Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2021-2022

Alternate format: Annual Report - Access to Information Act - 2021 to 2022 (PDF, 857 KB)

Pursuant to subsection 94(1) of the Access to Information Act, this document contains the Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act for 2021 to 2022 as submitted by the Minister of National Defence.

Table of contents

Introduction

The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to extend the present laws of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a federal government institution in accordance with the principles that:

  • government information should be available to the public;
  • necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific; and
  • decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government.

This is the ninth annual report prepared by the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) and tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act. It presents an overview of the agency’s activities and describes how the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office carried out its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act during the reporting period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

Mandate of the Communications Security Establishment

On August 1st, 2019 the Communications Security Establishment Act (CSE Act) entered into force as part of Bill C-59 (An Act respecting national security matters). The CSE Act sets out the five (5) aspects of CSE’s mandate:

  • helping to protect and defend Canada’s most important cyber systems;
  • acquiring foreign intelligence in support of the Government of Canada’s intelligence priorities;
  • conducting defensive foreign cyber operations;
  • conducting active foreign cyber operations; and
  • providing technical and operational assistance to federal law enforcement and security agencies, the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence.

The CSE Act provides CSE with a modern set of authorities and also enhances the accountability framework with new oversight and review functions.

Structure of the Access to Information and Privacy Office

The ATIP Office is part of the Transparency and Information Sharing group in CSE’s Authorities, Compliance and Transparency Branch. This is a change from the previous reporting period and stems from organizational changes made within CSE as part of the strategic goal to uphold the highest standards of compliance, lawfulness, and respect for the privacy of Canadians. The delegation order in effect at the end of 2021 to 2022 reflects the previous structure and a copy can be found in Appendix I of this report. The Minister of National Defence delegated all authorities under section 95 of the Access to Information Act to the Deputy Chief, Policy and Communications, the Director General, Policy, Disclosure and Review, the Director, Disclosures and Information Sharing, and to the Manager, Disclosures. He also delegated limited authorities to the Supervisor, Access to Information and Privacy Operations. The delegation order is being revised to reflect the organizational changes.

The Access to Information and Privacy Offices include a manager responsible for thirteen (13) full-time positions working in two (2) separate teams: ATIP Operations and, Privacy Policy and Governance. At the end of the reporting period, the ATIP Operations team consisted of one (1) supervisor and six (6) analysts, while the Privacy Policy and Governance team consisted of one (1) supervisor, five (5) analysts and two (2) coop students.

In addition to preparing reports for Parliament and Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), the ATIP Office acts on behalf of CSE as the delegated authority in dealings with TBS, and representatives of the federal Information and Privacy Commissioners regarding CSE’s administration of the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act.

Specifically, the ATIP Operations team is responsible for the following activities:

  • Processing requests under the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act;
  • Responding to consultation requests from other government institutions;
  • Providing advice and guidance to senior management and staff of CSE on ATIP legislation and policy-related matters;
  • Supporting CSE’s legislative compliance obligations under the Acts, including the application of their associated regulations, policies and guidelines;
  • Representing CSE in ATIP Communities of practice, such as the TBS ATIP Community meetings;
  • Drafting and implementing internal ATIP procedures, guidance documents and working aids; and,
  • Providing training and other outreach initiatives to CSE staff on the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The Privacy Policy and Governance team is responsible for the following activities:

  • Providing advice and guidance to senior management and staff of CSE on privacy legislation and policy-related matters;
  • Providing expert privacy advice and assistance to business lines in the preparation of Privacy Impact Assessments, privacy breach management, drafting of Privacy Notice Statements, and maintenance of Personal Information Banks;
  • Supporting CSE’s legislative compliance obligations under the Acts, including the application of their associated regulations, policies and guidelines;
  • Representing CSE in privacy protection communities of practice;
  • Coordinating the annual update of the institution’s Info Source publication, which includes a description of the agency’s organizational structure and record holdings;
  • Drafting and implementing privacy-related policies, internal procedures, guidance documents and working aids; and,
  • Providing training and other outreach initiatives to CSE staff on the administration of the Privacy Act with regards to the protection of personal information.

Key activities and accomplishments

Education and training

CSE is committed to the ongoing learning and development of its employees and has put a special emphasis on reaching new hires by delivering ATIP training to incoming co-op students. All new employees are required to complete ATIP training during the on-boarding process.

