Parks Canada
Access to Information Act —
Annual Report 2022-2023

Introduction

Parks Canada Agency is pleased to submit to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act for the reporting period commencing on April 1, 2022, and ending on March 31, 2023.

This report is prepared and tabled in accordance with the following:

• section 94 of the Access to Information Act, which requires that the head of every federal institution prepare and submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the act in the institution during the fiscal year
• section 20 of the Service Fees Act, which requires that a responsible authority report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by institutions

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions to promote an open and democratic society and to enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions. To further that purpose:

• Part 1 extends the present laws of Canada to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution in accordance with the principles that government information should be available to the public, that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific, and that decisions about the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government
• Part 2 sets out requirements for the proactive publication of information

Mandate of Parks Canada Agency

The Parks Canada Agency’s mandate is to protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada’s natural and cultural heritage and to foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations. The Agency is responsible for operations under multiple pieces of federal legislation and protects approximately 450 000 km² of Canada’s terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems. It is the steward of 47 national parks, one national urban park, four national marine conservation areas and 171 national historic sites, including nine heritage canals. The Agency is highly decentralized with team members located across the country and often in remote areas.

Organizational structure

Parks Canada’s Access to Information and Privacy Office is part of the Corporate Communications Branch. The Access to Information and Privacy Office is comprised of seven (7) full-time employees responsible of implementing and managing services related to the administration of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. The team is also responsible of providing advice to Parks Canada emp0loyees as they fulfill their obligations under both Acts including requirements for the proactive publication of information.

Internal tools and procedures have been developed to support the Agency in meeting its obligations under the Access to Information Act, regulations and Treasury Board policies and are regularly reviewed and improved.

Parks Canada met its statutory deadlines for all requests during the reporting period and ensured proactive publication requirements were met. Parks Canada is committed to transparency, service to Canadians and the expeditious processing of access to information requests and has put in place the systems and processes necessary to meet this commitment.

Parks Canada did not enter in any service agreements under section 96 of the Access to Information Act during the reporting period.

Performance 2022-2023

The following report represents an overview of activities carried out within the Agency during the reporting period of April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. The Statistical Report (Appendix A) contains detailed statistics on the Access to Information requests processed under the Access to Information Act.

Between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, Parks Canada received two hundred and thirty-eight (238) formal information requests under the Access to Information Act. Twenty-three (23) requests were carried forward from the previous reporting period. Twenty-nine (29) requests were carried forward to the next reporting period for the following reasons: required additional time to allow for consultations with third parties or other government entities and volume of records. Parks Canada responded to all requests received by the Agency within legislated timelines.

The following is a breakdown of the number of completed requests broken down by completion times:

Fifty-five (5) active complaints were outstanding from the previous reporting period. Two (2) were received in fiscal year 2022-2023. One (1) was received in fiscal year 2019-2020. Two (2) were received in fiscal year 2017-2018. Parks Canada worked closely with the Office of the Information Commissioner and resolved fifty-one (51) complaints that were outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Extensions were taken for forty-six (46) requests. Seven (7) requests were due to the complexity of the requests. Three (3) extensions were taken to allow sufficient time for consultations relating to s.69 of the Act. Sixteen (16) extensions were taken to provide for sufficient time to consult with other government institutions. Twenty (20) extensions were taken for third-party notices. Some requests had more than one reason for an extension which explains why the total number of extensions is greater than forty-six (46) requests.

The Agency received forty-nine (49) consultations under the Access to Information Act from other government institutions. Two (2) consultations were carried forward from the previous reporting period. Fifty-one (51) consultations were completed before the end of March 2023.

The following is a percentage breakdown by disclosure types for access requests completed in 2022-2023:

The following is a percentage breakdown by source of information requests received during 2022-2023:

Ninety-three (93) informal requests were released under the Access to Information Act, which represent a 68% increase from the previous reporting period. These requests concerned documents that were previously disclosed in response to information requests.

In addition, Agency officials respond to informal requests from the public and contact the ATIP Office for guidance on the disclosure of information through informal processes. Agency officials are aware of the importance of the legislation and promptly refer formal information requests to the ATIP Office.

The ATIP Office also reviewed responses to parliamentary questions and audit and evaluation reports for publishing on the Agency’s website, and provided strategic advice on Access to Information in support of the Agency’s programs. The ATIP Office also reviewed all material that is subject to proactive disclosure.

There was no impact on the processing of requests due to COVID-19 during this reporting period. Parks Canada responded to all requests received within legislated timelines. Due to mitigation measures put in place during the previous fiscal years, all documents were received electronically and then imported into ATIP processing software. The ATIP Office continued delivering responses electronically via Canada Post Connect and ATIP Online.

Training and awareness

Facilitating efficient and transparent access to information and to personal information for Canadians is a priority for Parks Canada.

To ensure that all Agency employees understand their responsibilities and obligations regarding the legislation, including the proactive publication of Part 2, awareness sessions are offered periodically to provide information on the provisions of the Access to Information Act.

