Publications and Reports - Annual Report to Parliament 2009-2010 - Access to Information Act

Canadian Forces Crest

The Administration of the Access to Information Act in the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces

Table of Contents

  1. About National Defence and the Canadian Forces
  2. The Directorate Access to information and Privacy (DAIP)
  3. Report on the Access to Information Act

Annex A - Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act
Annex B - Department of National Defence Ministerial Delegation Order

1. National Defence and Canadian Forces

The National Defence Act and Senior Positions

National Defence Act

The National Defence Act (NDA) establishes "a department of the Government of Canada called the Department of National Defence over which the Minister of National Defence appointed by commission under the Great Seal shall preside." The NDA also provides for the organization of the Canadian Forces, "which are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces".

The Minister

The NDA charges the Minister with responsibility for the management and direction of the Canadian Forces, of all matters relating to national defence, and responsibility for:

  1. The construction and maintenance of all defence establishments and works for the defence of Canada; and
  2. Research relating to the defence of Canada and to the development of and improvements in materiel.

Deputy Minister

The NDA provides that there shall be a Deputy Minister (DM) of National Defence who shall be appointed by the Governor in Council to hold office during pleasure. The DM is assigned responsibility by virtue of those Acts, Orders and Regulations of the Government of Canada which deal with the powers and responsibilities of deputy heads of departments and the conduct of Government business. Notably among those are the NDA, the Interpretation Act, the Financial Administration Act (FAA), the Public Service Staff Relations Act and the Public Service Employment Act.

Associate Deputy Minister

The Governor in Council may appoint not more than three Associate Deputy Ministers of National Defence, each of whom shall have the rank and status of a deputy head of a department and as such shall, under the Minister and the Deputy Minister, exercise and perform such powers, duties and functions as deputy of the Minister and otherwise as the Minister may specify.

Chief of Defence Staff

The NDA provides that the Governor in Council may appoint an officer to be the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Subject to regulation and under the direction of the Minister, the CDS is charged with the control and administration of the CF. Unless the Governor in Council otherwise directs, all orders and instructions to the CF that are required to give effect to the decisions and carry out the directions of the Government of Canada, or the Minister, shall be issued by or through the CDS.

The CDS takes precedence over all other officers. Although not specifically assigned command of the CF in the NDA, as the senior military appointment the CDS is in a position of authority over the CF. The commanders of commands are responsible to the CDS for the effective and efficient accomplishment of their assigned roles and tasks. Responsibility for control of units and elements not allocated to commands or formations devolves upon the CDS. The Vice-Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) is also appointed by the Governor in council as second to the CDS.

The Departmental Head Office

The head office of the Department, combined with the senior headquarters of the CF, form an organization known as National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ).

The Canadian Forces

Mandate of the Canadian Forces

The mandate of Canadian Forces is three-fold:

Components of the Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces include two components:

  1. The Regular Force consists of officers and non-commissioned members who are enrolled for continuing, full-time military service. It includes such units and other elements as are embodied therein;
  2. The Reserve Force consists of officers and non-commissioned members who are enrolled for other than continuing full-time military service when not on active service. The Reserve Force includes such units and other elements as are embodied therein. The sub-components of the Reserve Force are as follows:
    1. Naval Reserve,
    2. Militia (Army Reserve),
    3. Air Reserve,
    4. Communication Reserve, and
    5. Supplementary Reserve - The Supplementary Reserve is composed of former Regular Force and Reserve members who are no longer actively involved in the CF but are willing to be called out in an emergency. Members do not perform regular duties, but have agreed to report for service should they be needed to augment the CF. When members are called out, they are usually attached to the Regular Force or Reserve Force for the agreed period, upon completion of which they return to the Supplemental Reserve.
    6. Cadet Instructor Cadre - Officers of the Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC) are members of the Canadian Forces Reserve whose primary duty is the supervision, administration and training of youth from 12-18 years of age, members of the Royal Canadian Sea, Army and Air Cadets in Corps and Squadrons across Canada. Opportunities exist for summer full time employment at any of the Cadet Summer Training Centres located throughout Canada; and
    7. Canadian Rangers - Canadian Rangers are adult members of the Canadian Forces who live in remote and isolated communities of Canada. They are part-time reservists who are responsible for protecting Canada's sovereignty as well as defending her coastal interests. Canadian Rangers provide a military presence in support of Canada's sovereignty. They report unusual activities, collect data of significance in support of military operations, and conduct surveillance and sovereignty patrols as required.