CSE has taken a tailored approach to training Subject Matter Experts (SME) on their legislative requirements, roles, and responsibilities. Following this training, the ATIP Office regularly met with SMEs to respond to questions to facilitate their review of CSE information. Representatives from the ATIP Office also participated in CSE’s internal Career Fair to provide information to employees across the organization about the importance of ATIP in the Government of Canada. CSE also encourages employees to take the Canada School of Public Service ATIP training course and the ATIP Office continues to make educational resources available via a dedicated page on the internal web.

Institutional access to information policies and procedures

The ATIP Operations team continues to seek new opportunities to improve the efficiency and timeliness of processing requests. In 2021 to 2022, the ATIP Operations team focused on building internal partnerships with frequently tasked Offices of Primary Interest (OPIs) by moving towards processing requests electronically and by continuing to develop a rationale database to enhance decision making with respect to release of information. Frequent collaborations with CSE’s Legal Disclosures unit have allowed the ATIP Operations team to ensure that exemptions under the Access to Information Act are consistent with redactions applied during Canada Evidence Act s.38 processes.

CSE was onboarded into the ATIP Online Request Service (AORS) late in 2018 to 2019, giving CSE the ability to receive Access to Information requests online directly from the requestor. The AORS is a centralized website developed by TBS that enables users to complete access to information requests and submit them to any of the institutions that are subject to the Government of Canada’s Access to Information Act. CSE received 50 requests in this manner, representing approximately 98% of the total requests received. This is an increase from 90% in 2020 to 2021.

The CSE ATIP Office is also working with activity areas within the organization to implement the Part 2 requirements of the Access to Information Act regarding proactive publication of information. In particular, CSE applied processes to facilitate the publication of reports tabled in Parliament in a timely manner, and to publish information related to corporate activities such as memoranda to the deputy head (Chief of CSE).

Challenges and complexities

In its five-year strategic framework, CSE 2025, CSE identifies being “Known and Trusted” as an important pillar of its vision and recognizes as a result the importance that Canadians understand CSE’s contributions to Canada and are confident that CSE respects the law and protects their privacy. The ATIP Office plays a key role in helping CSE meet its national security transparency commitments by fulfilling information disclosure obligations while protecting classified information with significant national security implications. CSE continues to face challenges stemming from the volume of materials to be reviewed coupled with the complexity of national security information, which at times leads to unavoidable delays. CSE also has ongoing constraints in maintaining ATIP resource levels, as recruiting staff with ATIP expertise at the high security clearance level required for CSE staff is challenging.

COVID-19

Due to the nature of CSE’s national security operations, CSE operates in a high-security environment and manages large volumes of classified information. For this reason, the ATIP software is currently only available in the classified environment. The restrictions and health guidelines introduced in response to the pandemic challenged regular business continuity planning procedures by limiting the number of people operating in CSE facilities and, in turn, access to the records responsive to requests. In addition, the pandemic impacted regular operations by limiting access of staff to CSE facilities and infrastructure, which in turn restricted ATIP analysts’ ability to review the classified material and process classified and unclassified requests.

The ATIP operations team was able to return to pre-pandemic capabilities by the end of the reporting period. The team also began a one-year trial of a hybrid approach whereby employees were able to telework for 20% of their working hours, when their duties could be performed remotely.

Statistical report on the administration of the Access to Information Act

Number and origin of formal requests

During the 2021 to 2022 reporting period, CSE received 51 requests under the ATIA (compared to 41, 85, 66, and 104 in 2020 to 2021, 2019 to 2020, 2018 to 2019 and 2017 to 2018 respectively) which represents an increase from the 2020 to 2021 reporting period and an overall decrease from the last several reporting periods. CSE carried over an additional 112 requests from the previous reporting period into 2021 to 2022. By the end of the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year, CSE closed 14 requests and carried-forward 149 requests into the next reporting period. As in previous years, the requests covered information that included highly sensitive material, for which complex processing is required. The decrease of CSE’s request closure rate can be attributed to the restrictions created by the pandemic which limited staff access to CSE facilities to search and/or review classified systems and material. Media has been the largest source of requests for the past four (4) reporting periods accounting for 63% of new requests in 2021 to 2022. Requests from the Public and Academia made up 18% and 15% of the total requests received respectively. Access Consultations received from other government departments increased from last reporting period.

