Access to Information and Privacy Unit

For the purposes of the Privacy Act, the Environment Minister, and senior minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification, has delegated his powers, authorities and has delegated his powers, authorities and responsibilities to the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Management (ATIP Coordinator) and Manager, Corporate Administration (Deputy ATIP Coordinator), who are accountable for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures to ensure the Minister's responsibilities under the 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.

One full-time ATIP Officer in the Corporate Administration unit assists the Coordinator, and his Deputy, with the Access to Information and Privacy function in WD.  An ATIP consultant provides additional support as required.  Regional ATIP Liaison Officers (RALOs) are located in each regional office in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as the Ottawa Liaison Office and within WD's Headquarters.  The RALOs are the regional contacts when retrieving records responding to ATIP requests, and providing liaison between the ATIP unit and regional staff concerning enquiries.

The activities of WD's Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) unit include:

• processing requests in accordance with the Act;
• responding to consultations submitted by other federal institutions on WD records being considered for release;
• developing and maintaining policies, procedures and guidelines to ensure the Act is respected by departmental staff;
• promoting awareness of the Act within the Department to ensure staff are aware of the obligations imposed by the legislation;
• preparing statistical and annual reports to Parliament and other statutory reporting requirements, such as Info Source, as well as other material that may be required by central agencies;
• representing WD in dealings with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and other government departments and agencies regarding the application of the Act as it relates to WD;
• monitoring departmental compliance with the Act, regulations and relevant procedures and policies; and
• providing ongoing advice and guidance to senior management and department staff on information management and Privacy legislation.

In January 2009, a new ATIP Coordinator was appointed internally for the Department following a reorganization of Headquarters.  The new Delegation Order formalized the delegation to the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Management, and includes the delegation of these duties also to the Manager, Corporate Administration, who supports the Coordinator as the Deputy ATIP Coordinator.

Departmental Policies and Procedures

WD's Executive Committee adopted a new Privacy Protection Policy on November 19, 2008 (see Appendix A).  This Policy is based on the Privacy Act, its Regulations and the principles of open government from which it is derived, and is supported by the Privacy Protection Procedures Manual.

Subsequently, in November 2008, the internal ATIP Procedures Manual was reviewed, and separate manuals developed for Access to Information and Privacy.  The Privacy Protection Procedures Manual was updated to ensure that it reflects the current departmental processes, as well as ensures all changes made to the legislation are incorporated as appropriate.  The new manual was provided to the RALOs in March 2009 for their use, and the manual is available to all WD staff on the WDNet internal website (see Appendix C).  This manual will be reviewed a minimum of once per fiscal year to ensure that it is up-to-date, and includes any changes in policies or procedures are incorporated.

Info Source

In January 2008, WD's Executive Committee approved the formation of an Info Source Steering Committee.  The goal of the committee was to assist the Department in improving its management accountability as required in the various reporting requirements of the Management Accountability Framework, Area of Management #12 - Effectiveness of Information Management, which reviews and evaluates the department's performance and Info Source reporting requirements.  As a result of the efforts of this committee, and considerable effort by the ATIP Officer, WD greatly improved its Info Source listing for the "Sources of Government Information" publication.  WD worked closely with its TBS Analyst to make improvements to its listing and this assistance was greatly appreciated.

A new class of personal information for Public Opinion Research was added in 2008, and TBS also approved eight (8) new Standard Personal Information Banks (PIBs) for the Department.

In response to the Round V MAF assessment, WD created and submitted four new PIBs to Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) in 2008-2009.  All of these have subsequently been withdrawn at the request of TBS officials, as a new Standard PIB has been or will be created.

The Treasury Board Portfolio (TBP) Round VI assessment released in May 2009 rated WD as "Acceptable" under Line of Evidence 12.3.  TBP identified that WD may require institution-specific Personal Information Banks and/or Classes of Personal Information for:  Client Satisfaction Surveys; Economic Research and Market Studies - support to research projects and initiatives (applications for research funding); and Funding Request Proposals.

• Client Satisfaction Surveys - WD has consulted with the TBS Privacy Policy unit and has been advised that the Standard Public Communications PIB is being revised to include client satisfaction surveys and public opinion research.  WD is already registered for this PIB.  The Department also reviewed its existing Class of Personal Information for public opinion research and believes that client satisfaction surveys fall within its purview; however, improvements will be incorporated into the existing information to ensure this aspect is clearly included.
• Economic Research and Market Studies - WD conduct of research and market studies have been established through either professional services contracts (WED-PSU-912) or through the Department's grants and contributions programs.  WD was asked to withdraw its institution-specific PIB on March 25, 2009, by TBS officials as a new Standard PIB is being created which the Department can register for at that time.  The Department will not establish a Class of Personal Information for this area, as the personal information could be easily obtained through contract or project records.
• Funding Request Proposals - As noted above, WD was asked to withdraw its institution-specific Grants and Contributions PIB on March 25, 2009, by TBS officials as a new Standard PIB is being created which the Department can register for at that time.  This PIB covered funding request proposals received by the Department.  The Department will not establish a Class of Personal Information for this area, as the personal information could be easily obtained through project records or institutional project databases.