Environmental Commands

Chief of the Maritime Staff

Canada’s Navy is a highly adaptable and flexible force. While being Canada's outer line of defense against an armed aggressor, it conducts sovereignty patrols, search and rescue operations, and assists other government departments in everything from disaster relief to law enforcement, such as conducting fishery or drug patrols. The Navy also supports Canadian foreign policy by remaining engaged internationally in everything from humanitarian assistance, to peace support operations, to maritime security operations.

Chief of the Land Staff

The Canadian Army’s mission is to provide trained, combat-ready, agile and quickly responsive troops to meet Canada’s defense objectives. The Canadian Army is ready to respond to conflicts across the globe. With an international reputation for excellence, the well-equipped Canadian soldier is instrumental in the fight for freedom, stability and human rights around the world. Through the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), the Army is also prepared to send soldiers and equipment to assist international and national authorities with natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, storms, and forest fires.

Chief of the Air Staff

Canada’s Air Force protects Canadians, Canadian sovereignty and Canadian interests at home and abroad. The Air Force defends Canadian airspace and, working with the Navy, Army and other government departments, conducts maritime and northern patrols, search and rescue missions, and intercepts of vessels carrying illegal drugs. The Air Force also airlifts military personnel and supplies at home and abroad, and moves disaster relief supplies to stricken regions. Abroad, combat-ready forces take an active role in multinational missions, representing Canada's interests and helping maintain global stability.

Operational Commands

Four operational structures, called “commands”, are in place for a responsive and efficient Canadian Forces creating a synergy among the Navy, Army and Air Force. The four commands are:

Canada Command

Canada Command (Canada COM) is responsible for Canadian Forces routine and contingency operations in Canada and North America, except for those under direct command of Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff or North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). Canada Command coordinates Canadian Forces operational support to civil and law enforcement authorities. It offers one point of contact for all of the CF’s defence and security partners. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada Command is supported by six Regional Joint Task Forces (RJTFs) across the country. Each RJTF is assigned regional responsibility for the defense of Canada and can task all available CF capabilities in their geographic areas of responsibility.

Canadian Expeditionary Force Command

Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) is responsible for the planning and conduct of all Canadian Forces operations outside North America, except those carried out by Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM). CEFCOM brings together the maritime, land, air and special operations forces to conduct humanitarian, peace support or combat operations wherever they are required around the world.

Canadian Special Operations Forces Command

Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) provides the Government of Canada with agile, high-readiness Special Operations Forces capable of conducting special operations across the spectrum of conflict at home and abroad.

Canadian Operational Support Command

Canadian Operational Support Command (CANOSCOM) provides operational support for CF activities and missions at home and abroad including functions such as logistics, military engineering, health services and military police

Units and Other Elements

The NDA prescribes that the CF shall consist of such units and other elements as are organised by or under authority of the Minister. A unit or other element so formed is embodied in a component of the CF as directed by or under the authority of the Minister. The command structure and hierarchy of units and elements of the CF is outlined.

Civilian Employees

As part of the Defence Team, civilian employees in over 70 different types of occupations and over 40 locations across Canada, enable the Canadian Forces (CF) to carry out its missions.