Table: Received Requests - Long description follows
Long description - Table: 1
Table: Received requests
Source 2017 to 2018 2018 to 2019 2019 to 2020 2020 to 2021 2021 to 2022
Access 104 66 85 41 51
Access consultations 105 107 152 65 92
 

Disposition of completed requests

CSE closed 14 requests during this reporting period. Of these, eight (8) (57%) were disclosed in part, two (2) were fully disclosed and none were exempted in their entirety. There were three (3) cases in which no records existed and one (1) request was abandoned by the applicants. The closed requests encompassed 1,200 pages processed, a slight increase from the 1,126 pages in 2020 to 2021 but a significant decrease from 25,213 pages in 2019 to 2020. This decrease can be attributed to several requests with a large volume of records received during previous reporting periods being completed in 2019 to 2020. As CSE’s public profile continues to increase, the complexity/volume of requests made under the Access to Information Act has continued to rise. The classified nature of CSE’s operations required most review to occur in the CSE facility. Ensuring a safe work environment combined with the difficulty of maintaining sufficient resources made finalizing requests a challenge.

Table: Closed requests - Long description follows
Long description - Table: 2
Table: Closed requests
Source 2017 to 2018 2018 to 2019 2019 to 2020 2020 to 2021 2021 to 2022
Access 82 61 69 20 14
Access consultations 82 96 108 55 82
 
Table: Disposition of completed requests - Long description follows
Long description - Table: 3
Table: Disposition of completed requests
Disposition 2017 to 2018 2018 to 2019 2019 to 2020 2020 to 2021 2021 to 2022
All disclosed 1% 7% 4% 0% 14%
Disclosed in part 55% 61% 72% 55% 57%
All exempted 2% 2% 0% 0% 0%
All excluded 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
No records exist 20% 16% 12% 20% 21%
Request abandoned 11% 3% 6% 15% 7%
Neither confirm nor denied 11% 11% 3% 10% 0%
Request transferred 0% 0% 3% 0% 0%
 

Neither Confirm Nor Deny

Section 10(2) of the Act states that institutions do not have to disclose to a requester whether a record exists. Section 10(2) was designed to address situations in which the mere confirmation of a record’s existence (or non-existence) would reveal information that could be protected under the Act. Access to information best practices recommend that the application of section 10(2) be limited to circumstances where the confirmation or denial of the existence of a record would be injurious to Canada’s foreign relations, the defence of Canada, law enforcement activities, the safety of individuals, or the possible disclosure of personal information. When notifying a requester that it is invoking this provision, institutions must also indicate the part of the Act on which a refusal could reasonably be expected to be based if the record existed. The application of subsection 10(2) was not used on any occasion during the 2021 to 2022 reporting period.

Completion Time

Two (2) ATIP requests were closed within 30 days in the 2021 to 2022 reporting period. This can be attributed to the volume and complexity of requests, as well as the shortage of required resources due to pandemic restrictions. These two (2) requests represent 14% of the total completed requests. Several requests closed outside the 30 days were a result of extensions based on volume and the need for external consultations. CSE closed two (2) requests in 31 to 60 days; one (1) request between 61 to 120 days; two (2) requests between 121 to 180 days; one (1) request between 181- 365 days; and six (6) took more than 365 days to process. 149 requests were carried forward into 2022-2023 compared to 112 from 2020 to 2021 into 2021 to 2022 due to the pressures created by the pandemic that limited CSE’s ability to process files. In general, the requests received during 2021 to 2022 involved information of a highly sensitive nature, resulting in greater complexity in fulfilling them. Of the total request carried over into 2022-2023, 34% were received during the 2021 to 2022 reporting period.