The participation of ATIP Office team members in several meetings on new initiatives, programs and services offered by the agency created opportunities to meet with many employees from different sectors. ATIP focused on customized, program-specific training for the different responsibilities of each Parks Canada program and service.

As a result of the relationships built through these meetings, Parks Canada employees have a better understanding of the impact of access to information and privacy on the programs and activities they deliver. They have the knowledge to provide relevant documents with appropriate recommendations for processing requests.

The development of these relationships has been beneficial to the Agency, with employees in Offices of Primary Interest sending ninety-three (93) questions related to the ATIP request.

The Agency put a focus on training its employees as to their responsibilities pertaining to access to information and privacy during the last reporting period. This year, twenty-one (21) training sessions were given to Agency employees in 2022-2023. In total, two hundred and ninety-two (292) employees attended these sessions.

Policies, guidelines, procedures and Initiatives

No new Agency policy regarding administration of the Access to Information Act was implemented during the reporting period.

Proactive publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act

The ATIP Office works collaboratively with departmental officials to fulfill the proactive disclosure requirements found in Part 2 of the Access to Information Act.

During the 2022-2023 reporting period, the ATIP Office reviewed and ensured the publishing of briefing note titles and proactive disclosure of completed Access to Information request summaries on the Open Government Portal (open.canada.ca). In 2022-2023, Parks Canada also proactively published briefing materials for two (2) parliamentary appearances. The remainder of proactive publications can be found on the Parks Canada website under Transparency.

Initiatives and projects to improve access to information

Parks Canada’s ATIP Office implemented new initiatives and projects to improve access to information within the institution during the reporting period. This includes activities such as:

• Parks Canada has enrolled in the Treasury Board Secretariat Online Request Service which makes the process of requesting government records simpler and more convenient by enabling Canadians to submit their ATIP requests and application fees online.
• Parks Canada recognizes the role of Indigenous peoples in the management of natural and cultural heritage, and the importance of Indigenous knowledge and systems that are shared with our agency
• the ATIP Office identified a need for the creation of a tool that would help employees properly manage information received in confidence
• our office worked closely with the Directorate of Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage to create a specific guide for sharing indigenous information received in confidence, to maintain good relations with the indigenous people
• this tool explains the process for access to information requests and the recommendations that must be provided in response to access requests
• we have also created a template for information sharing agreements for this type of information on indigenous natural and cultural heritage
• these new tools provide the right information to employees working with different Indigenous partners on specific projects with knowledge, ancestral knowledge shared with the agency
• we were able to facilitate the access to information request process
• the Indigenous partnership for the sharing of natural and cultural heritage is essential to Parks Canada's mission, it is essential that we contribute to maintaining relationships that respect the traditions of Indigenous people

Summary of key Issues and actions taken on complaints

During the reporting period under review, five (5) complaints were filed with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada.

The complaints concerned exemptions and extension of time limits. Parks Canada has worked closely and collaboratively with the Office of the Commissioner to resolve these complaints and of those complaints, two (2) were discontinued and one (1) was resolved during the reporting period.

Monitoring compliance

The Agency monitors the time required to process access to information requests. When the need for improvements are identified, internal processes are adjusted. Parks Canada met its statutory deadlines for all requests during the reporting period.

Parks Canada has implemented a weekly report that provide Agency executives details on the status of active requests. The reports are shared with program liaisons and departmental senior managers as well as with the President & Chief Executive Officer’s office to ensure that office of primary interests contribute to the Agency internal policy for no late requests.

Further to the Treasury Board Secretariat Access to Information Implementation Notice regarding Inter- institutional Consultations, Parks Canada’s ATIP Office ensured to exercise discretion and to only consult with other institutions when needed or there is an intention to disclose.

ATIP Office reviewed and ensured the publishing the accuracy and completeness of proactively published information under Part 2 of the Act. No monitoring was conducted during the reporting period.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat issued an implementation notice that took effect on September 27, 2022, regarding Inter-institutional Consultations. The implementation notice provided guidance to institutions to limiting inter-institutional consultation to only when required for the proper exercise of discretion or when there is an intention to disclose.

Parks Canada’s ATIP Office implemented a practice to seek approval when extending the legislative deadlines of ATI request. All extension notices over 120 days require approval of the Vice-President, External Relations and Visitor Experience Directorate. All extension notices over 150 days require the President & Chief Executive Officer’s approval. This approach was developed to ensure compliance with the Act including extensions taken for inter-institutional consultations.

Reporting on access to information fees for the purposes of the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution.

With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

In accordance with the Interim Directive on the Administration of the Access to Information Act, issued on May 5, 2016, and the changes to the Access to Information Act that came into force on June 21, 2019, Parks Canada waives all fees prescribed by the Act and Regulations, other than the $5 application fee set out in paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Regulations.

The total fees collected were $1,125. The total of application fees waived was $65.

A total of $628,614 was incurred by the ATIP Secretariat to administer the Access to Information Act, including $603,573 in salary costs and $25,041 in material costs.