Site Menu3. Statistical Report on Requests Under the Access to Information Act – Annual Report on the Access to Information Act for the period ending March 31, 2022
This section provides an interpretation of select statistics on the processing of requests made to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer under the Act. All figures and data for the 2021–2022 fiscal year are provided in the attached statistical report (see Appendix II).
3.1. Number and origin of formal requests
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer received 45 formal requests for information under the Act during the period between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022. This number decreased by 42 percent from the previous year when 77 formal requests were received.
Number of Requests Received
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This bar graph is titled Number of Requests Received.
It shows the number of requests received for the past 5 fiscal years.
- In 2017-2018, 40 requests
- In 2018-2019, 31 requests
- In 2019-2020, 95 requests
- In 2020-2021, 77 requests
- In 2021-2022, 45 requests
A total of 68 requests required action in 2021–2022, including 23 requests that were carried over from the previous fiscal year. As the graph below demonstrates, 43 of those requests (63 percent) were closed during the reporting period. This is down from the previous year when 77 percent of requests that required action were closed during the reporting period. Twenty-five requests were carried over into the next reporting period.
Number of Requests Closed and Carried Over
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This bar graph is titled Number of Requests Closed and Carried Over.
It compares the number of requests closed to those carried over into the next fiscal year for the past 4 fiscal years.
- In 2018-2019, 31 closed and 11 carried over
- In 2019-2020, 81 closed and 25 carried over
- In 2020-2021, 79 closed and 23 carried over
- In 2021-2022, 43 closed and 25 carried over
These new requests were initiated by the media (8), private sector businesses (4), the general public (15), academia (3), organizations (0) and requesters who declined to identify themselves (15).
Of the 25 requests that were carried over into the next reporting period, 11 (44 percent) were received in 2021–2022, 6 of which meet the legislated timelines; 5 (20 percent) were received in 2020–2021, 8 (32 percent) were received in 2019–2020 and 1 was received in 2016–2017 (4 percent). All of these requests do not meet the legislated timelines.
3.2. Disposition of completed requests
Forty-three requests were completed during the reporting period, 6 (14 percent) of which resulted in full disclosure of information, up from 8 (10 percent) in 2020–2021. Twenty-three requests (53 percent) resulted in partial disclosure of information, up from 41 (52 percent) the previous year. Records did not exist for 5 requests (12 percent), down from 17 (22 percent) in 2020–2021. Zero requests (0 percent) were transferred to another government institution, down from 1 the previous year. Five requests (12 percent) were abandoned during the reporting period, down from 10 the previous year. We neither confirmed nor denied the existence of records for zero requests (0 percent) in 2021–2022, down from 2 the previous year. Three requests were fully exempted (7 percent), one was fully excluded (2 percent), and none were declined to be acted upon with the approval of the Information Commissioner in 2021–2022.
Disposition of completed requests
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This pie chart is titled Disposition of Completed Requests.
It demonstrates the extent to which records were disclosed in the past 3 fiscal years.
In 2019-2020:
- 25% - All Disclosed
- 59% - Disclosed in Part
- 1% - All Exempted
- 1% - All Excluded
- 12% - No Records Exist
- 1% - Request Abandoned
In 2020-2021:
- 10% - All Disclosed
- 52% - Disclosed in Part
- 21% - No Records Exist
- 13% - Request Abandoned
- 1% - Request Transferred
- 3% - Neither Confirmed nor Denied
In 2021-2022:
- 14% - All Disclosed
- 53% - Disclosed in Part
- 12% - No Records Exist
- 12% - Request Abandoned
- 7% - All Exempted
- 2% - All Excluded
3.3. Completion time of requests
In 2021–2022, 35 requests (81 percent) were completed within the legislated timelines. A total of 22 requests (51 percent) were completed within 30 days, up from 40 (51 percent) in 2020–2021; 9 requests (21 percent) were closed within 31 to 60 days, 5 (12 percent) within 61 to 120 days, 4 (9 percent) within 121 to 180 days, 2 (5 percent) within 181 to 365 days, and 1 (2 percent) was closed more than 365 days after it was received.
Completion Time of Requests
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This bar graph is titled Completion Time of Requests.
It compares the number of days taken to complete requests for the last 3 fiscal years.
In 2019-2020:
- Closed within 30 days, 50 requests
- 31 to 60 days, 14 requests
- 61 to 120 days, 14 requests
- 121 to 180 days, 1 request
- 181 to 365 days, 1 request
- More than 365 days, 1 request
In 2020-2021:
- Closed within 30 days, 40 requests
- 31 to 60 days, 11 requests
- 61 to 120 days, 13 requests
- 121 to 180 days, 6 requests
- 181 to 365 days, 1 request
- More than 365 days, 8 requests
In 2021-2022:
- Closed within 30 days, 22 requests
- 31 to 60 days, 9 requests
- 61 to 120 days, 5 requests
- 121 to 180 days, 4 requests
- 181 to 365 days, 2 requests
- More than 365 days, 1 request
Longer completion times can be explained by a variety of factors. They are most commonly attributed to outstanding requests from previous years, workload, requests that require consultations with internal or external parties, requests that are broad in scope and involve a high volume of records, sensitive records related to advice or recommendations developed by or for a government institution, security, or investigations, examinations or reviews under the Canada Elections Act. Unforeseen adjustments to work processes related to COVID-19 were implemented towards the end of 2019–2020, continued to temporarily affect the processing of some requests under the Act. Most employees, including ATIP staff, were required to work remotely with at times limited access to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer's network and paper files.
