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Message from the Information Commissioner of Canada
I am pleased to submit to Parliament the Report on Plans and Priorities of the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) for 2011−2012. When I accepted the honour and privilege of serving as Information Commissioner on June 30, 2010, I committed to achieving high performance in the conduct of efficient, fair and confidential investigations of access complaints and issues. I also took on the challenge of becoming an effective catalyst for modernizing Canada's access to information regime and fostering a culture of openness across public sector institutions. To chart the best possible course of action, I immediately undertook a strategic planning process, engaging OIC staff, managers and key stakeholders. The plans and priorities contained in this report take into account our current environment and reflect the consensus, decisions and commitments resulting from our strategic process.
These are interesting and promising times for access to information. The external environment has become increasingly fluid, with new developments and opportunities arising on a daily basis. Technology continues to broaden the range of devices, social media and applications available to the public. WikiLeaks has demonstrated the power of technology to widely disseminate information with various societal impacts around the world, many of which we have yet to understand. Two billion people worldwide, or one person in three, regularly surf and engage online, expecting instantaneous and free access to all types of information in the format of their choice. The Open Government movement, barely nascent a year ago, has now gone viral. Several countries and jurisdictions have already embraced Open Government in practice by proactively and routinely releasing high-value data in open formats while providing wiki-like public platforms for consultation and collaboration.
As an Ombudsperson and administrative head of this Office, my first strategic goal is to achieve high performance by further increasing the operational efficiencies recently achieved by the OIC. The business model introduced two years ago has allowed us to become faster and better at resolving complaints of an administrative nature, particularly those pertaining to delays, extensions and fees. This success, as well as the increasing complexity or sensitivity of new cases, have significantly altered the composition of our inventory of complaints, requiring a review of the business model and new case management strategies. The more complex nature of investigative cases also calls for greater analytical skills and legal expertise. Moreover, we need to enhance our strategic and litigation capacity to bring outstanding cases of non-compliance before the courts, where required, and to influence jurisprudence in favour of disclosure.
As the Agent of Parliament responsible for safeguarding the democratic right of access, my second strategic goalis to influence the regime and foster self-discipline among institutions to reverse the declining trends in timeliness and disclosure. This role involves working with institutions and central agencies to identify systemic problems and remedies. It entails providing expert advice to Parliament on the best means of modernizing the access legislation and the way it is administered. It also requires engaging stakeholders and maximizing synergies to bring about greater government transparency and accountability. One such promising opportunity will be the Seventh International Conference of Information Commissioners, which my Office will host in collaboration with the Canadian Bar Association in the fall of 2011.
Last September, in collaboration with my federal, provincial and territorial access and privacy counterparts, I issued a joint Resolution on Open Government, calling for greater openness and transparency from our respective levels of government. I commend the initiative undertaken by the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics to engage in a study of Open Government. This is a critical and urgent step toward developing a made-in-Canada strategy for Open Government. I am confident that these deliberations will highlight the benefits of convergence between Open Government and efforts aimed at modernizing the access regime.
Finally, as an employer, my third strategic goal is to build a workplace of choice which reflects the core values employees identified during our strategic planning process. A key initiative will be the implementation of talent management, with a special focus on skills development and knowledge transfer, to allow everyone to contribute to their full potential. Our demographics speak explicitly to this need. As a result of recent staffing actions to meet business requirements, only 19% of the current workforce has been with the organization for more than five years. Among investigators, 57% have joined the OIC within the last two years. Talent management represents a significant challenge for a small organization, particularly in a context of fiscal restraint. It also provides an excellent opportunity to quickly re-establish the OIC as a centre of investigative and legal expertise on access matters.
The OIC's plans and priorities for 2011−2012 set the course for bringing information requesters a three-fold benefit in that there will be faster resolution of complaints, faster processing of requests, and maximum disclosure of information. This will benefit Canadians by improving government openness and accountability, and encouraging public participation in the democratic process. According to federal consultations, free access to government data is key to a prosperous digital economy. Deloitte Canada stated that: "The Digital Economy of 2020 and beyond will run largely on a wireless highway." Both economy and democracy will truly benefit if open government and right to information proponents collaborate in building a highway that is as accessible, open and inclusive as possible, without undue risks of delays, detours and closures.
Section I: Overview
Raison d'être
The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) ensures that the rights conferred to information requesters by the Access to Information Act are respected. Protecting and advancing the right of access to public sector information ultimately enhances transparency and accountability across the federal government.
Responsibilities
The OIC is an independent public body which was established in 1983 under the Access to Information Act -Canada's freedom of information legislation. It assists the Information Commissioner of Canada in her role as Ombudsperson and Agent of Parliament.