Table: Open Requests outstanding from previous reporting periods
Reporting period received Within legislated timelines Beyond legislated timelines Total
2015-2016 or earlier 0 15 15
2016 to 2017 0 18 18
2017 to 2018 0 17 17
2018 to 2019 1 9 10
2019 to 2020 0 17 17
2020 to 2021 1 21 22
2021 to 2022 9 41 50
Total 11 138 149
Table: Completion Time - Long description follows
Long description - Table: 4
Table: Completion time
Completion time 2017 to 2018 2018 to 2019 2019 to 2020 2020 to 2021 2021 to 2022
Closed within 30 days 55% 43% 41% 20% 14%
31 to 60 days 23% 26% 26% 15% 14%
61 to 120 days 10% 21% 20% 15% 7%
121 to 180 days 10% 3% 4% 10% 14%
181 to 365 days 1% 5% 6% 25% 7%
More than 365 days 1% 2% 3% 15% 43%
 

Exemptions to the Release of Information

The exemption most applied by CSE was subsection 15(1) - Defence of the Access to Information Act. It was applied to protect information which could be reasonably expected to be injurious to the defence of Canada on eight (8) requests. Subsection 15(1) – International Affairs was also used once to protect information that could be injurious to the conduct of international affairs. Other exemptions that were applied throughout the course of the fiscal year are paragraphs 16(2)(c), information relating to the vulnerability or methods used to protect particular buildings or other structures or systems, 19(1), personal information of individuals and 20(1)(b), financial, commercial, scientific or technical information of a third party.

Table: Exemptions Applied (%) - Long description follows
Long description - Table: 5
Table: Exemptions applied (%)
Disposition 2017 to 2018 2018 to 2019 2019 to 2020 2020 to 2021 2021 to 2022
13(1)(a) 9% 0% 8% 9% 0%
15(1) - Def 96% 100% 98% 100% 100%
15(1) - I.A. 9% 21% 21% 36% 13%
16(2)(c) 43% 32% 46% 73% 25%
19(1) 40% 37% 27% 36% 63%
20(1)(b) 15% 0% 4% 0% 25%
21(1)(a) 13% 11% 15% 27% 0%
21(1)(b) 13% 18% 15% 27% 0%
21(1)(c) 4% 3% 2% 0% 0%
21(1)(d) 0% 5% 4% 18% 0%
23 6% 5% 4% 45% 0%
24(1) 4% 0% 0% 0% 0%
 

Extension of the Time Limit

There was one (1) extension taken pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Access to Information Act. However, CSE took three (3) extensions under paragraph 9(1)(b) to conduct consultations that could not be completed within the original time limit and one (1) extension under paragraph 9(1)(c) to conduct third party consultations in accordance with subsection 27(1) of the Act. There was a decrease in extensions taken from the 2020 to 2021 reporting period, attributed to our limited access to the CSE facility throughout the pandemic. This affected the team’s and our OPI’s ability to retrieve and review records in order to claim extensions within the legislative timelines.

Consultations

CSE was consulted on 92 requests during this fiscal year compared to 65 for the previous reporting period. Other federal government institutions accounted for 92 of the consultations while no consultation requests were received from non-federal government organizations. In addition to the 92 new consultations, 97 were carried over from 2020 to 2021, resulting in 189 ongoing consultation requests in 2021 to 2022, totalling 15,442 pages for review. CSE closed 82 consultations and carried over 107 into 2022-2023. Consultation requests for records of historic nature (e.g. during cold war era) continue to contribute to the volume of consultations. The historical consultation requests comprise 77 of the 107 consultations carried over into 2022-2023.

Requests Treated Informally

CSE responded to 30 informal requests for records previously released under the ATIA process in 2021 to 2022. This is a increase from the 15 informal requests completed in 2020 to 2021. CSE responded to three (3) requests within 30 days; three (3) requests between 31 and 60 days; two (2) requests between 61 and 120 days; eight (8) requests between 121 and 180 days; 12 requests between 181 and 365 days and two (2) requests in more than 365 days.

Fees and Costs

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
  • Fee amount: $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATI request
  • Total revenue: $250
  • Fees waived:
    In accordance with the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, CSE may only charge an application fee of $5, as set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations. Pursuant to section 11 of the Access to Information Act, institutions can waive this application fee as deemed appropriate.
    In addition, CSE waives all fees, other than the $5 application fee, that may have been applicable to requests received prior to June 21, 2019. This is in accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act that was in effect May 5, 2016, to July 12, 2022.
    No fees were waived for the 2021 to 2022 fiscal period.
  • Cost of operating the program: $498,151.

50 requests were received through the AORS. This service, which is managed by TBS accounts for the total fees collected of $250.

Complaints, Judicial Review and Audits

Individuals who are not satisfied with the processing of their access to information request can file a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC).