Civilian employees work in a wide variety of roles, including:

Organizations Associated With the Department

From time to time there may be other organizations associated with the Department that are neither units nor elements of the CF nor part of DND. Direction for support services to such organizations shall be issued by the DM, and in circumstances where direction to these organizations involve units, elements or members of the CF, the direction shall be issued jointly by the DM and the CDS.

Top Five Departmental Priorities for 2009-2010

  1. Achieve Operational and Mission Success in Afghanistan
    • Expedite delivery of mission essential equipment.
    • Support whole-of-government efforts in Afghanistan.
    • Expedite initiatives for the care of the injured and family support
  2. Support the 2010 Winter Olympics
    • Determine requirements and responsibilities to ensure effective contributions from Defence in support of other federal government departments and agencies.
    • Develop plans, allocate resources and conduct exercises with key stakeholders to enable effective Defence contributions in support of Public Safety Canada and the RCMP.
  3. Align Defence Activities with Key Government Priorities
    • Implement the Canada First Defence Strategy (http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/pri/first-premier/index-eng.asp) through the Defence Plan and Strategic Investment Plan, and manage personnel, equipment, readiness and infrastructure resources in a manner that is consistent with Cabinet’s decisions and the funding line. Develop key milestones against which to measure progress on the four CFDS pillars.
      • Ensure that management capacities and capabilities are in place to manage growth.
      • Develop and implement strategies to support the Government’s Advantage Canada plan, through partnerships with other government departments, the defence industry, and research and development organizations.
    • Implement Defence-related initiatives in support of the Government’s other policy priorities, including the Northern Strategy and Going Green.
  4. Build the Defence Team
    • Complete force structure review.
    • Implement retention strategies to reduce CF attrition.
    • Implement plans to address shortages in critical military occupations.
    • Demonstrate leadership in Public Service Renewal, including improving human resources and business planning, streamlining staffing processes, and implementing plans to address shortfalls in key skills areas.
  5. Build Excellence in Defence Management
    • Finalize preparations for participation in the Federal Government Strategic Review by aligning governance, resource allocation and reporting processes, including leadership accountabilities.
    • Continue to implement the Management Resources and Results Structure (MRRS) with solutions mutually acceptable to Defence and Treasury Board.
    • Consolidate the departmental approach to IM/IT.
    • Continue to strengthen the core Control Framework and develop materiel, infrastructure, and information control frameworks in support of audited departmental financial statements.
    • Undertake measures to address the “Web of Rules” within DND/CF

Organizational Chart

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/about-notresujet/org-eng.asp

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2. The Directorate Access to Information and Privacy (DAIP)

The Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act was proclaimed on July 1, 1983. The Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents or any person or corporation present in Canada a general right of access to information that is contained in government records. This public right of access to information is balanced against the legitimate need to protect sensitive information and to permit the effective functioning of government while promoting transparency and accountability in government institutions.

The Mission of DAIP

The mission of DAIP is to deliver Access to Information and Privacy services, professional advice and training within DND and the CF.

The Mandate of DAIP

The mandate of DAIP is to act on behalf of the Minister of National Defence in promoting awareness, enforcing compliance with legislation, regulations, and government policy and to create departmental directions, including standards, in all matters relating to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. In this role, the Coordinator also acts as spokesperson for the organization in dealings with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Information and Privacy Commissioners, and other government departments and agencies.

The DAIP authority in this regard extends to all elements of DND/CF – except for the Office of the Ombudsman, the Military Police Complaints Commission, the Office of the CSE Commissioner and the Canadian Forces Grievance Board which are separate institutions under the control of the Minister of National Defence and are responsible for their own Access to Information and Privacy administration.

The Delegation Authority

At DND/CF, a single Coordinator, the Director of DAIP, administers and coordinates both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act within the organization. For organizational matters, DAIP comes under the authority of the Assistant Deputy Minister Finance and Corporate Services (ADM Fin CS), via the Director General Corporate and Shared Services (DGCSS). DAIP seeks advice on legal, public affairs, policy, and operations security matters from other organizations and specialists as required.

