATIP Directorate to meet the legislated time frame. To ensure that the department meets the legislated time frame, the ATIP liaison officers must coordinate the search, retrieval and provision of recommendations within short time frames. The Access Information Agency s consultants may assist you in the identification of records and in the determination of search fees that may be requested. Identifying appropriate program areas within the branches Once the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Liaison officer for a particular branch receives the retrieval notice, he or she will identify the appropriate program areas that need to search and locate the records to respond to the request. The program areas will advise the ATIP Liaison officer if additional program areas or branches should be tasked as well. Advising the Access to Information and Privacy Directorate if additional branches should be tasked Program areas should advise their Access to Information and Privacy Liaison officer as soon as possible if additional program areas or branches should be tasked. Conveying clear recommendations on what information should or shouldn't be released The program areas are considered to be the subject matter experts on the documents being provided in response to Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests. The Access Information Agency s consultants are the experts on obtaining legislated extensions, charging search and preparations fees to the requestor, and applying the provisions of the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Privacy Act (PA). When the program areas retrieve documents, they are to provide recommendations as to what information they believe should not be released and rationales to support their recommendation. The Access Information Agency s consultants can make and/or review the

7 recommendations and determine if there are sustainable grounds to apply provisions of the ATIA or the PA. Knowing when to request an extension An extension can be applied to a request if the following applies: The request is for a large number of records and it would impact operations; Consultations are required with other government departments; and/or Consultations are required with a third party (i.e. any other non-governmental institution that has information regarding the documents that have been requested). The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) training being offered by The Access Information Agency will help ensure all ATIP Liaison Officers are aware of how to process a request in a timely and complete manner, which will help the ATIP Directorate to meet the legislated time frame. How and when to compile a fee It is government policy that institutions recover search fees chargeable under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) for work done in processing access to information requests. Fees cannot be charged under the Privacy Act (PA). Section 11 of the ATIA and section 7 of the Access to Information Regulations provide that a requester may be required to pay a fee for the following: making an application; the costs of reproducing a record; the time taken to search for a record or prepare any part of it for disclosure where the time exceeds five hours; the medium used for an alternative format; and/or any special delivery systems, such as couriers, overnight delivery, etc. Fees cannot be charged for such activities as the following: reviewing documents to determine whether they are exempt or excluded; maintaining statistics or documentation relating to the administration of the ATIA; filing and re-filing of records; providing facilities for processing requests or public access; and/or mailing the response to the requester, including the cost of normal handling and first-class mail. The program area needs to provide an estimate to the ATIP Liaison officer as soon as possible after receiving the Access to information request if he/she believes if fees can be

8 requested and/or if the search for records will exceed the complimentary five hours. The ATIP Liaison officer will then advise the ATIP Directorate. The ATIP training being offered by The Access Information Agency will help ensure all ATIP Liaison officers and all officials are aware of how to process fee requests in a timely and complete manner. Once it has been determined that a search fee (or other types of fees) will apply, the request is put on hold for a maximum of 30 days, the time for the requester to decide if he/she pays the requested fees or if he/she abandons his/her access to information request. Preparing a Search Fee Estimate In the event that more than 5 hours of search time are needed to locate the information required to respond to an access to information request, it may be necessary to prepare a Search Fee Estimate. Search times are calculated according to the estimated time it takes an employee, knowledgeable in the subject matter, to physically examine all files and identify all records that are relevant to the request (1 inch of documentation equals 20 minutes of search time). If a file contains more than the subject matter listed in the request, search fees are charged to the applicant. But if the entire content of the file is relevant to the subject matter listed in the request, no search fee is applicable. Search of paper records Search fees = $10.00/hour Based on 30 inches of documents 225 pages = 1 inch (2.5 cm) 30 inches x 225 pages = 6,750 pages 6,750 pages divided by 200 pages per hour = hours hours minus 5 free hours = hours X $10.00 Total search fee = $ The training being offered by The Access Information Agency will help ensure all ATIP Liaison officers and all officials are aware of how to process fee requests in a timely and complete manner.