The OIC notified CSE of six (6) complaints in 2021 to 2022; The OIC closed five (5) complaints against CSE, two (2) were carried over from the previous reporting period and three (3) that were received during the current reporting period. CSE provided information to the OIC in relation to all complaints as requested.

Two (2) of the complaints were a result of delays to respond to requests and were received in May of 2021. CSE responded to the requests in July and November. As the requests were closed beyond the legislative deadlines, the OIC found both to be well founded and resolved.

A third complaint, received in January 2021, alleged that CSE had failed to conduct a reasonable search for records to respond to a request. CSE made representations to the OIC indicating the searches conducted and responded to numerous follow-up questions. Some searches were repeated and expanded upon to verify results. The OIC was satisfied that CSE had tasked the appropriate sectors to locate all relevant records, that the search was reasonable and that no additional responsive records could be located. As a result, the OIC found that the complaint was not well founded.

Two (2) of the complaints were closed as CSE received notices that they were discontinued from the OIC. One (1) complaint was received in January of 2021. The notice of discontinuation from the OIC in September of 2021 indicated that the complainant had not responded to the OIC’s requests for representations to advance the investigation. The other discontinued complaint is a result of a complainant filing nearly identical requests and filing delay complaints on both in July of 2021. In the course of discussions, the complainant agreed to amalgamate the processing of both requests into a single file. This resulted in the discontinuation of one (1) of the complaints in March 2022. The remaining complaint had not yet been closed by the end of the 2021 to 2022 reporting period.

The five (5) closed complaints noted above consist of two (2) carried over from the previous reporting period and three (3) that were received in 2021 to 2022. The three (3) remaining complaints received in the current reporting period include the second of the nearly identical requests and two (2) delay complaints. CSE has made representations to the OIC on all active complaints and will continue to work with the OIC to resolve them. The other open complaint, received in 2017 to 2018 is ongoing. CSE has agreed with the OIC on a release date in July of 2022.

At the end of 2021 to 2022, the OIC had four (4) complaints pending with CSE. CSE continues to work closely with the OIC to resolve complaints in an efficient manner.

Active complaints from previous reporting periods
Reporting period received Number of open complaints
2015-2016 or earlier 0
2016 to 2017 0
2017 to 2018 1
2018 to 2019 0
2019 to 2020 0
2020 to 2021 0
2021 to 2022 3
Total 4

Monitoring compliance

Using our case management software, the ATIP Office continued to produce reports on the time taken to process requests. These reports were shared with our ATIP Coordinator throughout the fiscal year. CSE’s Executive Committee (made up of DM and ADM level executives) is also informed of the status of Access to Information Act requests on a weekly basis.

Appendix I: Delegation of Authority

Communications Security Establishment

Access to Information Act Delegation Order

The Minister of National Defence, pursuant to section 73 or the Access to information Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out below, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Minister of National Defence as the head of the Communications Security Establishment, under the provisions of the Access to information Act and related regulations set out below for each position.

  • Chief, Communication Security Establishment: joint authority under subsection 20(6) (public interest disclosure) with the Deputy Chief, Policy and Communications.
  • Deputy Chief, Policy and Communications: full authority, except joint authority under subsection 20(6) (public interest disclosure) with the Chief, Communications Security Establishment.
  • Director General, Policy, Disclosure and Review: full authority, except for paragraph 20(6) (public interest discloure).
  • Director, Disclosures and Information Sharing: full authority, except for subsection 20(6) (public interest disclosure).
  • Manager, Disclosures: full authority, except for subsection 20(6) (public interest disclosure).
  • Supervisor, Access to Information and Privacy Operations: subsection 7(a) only when no record exists (notice) section 9 (extension of time limits), section 11 (fees), sections 27 and 28(consultation to third party documents).

This delegation order replaces all previous delegation orders.

Dated at Ottawa, this 26th day of April 2018.