Not noted in the assessment, was that TBS identified WD's 2007-2008 Annual Report to Parliament as a best practice in government, and this was shared with other departments.

Privacy Training and Awareness

WD Staff Training:  Privacy and Access to Information awareness sessions were conducted for staff in all WD offices in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, with approximately two-thirds of all staff attending.  The Privacy portion of these sessions provided staff with an overview of the Privacy Act, information about what is personal information and how do you protect it, data matching, and Privacy Impact Assessments.

Attendees at the sessions for the most part, however, did not include many of the Department's management cadre or other key officials who would benefit from training in this field.  WD will look at more specific privacy-related training and/or management-specific training sessions in the future.

Location	Date	Number of Sessions	# of Attendees
Winnipeg	September 3	1	24
Vancouver	September 17	2	52
Saskatoon	October 1	2	38
Ottawa	November 18	1 - French	1
	November 19	1 - English	9
Edmonton	November 26	1 – Alberta Region	30
		1 – Headquarters	27
Calgary	January 13	1	9
TOTALS		10	190

The ATIP Coordinator, Deputy ATIP Coordinator and ATIP Officer also provide advice on privacy issues to RALOs and department staff on a regular basis to increase awareness of the Act, as well as provide guidance on how the department processes privacy requests, and the rationale required to apply the exemptions and exclusions, where appropriate.

ATIP Staff Training: The ATIP Officer attended the national Canadian Access and Privacy Association Conference held in Ottawa, Ontario, and a TBS ATIP Community Meeting, in November 2008.

The Deputy ATIP Coordinator meet with WD’s ATIP consultant for a one-day training session in September 2008 on the roles and responsibilities of an ATIP Coordinator.

Privacy Awareness Events: WD recognized Data Protection Day on January 28, 2009, with staff messages and “Think before you bin it!” posters placed throughout all WD offices (see Appendix D). The Department plans to make this an annual privacy awareness event.

In addition, WD continued to focus on individual responsibility for security and protecting and handling information during Security Awareness Week, and built on the theme established on Data Protection Day by noting that Canadians expect that the information that we collect, create and handle, is treated with the utmost care and respect.

Access to Information and Privacy Delegation Order

 

Delegation of powers, duties and functions delegated pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Act
Western Economic Diversification Canada

Section	Description	Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Management	Manager, Corporate Administration
8(2)(j)	Disclosure for research purposes	X	X
8(2)(m)	Disclosure in the public interest or in the interest of the individual	X	X
8(4)	Copies of requests under 8(2)(e) to be retained	X	X
8(5)	Notice of disclosure under 8(2)(m)	X	X
9(1)	Records of disclosures to be retained	X	X
9(4)	Consistent uses	X	X
10	Personal information to be included in personal information banks	X	X
14	Notice where access requested	X	X
15	Extension of time limits	X	X
17(2)(b)	Language of access	X	X
17(3)(b)	Access to personal information in alternative format	X	X
18(2)	Exemption (exempt bank) – Disclosure may be refused	X	X
19(1)	Exemption – Personal information obtained in confidence	X	X
19(2)	Exemption -- Where authorized to disclose	X	X
20	Exemption – Federal-provincial affairs	X	X
21	Exemption – International affairs and defence	X	X
22	Exemption – Law enforcement and investigations	X	X
22.3	Exemption – Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act	X	X
23	Exemption – Security clearances	X	X
24	Exemption – Individuals sentenced for an offence	X	X
25	Exemption – Safety of individuals	X	X
26	Exemption – Information about another individual	X	X
27	Exemption – Solicitor-client privilege	X	X
28	Exemption – Medical record	X	X
33(2)	Right to make representation	X	X
35(1)	Findings and recommendations of Privacy Commissioner (complaints)	X	X
35(4)	Access to be given	X	X
36(3)	Report of findings and recommendations (exempt banks)	X	X
37(3)	Report of findings and recommendations (compliance review)	X	X
51(2)(b)	Special rules for hearings	X	X
51(3)	Ex parte representations	X	X
70	Denial of access – Cabinet confidences	X	X
72(1)	Report to Parliament	X	X
77	Responsibilities conferred on the head of the institution by the Regulations made under section 77 which are not included above	X	X

 

Delegation of powers, duties and functions delegated pursuant to section 73 of the Privacy Regulations

Section	Description	Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Management	Manager, Corporate Administration
9	Reasonable facilities and time provided to examine personal information	X	X
11(2)	Notification that correction to personal information has been made	X	X
11(4)	Notification that correction to personal information has been refused	X	X
13(1)	Disclosure of personal information relating to physical and mental health may be made to a qualified medical practitioner or psychologist for an opinion on whether to release information to the requestor	X	X
14	Disclosure of personal information relating to physical or mental health may be made to a requestor in the presence of a qualified medical practitioner or psychologist	X	X