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Section II: Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome
Strategic Outcome
All of the OIC's program activities and efforts aim to achieve its single strategic outcome−to ensure that individuals' rights under the Access to Information Act are safeguarded.
In 2010−2011, as part of its strategic planning process, the Office undertook to review its expected results and its approach to measuring and monitoring performance in progressing towards achieving its strategic outcome. Improved performance information will benefit ongoing management and decision-making, while enhancing accountability through reporting on results. The implementation of new case management systems for investigations and legal cases will contribute to this process by allowing greater data integration and enhancing the OIC's reporting and analytical capabilities.
The following section presents the Office's core program activity, the expected results, and the current performance indicators and targets. It also explains how the Office plans to meet the expected results and presents the financial and non-financial resources that will be dedicated to its core investigative function as well as Internal Services.
Program Activity: Compliance with Access to Information Obligations
The Access to Information Act is the statutory authority for the oversight activities of the Information Commissioner of Canada. Through its core program activity, the Office of the Information Commissioner supports the Information Commissioner's dual role as Ombudsperson and Agent of Parliament.
It investigates complaints on how federal institutions handle access to information requests from the public and reviews their overall performance in complying with legislative requirements. To maximize compliance across institutions, the Office takes a proactive approach to widespread or recurring issues by investigating their root causes and recommending appropriate solutions. Where required, it assists the Commissioner in bringing issues of enforcement or interpretation of the Act before the Federal Court.
The Office also assists the Commissioner in his or her advisory role to Parliament and parliamentary committees on all access to information matters. To obtain the best possible information to support its advice and recommendations, the Office conducts benchmarking and analysis, and documents best practices.
| Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 | 2013–2014 | |||
| FTEs | Planned Spending | FTEs | Planned Spending | FTEs | Planned Spending |
| 75 | 8,197 | 75 | 8,197 | 75 | 8,197 |
| Program Activity Expected Results | Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Individuals who have filed complaints with the Information Commissioner benefit from an efficient resolution process. | Percentage of investigations that adhere to quality assurance standards |
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| 2. Institutions meet their obligations under the Act and adopt measures to address institutional and systemic issues affecting access to information. | Percentage of recommendations from investigations of complaints/systemic issues that are adopted |
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| 3. All stakeholders-including the public, information requesters and the access community, among others-receive relevant and timely information on ATI issues and the role of oversight bodies in ensuring compliance with the legislation. | Information shared with, and feedback received from stakeholders, notably through web publications, public events and partnerships |
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| 4. Parliament receives timely, clear and relevant information and advice about the access implications of legislation, jurisprudence, regulations and policies. | Percentage of access-relevant parliamentary committee reports, transcripts, Hansards that refer to OIC's perspectives and advice |
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| 5. Courts receive useful representations and relevant evidence about access issues, the proper interpretation of the provisions of the Act and of related statutes, regulations and jurisprudence. | Percentage of court cases where judgments reflect representations made by the OIC |
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Planning Highlights
In the spring of 2010, the Office undertook an important process involving staff, management and key stakeholder groups to develop its Strategic Plan for 2011−2014. Based on a comprehensive environmental scan, the process generated a consensus around three key result areas and the associated strategic goals, which the OIC will pursue over the next few years. More specifically:
- To provide sterling service delivery to Canadians, the Office will conduct efficient, fair and confidential investigations. It will use all means at its disposal to effectively address issues of non-compliance, including litigation, where required.
- To foster a leading access to information regime, the OIC will provide advice and support to Parliament, central agencies, federal institutions, civil society groups, academia and other key stakeholders to reverse the declining trends in timeliness and disclosure of public sector information.
- The OIC will also ensure that its work environment reflects employees' core values and needs, including talent management and an enabling infrastructure.
As part of its efforts to review and update its performance measurement framework, the Office will develop measures to assess the progress in meeting its strategic goals. This section discusses plans and initiatives for the first two key result areas. Plans relating to the workplace are presented under Planning Highlights for Internal Services.
Sterling Service Delivery to Canadians
The OIC will work to further improve the efficiency of its investigative actions. To do so, it will develop and refine its strategic approach to case management, while leveraging information management and technology to improve business processes. As it has done for administrative complaints, the Office needs to devise effective strategies to address the increasing proportion and complexity of refusal complaints, which often involve sensitive national security issues and third party information.
To promote institutional compliance across the system, the OIC will implement year three of its Three-Year Plan for Report Cards. Published for the first time in July 2009, this plan is updated on a regular basis to reflect achievements and effect adjustments, where required. In 2011−2012, the Office will conduct a follow-up with institutions surveyed in 2009−2010. It will assess their progress in implementing recommendations aimed at improving the timeliness of response to access requests.