Original signed by:
The Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan, PC,OMM. MSM. CD. MP

Appendix II: Statistical report

Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Communications Security Establishment

Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2022-03-31

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests
Period Number of requests
Received during reporting period 51
Outstanding from previous reporting periods 112
  • Outstanding from previous reporting period: 30
  • Outstanding from more than one reporting period: 82
Total 163
Closed during reporting period 14
Carried over to next reporting period 149
  • Carried over within legislated timeline: 11
  • Carried over beyond legislated timeline: 138
1.2 Sources of requests
Source Number of requests
Media 32
Academia 8
Business (private sector) 0
Organization 0
Public 9
Decline to identify 2
Total 51
1.3 Channels of requests
Source Number of requests
Online 50
E-mail 1
Mail 0
In person 0
Phone 0
Fax 0
Total 51

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests
Period Number of informal requests
Received during reporting period 25
Outstanding from previous reporting periods 9
  • Outstanding from previous reporting period: 7
  • Outstanding from more than one reporting period: 2
Total 34
Closed during reporting period 30
Carried over to next reporting period 4
2.2 Channels of informal requests
Source Number of requests
Online 25
E-mail 0
Mail 0
In person 0
Phone 0
Fax 0
Total 25
2.3 Completion time of informal requests
Completion Time
1 to 15 Days 16 to 30 days 31 to 60 days 61 to 120 days 121 to 180 days 181 to 365 days More than 365 days Total
0 3 3 2 8 12 2 30
2.4 Pages released informally
Fewer than 100
pages released
100-500
pages released
501-1000
pages released
1001-5000
pages released
More than 5000
pages released
Number of requests Pages released Number of requests Pages released Number of requests Pages released Number of requests Pages released Number of requests Pages released
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2.5 Pages re-released informally
Fewer than 100
pages re-released
100-500
pages re-released
501-1000
pages re-released
1001-5000
pages re-released
More than 5000
pages re-released
Number of requests Pages re-released Number of requests Pages re-released Number of requests Pages re-released Number of requests Pages re-released Number of requests Pages re-released
15 777 10 1882 2 1399 1 4019 2 15963

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

Applications Number of requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period 0
Sent during reporting period 0
Total 0
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period 0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period 0
Withdrawn during reporting period 0
Carried over to next reporting period 0

Section 4: Requests closed during the reporting period

4.1 Disposition and completion time
Disposition of requests Completion time
1 to 15 days 16 to 30 days 31 to 60 days 61 to 120 days 121 to 180 days 181 to 365 days More than 365 days Total
All disclosed 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2
Disclosed in part 0 0 0 1 1 0 6 8
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 3
Request transferred 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 2 2 1 2 1 6 14
 
4.2 Exemptions
Section Number of requests
13(1)(a) 0
13(1)(b) 0
13(1)(c) 0
13(1)(d) 0
13(1)(e) 0
14 0
14(a) 0
14(b) 0
15(1) 1
15(1) - I.A.Footnote 1 1
15(1) - Def.Footnote 2 8
15(1) - S.A.Footnote 3 0
16(1)(a)(i) 0
16(1)(a)(ii) 0
16(1)(a)(iii) 0
16(1)(b) 0
16(1)(c) 0
16(1)(d) 0
16(2) 0
16(2)(a) 0
16(2)(b) 0
16(2)(c) 2
16(3) 0
16.1(1)(a) 0
16.1(1)(b) 0
16.1(1)(c) 0
16.1(1)(d) 0
16.2(1) 0
16.3 0
16.4(1)(a) 0
16.4(1)(b) 0
16.5 0
16.6 0
17 0
18(a) 0
18(b) 0
18(c) 0
18(d) 0
18.1(1)(a) 0
18.1(1)(b) 0
18.1(1)(c) 0
18.1(1)(d) 0
19(1) 5
20(1)(a) 0
20(1)(b) 2
20(1)(b.1) 0
20(1)(c) 0
20(1)(d) 0
20.1 0
20.2 0
20.4 0
21(1)(a) 0
21(1)(b) 0
21(1)(c) 0
21(1)(d) 0
22 0
22.1(1) 0
23 0
23.1 0
24(1) 0
26 0
 
4.3 Exclusions
Section Number of Requests
68(a) 0
68(b) 0
68(c) 0
68.1 0
68.2(a) 0
68.2(b) 0
69(1) 0
69(1)(a) 0
69(1)(b) 0
69(1)(c) 0
69(1)(d) 0
69(1)(e) 0
69(1)(f) 0
69(1)(g) re (a) 1
69(1)(g) re (b) 0
69(1)(g) re (c) 0
69(1)(g) re (d) 0
69(1)(g) re (e) 0
69(1)(g) re (f) 0
69.1(1) 0
 
