Publications and Reports - Annual Report to Parliament 2009-2010 - Privacy Act

Canadian Forces Crest

The Administration of the Privacy 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 Privacy Act

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

1. About 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 the Defence Staff

The NDA provides that the Governor in Council may appoint an officer to be the Chief of the 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.

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 Privacy Act

The Privacy Actcame into force on July 1, 1983. Under subsection 12(1) of the Act, Canadian citizens, permanent residents (within the meaning of the Immigration Act), all inmates (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act), and individuals present in Canada (who are not Canadian citizens, permanent residents or inmates) have a right of access to their personal information that is under the control of a government institution.

This right of access 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.

In addition, the Act protects an individual's privacy by preventing others from accessing his or her personal information and it speaks to the collection, retention, accuracy, disposal, use and disclosure of personal information.

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.

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 ATIA and PA, 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. See 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.

It is the Privacy Group, headed by a Deputy Director, which responds to all requests under the Privacy Act for records. This group also provides other Privacy services such as reviewing records for informal release to Next of Kin in the case of death.

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.

Personal Information Record Holdings

DAIP provides on a yearly basis an update of the Department’s information holdings to the Treasury Board Secretariat for publication. A description of the Personal Information Banks held by DND/CF can be found in the Info Source publications.

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

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 613-995-3821.

The DND 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 Privacy Act

Requests under the Act

Applicants for DND/CF records under the Privacy Act consist, for the most part, of current and former federal public servants and Canadian Forces personnel. The most common requests made under this Act are for personnel and medical files and other records on such topics as staff relation issues.

During this reporting period National Defence received a total of 4,793 new requests under the Privacy Act, 397 were carried forward from 2008-2009 and 4,528 requests were completed. Of the requests completed, 1,080 requests were either transferred to other federal institutions, could not be processed or were abandoned. A total of 747,189 pages were reviewed and 713,116 pages were disclosed. 662 requests were carried forward to the 2010–2011 fiscal year.

DND/CF also responded to 31 consultations regarding privacy requests involving DND/CF records or issues. In addition, 115 informal requests for information were processed by DAIP in support of DND/CF broader objective of providing Canadians with relevant information on an informal and timely basis.

Dispositions of Completed Requests

The disposition of the completed requests was as follows:

Completion Time and Extensions

The 4,528 requests completed in 2009-2010 were processed in the following timeframes:

No extensions were taken on requests under the Privacy Act.

Exemptions Invoked

DND/CF invoked the following exemptions:

The remaining exemption sections were not invoked.

Complaints and Investigations

During this fiscal year 26 complaints were received in the following categories:

A total of 47 complaint investigations were completed and concluded as follows:

Section 8 Disclosures

The 8 requests which were disclosed under 8(2)(m) were made known to the Privacy Commissioner. These 8 requests all involved the families of deceased Canadian Forces members seeking personal information of their loved one. The requests consisted of the following situations;

Data Matching and Sharing Activities

No data matching or sharing activities were undertaken by DND/CF during this reporting period.

Costs

During 2009-2010, an estimated $1,309,130 in salary costs and $652,596 in administrative costs were incurred by DAIP to administer the Privacy Act. These costs do not include the resources expended by the program areas of DND to meet the requirements of the Act.

Privacy Impact Assessments

The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Policy came into effect on May 2, 2002. Its objective is to assure Canadians that privacy principles are being taken into account during the design, implementation and evolution of programs and services that involve personal information. The policy requires that programs and services with potential privacy risks undergo a PIA. The PIA policy was being revised by Treasury Board Secretariat but no new version was issued during this reporting period.

During this reporting period, no PIAs were initiated or completed.

Training Sessions

During 2009-2010, DAIP continued to provide on a regular basis information sessions on the Privacy Act. 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. These training sessions are intrinsic to achieving increased compliance with both the Access to Information and Privacy legislation.

ATIP employees continue to sensitize and guide third parties and requesters on the requirements of both pieces of legislation through dialogue as necessary.

Summary of Significant Changes to Operations or Procedures

There were no significant changes to operations or procedures.

Policies and Procedures Implemented or Revised

A Standard Operation Procedures manual has been created for the Privacy Group. 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.

Changes Implemented as a Result of Issues Raised by the Privacy Commissioner

None to report.

Application to the Federal Court or Federal Court of Appeal

None to report.

Statistical Report on the Act

This report can be found at Annex A.