At the same time, the Office will closely monitor the use and duration of time extensions based on the notices submitted by institutions. Starting in April 2011, it will publish this analysis on the OIC's website on a quarterly basis in an effort to foster self-discipline among institutions. It also plans to issue a procedure on the application of time extensions pursuant to subsection 9(1)(a) and the filing of extension notices under 9(2).
A major thrust of the OIC's efforts in 2011−2012 will be to develop and strengthen the analytical skills and competencies of its investigative workforce.The Office must train and equip investigators with up-to-date and customized tools that will allow them to fully understand provisions regarding access to information and how these provisions have been interpreted by the courts. This will assist them in quickly pursuing the necessary and relevant lines of inquiry without having to depend on Legal Services for instructions or advice.
The Office must also optimize its legal and litigation capacity to effectively deal with complex cases, address an increased risk of litigation and influence jurisprudence in favour of disclosure. This effort includes implementing a strategy to obtain adequate funding for specialized legal and investigative services.
Complex and priority cases may require the conduct of formal inquiries to gather evidence with minimal delays while ensuring procedural fairness and natural justice. These inquiries involve taking evidence under oath, often with the assistance of expert counsel engaged for that purpose. The increased risk of litigation confronting the OIC stems from: the number and nature of complex cases, challenges created by extended institutional coverage of the Act, proceedings initiated by third parties to prevent disclosure, and old cases which may result in mandamus applications.
Legal Services consist of a very small complement of lawyers with varying levels of experience in litigation. Due to the anticipated increase in workload associated with litigation and complex cases, there is a need to build upon and further develop internal expertise to litigate complex cases before all levels of court.
A Leading Access to Information Regime
In Canada and internationally, freedom of information is undergoing a fundamental shift, driven by rapidly evolving open data initiatives and concomitant public expectations. For the access to information regime and its declining performance, the status quo is no longer viable. In 2011−2012, the OIC will actively promote modernization to bring the regime in line with today's digital environment and real-time transparency.
To this end, the OIC will collaborate with central agencies to update policies, practices and performance indicators for the administration of the access regime. Through benchmarking and partnerships, it will continue to build up the expertise required to effectively assist Parliament on ways to reform the legislation. The next International Conference of Information Commissioners, which is set to take place in Canada in October 2011, will provide an excellent platform to share information on forces of change worldwide for greater access to information.
To champion increased transparency across government, the OIC will demonstrate and celebrate exemplary practices. It will fully implement the public disclosure policy that was developed in consultation with key stakeholders. This policy determines the nature of high-value information which the OIC commits to disclose proactively. The Office will make as much corporate information available in open format and will continue to post the texts of access requests, with the number of pages of disclosed information. As a pilot project in 2010, the OIC exercised its discretion to waive the $5 application fee for formal access requests in order to facilitate electronic filing. The results of this pilot will be assessed in 2011−2012.
In September 2010, the OIC introduced the Grace-Pépin Access to Information Award in collaboration with provincial and territorial counterparts. Presented annually as part of the Right to Know Week, this award aims to recognize exceptional contributions to the promotion of access to information as well as government transparency and accountability. The first award will be presented in 2011-2012.
Program Activity: Internal Services
Internal Services are groups of related activities and resources that are administered to support the needs of programs and other corporate obligations of an organization. These activities and services are: Management and Oversight; Human Resources Management; Financial Management; Information Management and Technology; Communications; Access to Information and Privacy; Material and Acquisition Services; Travel and Other Administrative Services; and Internal Audit. Internal Services include only those activities and resources that apply across an organization and not those provided specifically to a program.
| Human Resources (FTEs) and Planned Spending ($ thousands) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2012 | 2012–2013 | 2013–2014 | |||
| FTEs | Planned Spending | FTEs | Planned Spending | FTEs | Planned Spending |
| 31 | 3,808 | 31 | 3,540 | 31 | 3,592 |
Planning Highlights
As part of the 2010 strategic planning process, OIC staff and management determined what would be instrumental in creating an exceptional workplace, conducive to achieving the organization's strategic outcome. As a result, the OIC will focus efforts in 2011−2012 on developing a comprehensive talent management program while enhancing its enabling infrastructure.
OIC employees were also invited to define what they consider to be the core values for the organization. They selected the following four principles to guide individual and corporate behaviour and decision making at the OIC:
- Excellence-Serve with competence, efficiency and diligence
- Leadership-Champion efforts to modernize access to information
- Integrity-Act with reliability, impartiality and honesty
- Respect-Demonstrate courtesy, fairness and collaboration
A Comprehensive Talent Management Program
A productive and gratifying work environment is one where talent is recognized, developed and invested in the right place at the right time. In other words, talent management matches skills and career aspirations with strategic and operational requirements. In environments characterized by unique and multifunctional positions with a relatively high turnover, it is critical that talent management also integrate knowledge management and maintenance of corporate memory.