4.4 Format of information released
Paper Electronic Other
E-record Data set Video Audio
5 5 0 0 0 0

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e-record formats
Number of pages processed Number of pages disclosed Number of requests
1200 566 11
4.5.2 Relevant pages processed per request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests
Disposition Less than 100 pages processed

101-500
pages processed

501-1000
pages processed
1001-5000
pages processed
More than 5000
pages processed
Number of requests Pages processed Number of requests Pages processed Number of requests Pages processed Number of requests Pages processed Number of requests Pages processed
All disclosed 2 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 6 247 1 268 1 656 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 9 276 1 268 1 656 0 0 0 0
4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats
Number of minutes processed Number of minutes disclosed Number of requests
0 0 0
4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests
Disposition Less than 60 minutes processed

60 to 120 minutes
minutes processed

More than 120 minutes processed
Number of requests Minutes processed Number of requests Minutes processed Number of requests Minutes processed
All disclosed 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 0 0 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0
4.5.4 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats
Number of minutes processed Number of minutes disclosed Number of requests
0 0 0
4.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests
Disposition Less than 60 minutes processed

60 to 120 minutes
minutes processed

More than 120 minutes processed
Number of requests Minutes processed Number of requests Minutes processed Number of requests Minutes processed
All disclosed 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclosed in part 0 0 0 0 0 0
All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0
4.5.7 Other complexities
Disposition Consultation required Legal advice sought Other Total
All disclosed 1 0 0 1
Disclosed in part 2 0 0 2
All exempted 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0
Neither confirmed nor denied 0 0 0 0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 0 3

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines 2
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%) 14.28571429

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines
Number of Requests closed
past the legislated timelines
Principal Reason
Interference with
operations/workload
External consultation Internal consultation Other
12 1 1 0 10
4.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)
Number of days past
legislated timelines
Number of requests past
legislated timeline where no
extension was taken
Number of requests past
legislated timeline where an
extension was taken
Total
1 to 15 days 1 0 1
16 to 30 days 1 1 2
31 to 60 days 1 0 1
61 to 120 days 1 0 1
121 to 180 days 1 0 1
181 to 365 days 0 0 0
More than 365 days 3 3 6
Total 8 4 12
4.8 Requests for translation
Translation requests Accepted Refused Total
English to French 0 0 0
French to English 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests
Disposition of requests where an
extension was taken
9(1)(a)
Interference with
operations/workload
9(1)(b)
Consultation
9(1)(c)
Third-party notice
Section 69 Other
All disclosed 0 0 1 0
Disclosed in part 1 0 2 1
All exempted 0 0 0 0
All excluded 0 0 0 0
Request abandoned 0 0 0 0
No records exist 0 0 0 0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 3 1
5.2 Length of extensions
Length of extensions 9(1)(a)
Interference with
operations/workload
9(1)(b)
Consultation
9(1)(c)
Third-party notice
Section 69 Other
30 days or less 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 days 1 0 2 1
61 to 120 days 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 days 0 0 1 0
181 to 365 days 0 0 0 0
365 days or more 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 3 1
Section 6: Fees
Fee type Fee collected Fee waived Fee refunded
Number of requests Amount Number of requests Amount Number of requests Amount
Application 50 $250.00 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Other Fees 0 $0.00 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
Total 50 $250.00 0 $0.00 0 $0.00

Section 7: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

7.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and organizations
Consultations Other Government
of Canada institutions
Number of pages
to review
Other organizations Number of pages
to review
Received during the reporting period 92 3128 0 0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period 97 12314 0 0
Total 189 15442 0 0
Closed during the reporting period 82 1712 0 0
Carried over within negotiated timelines 16 4988 0 0
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines 91 8742 0 0
7.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions
Recommendation Number of days required to complete consultation requests
1 to 15
days
16 to 30
days
31 to 60
days
61 to 120
days
121 to 180
days
181 to 365
days
More than 365
days
Total
Disclose entirely 5 5 11 8 1 0 1 31
Disclose in part 0 4 14 20 6 4 0 48
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Total 6 9 25 28 7 4 3 82
7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada
Recommendation Number of days required to complete consultation requests
1 to 15
days
16 to 30
days
31 to 60
days
61 to 120
days
121 to 180
days
181 to 365
days
More than 365
days
Total
Disclose entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Disclose in part 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exempt entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Exclude entirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Consult other institution 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Section 8: Completion time of consultations on Cabinet confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services
Number of days Fewer than 100
pages processed
100-500
pages processed
501-1000
pages processed
1001-5000
pages processed
More than 5000
pages processed
Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office
Number of days Fewer than 100
pages processed
101-500
pages processed
501-1000
pages processed
1001-5000
pages processed
More than 5000
pages processed
Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed Number of requests Pages disclosed
1 to 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 to 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More than 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Section 9: Investigations and reports of finding