The Office is primarily responsible for carrying out efficient, fair and confidential investigations of complaints and issues of concern on how federal institutions handle access to information requests from the public. In carrying out this responsibility, it gives complainants, heads of federal institutions and all third parties affected by complaints an opportunity to make representations.
In addition, the Office supports the Information Commissioner in her advisory role to Parliament and parliamentary committees on all access to information matters. Where required, it assists the Commissioner in bringing issues of interpretation and enforcement of the law before the courts. In delivering its mandate, the Office protects Canadians' right to access information held by federal institutions and advances a pro-disclosure culture regarding public sector information.
The organizational structure of the Office of the Information Commissioner is shown in the diagram below.
The Complaints Resolution and Compliance (CRC) Branch conducts investigations and dispute resolution activities to resolve complaints.
The Policy, Communications and Operations Branch assesses federal institutions' performance under the Act, conducts systemic investigations and analysis, provides strategic policy direction, leads the Office's external relations with government and Parliament, and provides strategic and corporate leadership in the areas of financial management, internal audit and information management. This Branch is also responsible for managing the OIC's Access to Information and Privacy function.
The Legal Services Branch represents the Commissioner in court and provides legal advice on investigations, legislative issues and administrative matters.
The Human Resources Branch oversees all aspects of human resources management-from staffing and development to retention strategies-and provides advice to managers and employees on human resources issues.
Planning Summary
The Financial Resources table below provides the total planned spending1 for the Office of the Information Commissioner for the next three fiscal years. The figures reflect additional funding obtained in 2009−2010 to modernize and improve business processes and conduct activities in support of the Commissioner's mandate. This funding was granted for fiscal years 2009−2010 to 2013−2014. It ranges from $2,545K and $3,012K (including Employee Benefit Plans) and levels off at $2,745K on an ongoing basis. Variations in year-over-year planned spending are mainly attributable to information management and information technology (IM/IT) initiatives.
| 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 | 2013–2014 |
|---|---|---|
| 12,005 | 11,737 | 11,789 |
The OIC also received a special purpose allotment of $400K for fiscal year 2010−2011 to accommodate an increase in workload associated with court proceedings and complex cases, including priority investigations and formal inquiries. In 2011−2012, the Office intends to find a long-term solution to ensure that it has access on an "as required basis" to sufficient resources for specialized legal and investigative services.
The next table provides a summary of the total planned human resources for the Office of the Information Commissioner for the next three fiscal years.
| 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 | 2013–2014 |
|---|---|---|
| 106 | 106 | 106 |
Planning Summary Table
The following table displays the distribution of financial resources between the OIC's core program activity and Internal Services. It also lists the expected results and key criteria to assess the OIC's performance in achieving these results. Section 2.1.1 provides further details on expected results, performance indicators and targets.
In 2010−2011, the $793K difference in forecast spending as compared to 2011−2012 is primarily due to funding of $400K for specialized legal and investigative services, a carry forward of $202K, a paylist shortfall of $131K received in 2010−2011, as well as 2011−2012 budget adjustments of $77K to Employee Benefit Plans and $137K for IM/IT renewal initiatives.
| Performance Criteria | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Program Activity2 | Expected Results | Forecast Spending 2010-2011($ thousands) | Planned Spending($ thousands) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 | 2013–2014 | |||
| Compliance with access to information obligations |
|
8,702 | 8,197 | 8,197 | 8,197 |
| Internal Services | 4,096 | 3,808 | 3,540 | 3,592 | |
| Total Planned Spending | 12,798 | 12,005 | 11,737 | 11,789 | |
The following sections discuss the activities the Office plans to carry out in 2011−2012 to ensure progress toward its long-term strategic outcome.
Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome
For 2011−2012, the OIC has chosen to focus its attention and resources on a number of priorities that can best contribute to achieving its long-term strategic outcome. OIC efforts aim to ensure that individuals' rights under the Access to Information Act are safeguarded.
Operational priorities focus on ways to improve value for money in the program base, thus achieving better results for Canadians. Management priorities focus on improving the OIC's management practices, controls and infrastructure, in areas such as finance, human resources management, information management (IM) and information technology (IT), internal audit, real property management, and corporate security.