In accordance with section 73 of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, a delegation of authority, signed by the Minister of National Defence, designates the person holding the position of Director Access to Information and Privacy and the persons holding the position of Deputy Director Access to Information and Privacy to exercise all powers and functions of the Minister as the Head of institution under the Acts. It also designates other specific powers and functions to employees within DAIP. A copy of the Delegation Order may be referred to at Annex B.

DAIP Organization

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) organization within DND/CF operates with a staff of 72 indeterminate civilians, and 1 Canadian Forces member (numbers as of 31 March 2010). This staff was augmented, from time to time throughout the fiscal year, by 4 term/casual employees and 8 consultants/agency personnel. The DAIP work force is divided into working groups consisting of an Administration Support Service Group, a Privacy Group, four Access to Information (ATI) Groups and a Strategic Planning and Policy Group that handles all ATIP policies, training and IT needs.

Each of the ATI Groups is headed by a Deputy Director and consists of at least two teams of ATI analysts and support clerks, headed by a Team Leader. One of the ATI Groups contains a Tasking Team, which is responsible for assigning ATI requests to the appropriate Level 1 (ADM or Equivalent Military Level) Tasking Liaisons (TLs), who in turn assign the requests to the appropriate Level 2 Tasking Officers (TOs). When a response is received by DAIP from the TL, it is accompanied by the signature of the Level 1 or their named representative along with appropriate recommendations for release, exemption or exclusion.

The Tasking team also conducts such functions as re-scoping requests with the applicant as required, time extensions and administration of fees. The remaining teams in the ATI Operations Groups are responsible for reviewing records provided by the TLs, conducting consultations and applying any applicable exemptions or exclusions.

The Strategic Planning and Policy Group contains a Compliance and Training section that provides advice on ATIP matters to the Directorate, DND/CF members and to the public. They also monitor compliance within DND/CF with the ATIP Acts and associated policies and guidelines as well as conducting training for DND/CF members. DAIP establishes an annual business plan and sets annual performance objectives, which are monitored monthly.

Information Holdings

A description of the classes of institutional records held by DND/CF can be found in the Info Source publication.

The Info Source can be obtained through public and academic libraries, constituency offices of federal Members of Parliament, and on the Internet at Info Source.

Reading Room

A reading room is available to individuals wanting to review DND/CF publications, and other public materials under the control of the institution. Individuals interested in visiting the reading room must phone ahead to make an appointment. The phone number to call is 613-992-9560.

The DND/CF reading room is located at:

Place de Ville, B Tower, 17th Floor
112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario.

DAIP Internet Site

The DAIP Internet Site may be viewed at http://www.admfincs.forces.gc.ca/aip/contacts-cn-eng.asp

This site contains ATIP contact information, request forms, a list of completed requests by year and month, publications & reports as well as other useful information such as links to related internet sites

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3. Report on the Access to Information Act

Requests under the Act

In the fiscal year 2009-2010, DND/CF received 1,142 requests under the Act. There were 582 requests carried forward from last year.

The 1,142 requests received represent a considerable caseload not just in numbers, but also in terms of the scope, complexity, sensitivity and volume of documents. In spite of the large volume, the Department was able to complete the processing of 1,724 requests, thus reducing the backlog from the previous year.

At 442, the largest number of completed requests came from the public, followed closely by requests from the media at 390. The number of requests by group can be found along the top of the statistical report at Annex A. The substance of the requests covered the entire range of DND/CF records. Requests for information were often related to military operations in Afghanistan, detainees, and contracts for various equipment and services. As well, information was requested on general management policies and directives. Responses to formal ATI requests in 2009-2010 involved a page-by-page review of 235,337 pages of which 136,151 were released in whole or in part.

During this period, DND/CF also received 324 consultations from other departments for ATI requests involving DND/CF records or issues. The consultations involved the review of 41,788 pages.