9.1 Investigations
Section 32
Notice of intention to
investigate
Subsection 30(5)
Ceased to
investigate
Section 35 Formal
representations
6 2 3
9.2 Investigations and reports of finding
Section 37(1) Initial reports Section 37(2) Final reports
Received Containing
recommendations
issued by the
Information
Commissioner
Containing order
issued by the
Information
Received Containing
recommendations
issued by the
Information
Commissioner
Containing order
issued by the
Information
0 0 0 3 0 0

Section 10: Court action

10.1 Court actions on complaints
Section 41
Complainant (1) Institution (2) Third party (3) Privacy Commissioner (4) Total
0 0 0 0 0
10.2 Court actions on third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)
Section 44 - under paragraph 28(1)(b)
0

Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated costs
Expenditures Amount
Salaries $453,087
Overtime $94
Goods and Services $44,970
  • Professional services contracts: $0
  • Other: $44,970
Total $498,151
11.2 Human resources
Resources Person years dedicated to Access to information activities
Full-time employees 4.788
Part-time and casual employees 0.000
Regional staff 0.000
Consultants and agency personnel 0.000
Students 0.000
Total 4.788

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Communications Security Establishment

Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2022-03-31

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.
Condition Number of weeks
Able to receive requests by mail 52
Able to receive requests by email 52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service 52

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.
Records No capacity Partial capacity Full capacity Total
Unclassified paper records 0 0 52 52
Protected B paper records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret paper records 0 48 4 52
2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels.
Records No capacity Partial capacity Full capacity Total
Unclassified electronic records 0 0 52 52
Protected B electronic records 0 0 52 52
Secret and Top Secret electronic records 0 48 4 52

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
Fiscal year open requests were received Open requests
that are within
legislated
timelines as of
March 31, 2022
Open requests
that are beyond
legislated
timelines as of
March 31, 2022
Total
Received in 2021 to 2022 9 41 50
Received in 2020 to 2021 1 21 22
Received in 2019 to 2020 0 17 17
Received in 2018 to 2019 1 9 10
Received in 2017 to 2018 0 17 17
Received in 2016 to 2017 0 18 18
Received in 2015-2016 or earlier 0 15 15
Total 11 138 149
3.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods
Fiscal year open
complaints were received
by institution
Number of open
complaints
Received in 2021 to 2022 3
Received in 2020 to 2021 0
Received in 2019 to 2020 0
Received in 2018 to 2019 0
Received in 2017 to 2018 1
Received in 2016 to 2017 0
Received in 2015-2016 or earlier 0
Total 4

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.
Fiscal year open
requests were
received
Open requests
that are within
legislated
timelines as of
March 31, 2022
Open requests
that are beyond
legislated
timelines as of
March 31, 2022
Total
Received in 2021 to 2022 3 10 13
Received in 2020 to 2021 0 6 6
Received in 2019 to 2020 1 1 2
Received in 2018 to 2019 0 0 0
Received in 2017 to 2018 0 0 0
Received in 2016 to 2017 0 1 1
Received in 2015-2016 or earlier 0 3 3
Total 4 21 25
4.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods
Fiscal year open
complaints were received
by institution
Number of open
complaints
Received in 2021 to 2022 4
Received in 2020 to 2021 1
Received in 2019 to 2020 1
Received in 2018 to 2019 1
Received in 2017 to 2018 0
Received in 2016 to 2017 0
Received in 2015-2016 or earlier 0
Total 7

Section 5: Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Did your institution receive authority for a new collection or new consistent use of the SIN in 2021 to 2022 No

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