| Operational Priorities | Type3 | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Improving service delivery | Ongoing |
The OIC will continue to improve its business processes to ensure that its investigations into access complaints are conducted in an efficient, fair and confidential manner. Following a three-pronged approach, the Office will:
|
| 2. Maximizing institutional compliance | Previously committed to |
The OIC will work to improve federal institutions' compliance with their obligations under the Access to Information Act. Through information sharing and recommendations stemming from evidence-based analysis, the Office aims to instill greater self-discipline in the system for the benefit of information requesters. In 2011-2012, the focus will be on assessing the progress accomplished by institutions and central agencies in addressing timeliness issues. More specifically, the Office will:
|
| 3. Facilitating the convergence of access and Open Government | Previously committed to |
Modernizing access to information through legislative and/or administrative reform is necessary to ensure that the regime reflects the complex environment of the early 21st century. But this is no longer sufficient as technology has altered citizens' expectations regarding the type of government information that should be widely available and the timeliness of
dissemination. Efforts to advance access to information must now converge with open government initiatives. The OIC will facilitate this convergence through various activities. For example, it will:
The OIC will also support the goal of open government by demonstrating and celebrating exemplary practices. For example, the Office will:
|
| Management Priorities | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Implementing talent management | New |
|
| 5. Building the security infrastructure | New |
|
| 6. Enhancing performance measurement and auditing | Previously committed to |
|
Risk Analysis
A number of accountability mechanisms and a wide range of external and internal factors affect the OIC's plans and performance and drive its decision-making. These factors were examined with various groups of stakeholders during a recent strategic planning exercise, which forms the basis for the organization's Strategic Plan for 2011−2014.
This exercise also informed a risk-based audit planning process conducted in May 2010, through which the Office updated its list of key risks facing the organization. The table below summarizes these risks and ranks them according to their level of complexity and significance. Their perceived impact and probability provide the basis for the assigned level of inherent risk.
Key Risks Identified in the Risk-Based Audit Plan for 2010−2013
| Risks | Inherent Risk Level 4 |
|---|---|
| 1. Efficiency of complaints resolution | High |
| 2. Ability to retain corporate memory and organizational momentum in the event of management turnover | High |
| 3. Compliance with the Policy on Government Security | High |
| 4. Effectiveness of information technology (IT) systems and information (IM) practices | Moderate |
| 5. Compliance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Financial Management Policy instruments | Moderate |
1. Workload Management Risks
The OIC is considerably influenced by the way in which information requests are handled by federal institutions and by the relative number, complexity and priority of complaints subsequently filed by requesters. The composition of the inventory of complaints has radically changed over the last two years. The business model introduced in 2008 was based on an equal percentage of administrative and refusal complaints. Whereas administrative complaints pertain to delays, extensions, fees and similar issues, refusal cases involve the application of complex and contentious exemptions dealing with national security and other sensitive matters. Partly as a result of successful strategies to quickly resolve administrative complaints, 75% (over 1,500 files) of the current inventory consists of refusal and old cases that raise complex and unexpected challenges.
Complex or contentious cases might require the exercise of formal investigative powers (e.g. subpoenas and formal inquiries) or give rise to legal proceedings where vigorous enforcement or court interpretation is necessary to ensure compliance with the legislation. Cases outstanding from the older inventory present an increased risk of mandamus applications. These occur when a complainant believes the Office has taken too long to close his or her file. The application seeks an order to compel the OIC to complete the outstanding investigation. The Office must respond by seeking to have the application quashed so that it can conclude the investigation properly.
Such factors create considerable challenges in controlling and forecasting workload. The Office has undertaken to improve its processes, systems and controls, so that it can effectively and efficiently deal with varying quantity and complexity of complaints and requests. In 2009-2010, it established ambitious targets in many aspects of its service delivery, including the goal to limit its year-end inventory of new complaints to 200−500 cases by 2013−2014.
Given the current composition of the inventory, the Office will undertake to review its business model in 2011-2012 and will adjust it accordingly. An internal audit scheduled to start in March 2011 will examine business processes, performance metrics and documentation for decision making to ensure they support efficient case management. The Office has also endeavoured to seek a long-term solution to ensure access to sufficient resources for litigation and formal investigative expertise, as required.
2. Human and Knowledge Capital Risks
At the OIC, the risk of reduced or quick turnover in HR capacity (i.e. number of resources) has been successfully mitigated by the recruiting strategies included in the Integrated HR Plan for 2009─2014. Current risks encompass the dual challenge of ensuring sufficient HR capability (i.e. skills and experience) among employees and adequate succession planning at the senior levels.
During the past two years, the OIC engaged in a number of staffing actions to fill approved positions and meet business requirements. Consequently, as of January 2011, only 19% of employees have been with the organization for more than 5 years. Among investigators, 57% have less than 3 years of experience at the OIC. Only five investigators have more than 10 years of OIC experience. Training is critical to develop internal expertise in the particulars of the OIC's investigative function and tools.
At the senior levels, the ability to retain corporate memory and organizational momentum in the event of management turnover constitutes the most significant risk. There is no career progression available beyond the EX-1 level. In addition, several directors are close to retirement age. Senior management positions at the OIC rely on unique skills and experience and support the Commissioner in meeting her mandate. In the event of turnover, it is important to have succession plans to ensure a smooth transition, and adequate processes to capture and transfer knowledge.