In 2011−2012, the Office will start implementing a comprehensive talent management program. Training is a key component, which will be tailored to achieve operational requirements, notably in the areas of investigations and legal services. Ongoing dialogue between staff and managers and regular feedback on performance will assist employees with their skills and career development. Career development options will include matching employees with coaches or mentors who will share knowledge and assist in developing or acquiring specific skills or competencies.
At the same time, the Office will develop and implement a knowledge management strategy. This strategy would involve identifying individuals whose knowledge is critical to the organization and determining the best ways to transfer this knowledge.
An Enabling Infrastructure as a Critical Enabler of Success
In 2011−2012, the OIC will implement year 3 of its IM/IT Strategic Plan for 2009−2014. The focus will be on completing the transition to the new records and case management system for investigations, and initiating the replacement of the legal case system. By improving investigative tools and workflow, the new InTrac system will facilitate the efficient and prompt resolution of complaints. It will also enhance reporting and analytical capabilities.
To further improve client services, the Office will take steps to allow complainants to submit their complaints directly using the Web. This complaint filing capability could be eventually integrated within the case management system once all network and security requirements are met.
The OIC will also examine opportunities to share the experience gained during the development of its records and case management system with other small federal agencies with comparable program requirements.
In recent years, the penetration of on-line media and social networking has increased exponentially. Increasing Internet capacity to expand access to these tools within the Office would support a number of functions. As a source of public information, social media can assist investigators in determining whether some information may already be in the public domain. They would support Communications, Legal Services and Parliamentary Relations, in monitoring and participating in various on-line forums relevant to the OIC's program activity. The Clerk of the Privy Council has also recognized the importance of Web 2.0 technology to innovate in the way we serve and engage Canadians.
However, this new business requirement creates a technical challenge. The OIC network infrastructure is currently architected as a data network, primarily for email, file transfer and light Internet browsing. Providing access to a variety of social media sites will require additional bandwidth and security, as well as expertise to implement and operate the infrastructure. During 2011−2012, the OIC will scope this new business requirement, identify alternative solutions, and develop a plan to implement the preferred solution.
Addressing Security Imperatives
Enhancing security for social networking is part of a much larger strategy, which the OIC will start implementing in 2011−2012. This multi-pronged strategy includes a number of proposed initiatives to ensure the protection of people, assets and information, as well as business continuity in emergency situations. The goal is to become fully compliant with the 2009 Policy on Government Security.
All employers have the obligation to protect employees, clients and visitors from threats of violence, harassment and intimidation. As a steward of public resources and a service provider, the OIC has a dual obligation to protect its assets from theft, damage or disruption. As an investigative body, it has a special responsibility to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the personal and classified information it is entrusted with.
Any real or perceived deficiency in the information security infrastructure compromises the OIC's ability to deliver on its mandate and poses serious reputational risks. Institutions may become reluctant to produce information which, in turn, delays investigations and increases the risks of litigation. Important IT security updates are required in the short term, particularly for investigations involving national security matters.
The first steps for 2011−2012 will involve updating or developing the OIC's security policy, plan and procedure, reviewing its Business Continuity Plan, and obtaining adequate funding to acquire the necessary technology, hardware, information bandwidth, expertise and training. The Office must make provisions for major upgrades in protective measures and equipment in anticipation of its move to new premises planned for 2013.
Benefits for Canadians
Under the Access to Information Act, anyone who makes a request for information to a federal institution and is dissatisfied with the response or the way it was handled has the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. The Office is committed to providing exemplary service to information requesters by investigating complaints in an efficient, fair and confidential manner. This investigative function is crucial to safeguarding the rights of individual Canadians to access public sector information.
To maximize service delivery and reduce grounds for complaint, the Office takes a proactive approach to widespread or recurring non-compliance issues, such as lengthy delays in responding to access requests and the steady reduction of information disclosed. It investigates root causes, recommends appropriate solutions, and monitors the progress achieved. The goal is to foster self-discipline among institutions and help reverse the declining trends in timeliness and disclosure, while strengthening citizens' trust in government.
In today's fast-paced digital environment, respecting statutory timelines for processing access requests is no longer sufficient to achieve government transparency and accountability. The OIC is contributing to efforts aimed at modernizing Canada's quarter-century old access legislation and the way it is administered. Modernizing the regime will fulfill the current needs and expectations of our knowledge-based society and knowledge-driven economy.
The digital revolution has highlighted the potential benefits of increased transparency, participation and collaboration. The OIC is contributing to the convergence of access to information and Open Government, notably by demonstrating and recognizing exemplary practices in routine and proactive disclosure of information in open format. Proactively disseminating information of public interest will foster greater citizen participation in our democratic process, which in turn will benefit policy development and decision making. Sharing this information through collaborative and open formats will facilitate the search for effective solutions to challenges facing our country and the world.