3.4. Informal releases of records
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer publishes monthly online summaries of all recently completed, formal access to information requests as required by the Treasury Board Secretariat. The published summaries allow individuals to informally request copies of records previously released under the Act. In the 2021–2022 reporting period, and compared with the previous period, there was a decrease in the number of request packages released informally. The ATIP Office released 39 packages informally in 2021–2022, down by 28 percent from the preceding period.
Number of Informal Requests Received
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This bar graph is titled Number of Informal Requests Received.
It displays the number of informal requests received during the past 4 fiscal years.
- In 2018-19, 68 packages
- In 2019-2020, 118 packages
- In 2020-2021, 54 packages
- In 2021-2022, 39 packages
3.5. Exemptions to the release of information
The attached statistical report (Appendix II) includes the number of requests for which the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer invoked specific types of exemptions and provides details on these exemptions. If an exemption is invoked several times in the same request, it is reported only once. The graph below includes the seven exemptions applied most frequently during the 2021–2022 fiscal year.
Most Common Exemptions Applied
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It showcases the number of requests involving the application of certain sections under the Access to Information Act for the past 4 fiscal years.
In 2018-2019:
- Section 16.3, 3 requests
- Subsection 19(1), 17 requests
- Paragraph 20(1)(c), 12 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(a), 3 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(b), 4 requests
- Section 23, 3 requests
- Subsection 24(1), 0 requests
In 2019-2020:
- Section 16.3, 7 requests
- Subsection 19(1), 41 requests
- Paragraph 20(1)(c), 17 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(a), 8 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(b), 13 requests
- Section 23, 3 requests
- Subsection 24(1), 0 requests
In 2020-2021:
- Section 16.3, 12 requests
- Subsection 19(1), 42 requests
- Paragraph 20(1)(c), 11 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(a), 15 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(b), 15 requests
- Section 23, 12 requests
- Subsection 24(1), 0 requests
In 2021-2022:
- Section 16.3, 6 requests
- Subsection 19(1), 20 requests
- Paragraph 20(1)(c), 4 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(a), 4 requests
- Paragraph 21(1)(b), 5 requests
- Section 23, 6 requests
- Subsection 24(1), 4 requests
As in previous years, the most common exemption applied was under subsection 19(1) of the Act. In 2021–2022, it was used to protect personal information for 20 requests. Paragraph 21(1)(a) permits heads of government institutions to withhold information that contains advice or recommendations developed by or for government officials, whereas 21(1)(b) allows for the exemption of accounts of consultations and deliberations among government staff. Subsection 21(1)(a) was used for 4 requests while 21(1)(b) was used for 5 requests. Information was exempted for 6 requests under section 23 as being subject to solicitor-client privilege. Section 16.3 of the Act allows the Chief Electoral Officer to refuse the disclosure of information obtained or created during investigations, examinations or reviews conducted under the Canada Elections Act, and was used for 6 requests. Paragraph 20(1)(c) was applied for 4 requests in order to protect third-party information. Lastly, subsection 24(1) requires heads of government institutions to withhold information for which the disclosure is restricted pursuant to any provision set out in Schedule II of the Act. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer invoked subsection 24(1) for 4 requests.
3.6. Extensions of the time limit
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer took 17 extensions during the reporting period, 12 of which were taken under paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Act. Paragraph 9(1)(a) allows for an extension if a request is for a large volume of records and unreasonably interferes with the operations of the institution. Two extensions were taken under paragraph 9(1)(b), which states that, if a request requires consultations that cannot be reasonably completed by the statutory deadline, an extension is permitted. Three extensions were taken under paragraph 9(1)(c) for the notification of third parties.
In 76 percent of the cases (13 in total) the extensions did not exceed 60 days, compared to 79 percent in 2020-2021. The time limit for two requests was extended by 61 to 120 days and two extensions were taken for a period of 121 to 180 days. No time limits were extended beyond181 days.
It is the practice of the ATIP Office to provide partial preliminary release of records before the extended due date whenever possible.
3.7. Consultations
The ATIP Office received 29 consultations from other government institutions in 2021–2022, all (100 percent) of which were responded to in fewer than 30 days. The number of formal consultations received increased by 142 percent from the previous year in which 13 formal consultations were received.
Consultations Received from Other Government Institutions
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This bar graph is titled Consultations Received from Other Government Institutions.
It shows the number of consultations received from other federal government institutions in the past 4 fiscal years.
- In 2018-2019, 7 consultations
- In 2019-2020, 31 consultations
- In 2020-2021, 13 consultations
- In 2021-2022, 29 consultations
3.8. 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 payable: A $5 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATI request.
- Total revenue: $20
- Fees waived: $20. In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.
- Cost of operating the program: $150,620
Salaries (including overtime) accounted for $137,494 of the total cost of operating the program, whereas spending on goods and services amounted to $13,126.