These risks will be addressed through several internal audits proposed as part of the Risk-Based Audit Plan for 2010−2013. The OIC is committed to implementing a comprehensive talent management program, which will focus on training and serve to retain and transfer its critical human and knowledge capital.
3. Security Risks
For all public institutions, the security of people, assets and information represents both an inherent risk and a risk of non-compliance with Treasury Board (TB) policy. Given the nature of the OIC and the information it holds, security has been ranked as a high risk.
To comply with the revised TB Policy on Government Security, the OIC must implement a Departmental Security Plan by April 2012. This represents a substantial challenge as the plan must integrate all departmental security management components, a business continuity plan, as well as an emergency response plan.
In addition, a Physical Security Threat and Risk Assessment conducted in August 2010 revealed substantial deficiencies resulting from an inadequate operating budget, which only allowed minimal investments in the OIC's security infrastructure over time. Real or perceived deficiencies with respect to information security also have important ramifications for the OIC's reputational risks and its ability to effectively deliver on its mandate.
The Office has put in place a number of temporary measures to mitigate these risks and alleviate concerns. It has also undertaken to implement a comprehensive strategy to address its security deficiencies. The Risk-Based Audit Plan for 2010─2013 provides for an audit engagement to examine and assess the actions taken, their results and status, as well as the overall compliance with security policy.
4. IM/IT Risks
The success of the OIC is predicated on a number of renewal initiatives, including the modernization of its information management (IM) and information technology (IT) infrastructure. There are risks that IM/IT requirements might not be in place to support organizational objectives and business needs. These risks emanate from the complexity of the renewal initiatives, the number of system updates to be performed, the strict timelines embedded in the critical path, as well as the risk of lapsing resources. As the Office is expected to demonstrate exemplary IM practices, such outcomes could substantially compromise its reputation.
To mitigate these risks, the OIC has been closely monitoring the implementation of its IM/IT Strategic Plan for 2009−2014, making adjustments as required. Main initiatives include the replacement of the outdated case management systems for the legal and investigative functions and the roll-out of the Records, Documents and Information Management System (RDIMS) across the organization. The case management system for investigations (InTrac) will be the subject of a post-implementation audit in 2012−2013. Among other matters, this audit will examine the success of the new system in meeting its objectives.
5. Accountability and Policy Compliance Risks
Similar to other federal institutions, the OIC is subject to a number of government regulations and policies. These instruments need to be constantly monitored due to ongoing changes. This creates a challenge for small institutions with limited resources. An additional challenge stems from the fact that the OIC, as an independent Agent of Parliament, must determine the applicability of certain policies and regulations. In some areas, the Commissioner's accountability for compliance has been heightened with the Accounting Officer role and the obligation to appear before Parliamentary committees, when requested.
The OIC monitors key controls over financial management on an ongoing basis. It performs an internal control assessment annually as part of the audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General. In 2010−2011, the OIC commissioned an external firm to conduct a thorough assessment of its controls over salary, operating expenditures and material management. With the exception of the management of assets, which are in the process of being formally inventoried, only minor improvements were recommended and they have been implemented. The Office has also undertaken to assess its compliance with various Treasury Board policies, directives and standards to provide a level of assurance on the adequacy of the controls in place.
Expenditure Profile
For the 2011−2012 fiscal year, the OIC plans to spend a total of $12,005K to meet the expected results of its program activities and contribute to its long-term strategic outcome. The OIC is committed to ensuring that the financial resources will be used in the most strategic and responsible manner to continue to improve the efficiency of service delivery to Canadians as well as the impact of activities aimed at fostering a leading access to information regime.
Approximately 75% of the OIC's budget will be allocated to salaries and 25% for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs. Of the O&M budget, a third relates to fixed costs while the remainder serves to finance projects such as IM/IT initiatives, training and internal audit.
The OIC's limited budgetary flexibility will be further compounded by government-wide cost containment measures over the next three years. This situation renders the Office very vulnerable to any new pressures that may arise from an increase in complaints or court proceedings, or urgent and unexpected requirements. This is why it has undertaken to find a viable solution to ensure access on an "as required basis" to sufficient resources for specialized litigation and investigative services. To achieve greater efficiencies, it is also looking into means to share services and expertise with other Agents of Parliament.
The following figure illustrates the Office's spending trend from 2008−2009 to 2013−2014. Actual spending in the last two years increased as a result of funding obtained to meet ATIP and internal audit obligations and to modernize business processes. The increase in forecast spending reflects primarily increased staffing as well as costs incurred to engage specialized services for court proceedings and complex cases.
Estimates by Vote
For information on the organizational votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2011-2012 Main Estimates publication. An electronic version of the Main Estimates is available at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/2011-2012/me-bpd/info/info-eng.asp.