521 informal requests for information involving the review of 185,576 pages were processed by DAIP in support of DND/CF broader objective of providing Canadians with relevant information on an informal and timely basis. This number does not include numerous e-mails or telephone calls from potential applicants who were redirected to other informal routes in order to obtain the information.

Disposition of Completed Requests

The disposition of the completed requests was as follows:

Completion Time and Extensions

The timeframes for completed requests in 2009-2010 were as follows:

DAIP claimed 1,060 extensions beyond the 30-day prescribed time limit in order to search through a large volume of records, and/or to consult other government institutions and/or third parties. Multiple extensions were applied to the same requests in many cases so the number of requests that were extended is well below 1,060.

Exemptions Invoked

DAIP invoked exemptions under the Act a total of 2,485 times, as follows:

Exclusions Cited

Exclusions under sections 68 and 69 were invoked a total of 132 times.

Complaints and Investigations

A total of 111 complaints were received from the Office of Information Commissioner in 2009-2010. The reasons for the complaints were as follows:

A large number of complaints can be attributed to a relatively small number of applicants. For example, 58 complaints were received in one day from a single individual.

During this reporting period, 196 complaint investigations were completed by the Office of the Information Commissioner. The breakdown of the findings is as follows:

Federal Court Cases

In the case of Kitson v. Canada (2009-FC 1000), it was found that the applicant’s access to information request was reasonably denied. The court found that National Defence was correct in exempting information in 2007 in records pertaining to situation reports in Afghanistan. The exemptions were applied pursuant to section 15(1) (defence) of the Access to Information Act and the content of the records pertained to prisoners taken by Canadian soldiers during Operation Medusa in 2006.

Fees

During the reporting period, the total fees collected amounted to $5,360 for application fees and $580 for reproduction, searching, preparation and computer processing costs. Fees valued at a total of $13,423.40 were waived in 1188 instances. In 1,092 instances, fees for less than $25.00 were waived as suggested in Treasury Board guidelines. In 96 other instances fees were waived on a case-by-case basis. In some cases it was as a courtesy when the department was unduly late in responding to requests.

Costs

During 2009-2010, an estimated $2,954,334 in salary costs and $154,990 in administrative costs were incurred by DAIP to administer the Access to Information Act. These costs do not include the resources expended by the program areas of DND/CF to meet the requirements of the Act.

Policies and Procedures Implemented or Revised

DAIP has commenced utilizing GCPedia as a knowledge-sharing tool for analysts. The Policy and Training section has started migrating the Standard Operating Procedures for each section to a newly created page which will eventually be used by analysts in the processing of requests and will allow users to review definitions or documents and collaborate on revisions or changes, such as developing the wording around directives, standards, or guidelines.

Summary of Significant Changes to Operations or Procedures

This reporting period saw a change in how informal releases are processed. Requests from each single applicant for multiple previously released files, regardless of the number, are now treated as a single request.

Changes implemented as a result of issues raised by the Information Commissioner

The Access to Information Directorate for National Defence has reviewed and improved the procedures relating to extensions under section 9 of the Act. New forms for recording extension rationale have been created.

Changes implemented as a results of concerns by the Auditor General and others

No issues were raised by the Auditor General or others.

Training Sessions

During 2009-2010, DAIP continued to provide information sessions on the processing of Access to Information requests to DND/CF employees as required by the Government Policy on Access to Information (section 6.2.2 – “Access to Information Awareness”). In this reporting period a total of 78 training sessions were given in both official languages and 1,519 participants were familiarized with the Act and given a better understanding of their obligations and of the process within DND/CF. Customized sessions were also provided to specialized groups. DAIP continues to provide training sessions outside of the National Capital Region. The training sessions are intrinsic to achieving increased compliance with both the Access to Information and Privacy legislation. On-site training sessions were provided to DAIP staff members. ATIP employees continue to sensitize and guide third parties and requesters on the requirements of both pieces of legislation through dialogue as necessary.