2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet o the Admiistratio of the Access to Iformatio Act RC4415(E) Rev. 15
Foreword Each fiscal year, the head of every govermet istitutio prepares ad submits a aual report to Parliamet o the admiistratio of the Access to Iformatio Act. This aual report is tabled i Parliamet i accordace with sectio 72 of the Access to Iformatio Act uder the directio of the Miister of Natioal Reveue ad the Commissioer of the Caada Reveue Agecy (CRA). It describes how the CRA admiistered ad fulfilled its obligatios uder the Access to Iformatio Act betwee April 1, 2014, ad March 31, 2015. It also discusses emergig treds program delivery ad areas of focus for the year ahead. The Access to Iformatio Act The Access to Iformatio Act came ito force o July 1, 1983. It gives Caadia citizes, alog with persos ad corporatios physically preset i Caada, the right to request access to federal govermet records. The Access to Iformatio Act is based o three mai priciples: Govermet iformatio should be available to the public. Exceptios to the right of access should be limited ad specific. Decisios about disclosures should be reviewable idepedetly of govermet. The Access to Iformatio Act s formal processes do ot replace other ways of obtaiig govermet iformatio. The CRA ecourages idividuals, busiesses, ad other groups to cosider gettig iformatio through the followig iformal methods: topical idexes o the CRA website: www.cra.gc.ca/azidex/meu-eg.html idividual icome tax ad trust equiries (icludig for forms ad publicatios): 1 800 959 8281 equires from busiesses ad self-employed idividuals (icludig for forms ad publicatios): 1-800-959-5525 uiversal child care beefit, Caada child tax beefit, ad related provicial ad territorial programs, child disability beefit, ad childre s special allowaces equiries: 1-800-387-1193 Charities Cliet Assistace (iformatio about registered charities): 1-800-267-2384 Part XIII tax ad o-residet withholdig accouts: 1 855 284 5946 TTY (teletypewriter for persos who are deaf or hard of hearig or who have a speech impairmet): 1-800-665-0354 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act
Table of Cotets Overview of the Caada Reveue Agecy... 4 The Access to Iformatio ad Privacy Directorate... 5 The Access to Iformatio ad Privacy Oversight Review Committee... 6 Delegatio of resposibilities uder the Access to Iformatio Act... 6 Schedule Access to Iformatio Act... 8 Statistical report (Appedix A) Iterpretatio ad explaatio... 9 Operatioal eviromet... 14 Moitorig request ivetories... 18 Policies, guidelies, ad procedures... 18 Complaits ad ivestigatios, ad Federal Court cases... 18 Collaboratio with oversight bodies ad other orgaizatios... 19 Coclusio... 21 Appedix A Statistical report... 22 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act
Overview of the Caada Reveue Agecy The Caada Reveue Agecy (CRA) admiisters tax laws for the Govermet of Caada ad for most provices ad territories. It also admiisters various social ad ecoomic beefit ad icetive programs delivered through the tax system. I additio, the CRA has the authority to eter ito ew parterships with the provices, territories, ad other govermet bodies at their request ad o a cost-recovery basis to admiister o-harmoized taxes ad other services. Overall, the CRA promotes compliace with Caada s tax legislatio ad regulatios ad plays a importat role i the ecoomic ad social well-beig of Caadias. The Miister of Natioal Reveue is accoutable to Parliamet for all of the CRA s activities, icludig admiisterig ad eforcig the Icome Tax Act ad the Excise Tax Act. The Caada Reveue Agecy Act provides for the establishmet of a Board of Maagemet cosistig of 15 directors appoited by the Goveror i Coucil. They iclude the Chair, the Commissioer ad Chief Executive Officer, a director omiated by each provice, oe director omiated by the territories, ad two directors omiated by the federal govermet. Uder the provisios of the Caada Reveue Agecy Act, the Board of Maagemet oversees the orgaizatio ad admiistratio of the CRA, icludig the maagemet of its resources, services, property, persoel, ad cotracts. I fulfillig this role, the Board of Maagemet brigs a forward-lookig strategic perspective to the CRA s operatios, fosters soud maagemet practices, ad is committed to efficiet ad effective service delivery. As the CRA s Chief Executive Officer, the Commissioer is resposible for the day-to-day admiistratio ad eforcemet of the program legislatio that falls uder the Miister s delegated authority. The Commissioer is accoutable to the Board of Maagemet for maagig the CRA, supervisig employees, ad implemetig policies ad budgets. Moreover, the Commissioer must assist ad advise the Miister with respect to legislated authorities, duties, fuctios, ad Cabiet resposibilities. The CRA is made up of 12 braches ad 5 regioal offices across the coutry. Braches Appeals Assessmet ad Beefit Services Audit, Evaluatio, ad Risk Compliace Programs Fiace ad Admiistratio Huma Resources Iformatio Techology Legal Services Legislative Policy ad Regulatory Affairs Public Affairs Strategy ad Itegratio Taxpayer Services ad Debt Maagemet Regios Atlatic Otario Pacific Prairie Quebec 4 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
The Access to Iformatio ad Privacy Directorate The Access to Iformatio ad Privacy (ATIP) Directorate helps the CRA meet its requiremets uder the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act. To fulfill this madate, the ATIP Directorate: respods to ad equiries uder the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act; provides advice ad guidace to CRA employees o for, ad the proper maagemet ad protectio of, persoal iformatio uder the CRA s cotrol; coordiates privacy impact assessmet processes withi the CRA, icludig givig expert advice to CRA employees o privacy implicatios, risks, ad optios for avoidig or reducig risks; gives traiig ad awareess sessios o the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act ad the practices ad requiremets for maagig persoal iformatio; commuicates with the Treasury Board Secretariat ad the offices of the iformatio ad privacy commissioers of Caada about complaits, audits, ad policy or legislative requiremets; ad fulfills corporate plaig ad reportig obligatios such as the CRA s aual reports to Parliamet o the admiistratio of the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act. The Director of the ATIP Directorate has the full delegated authority of the Miister of Natioal Reveue uder the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act, maages ad coordiates the ATIP program, leads strategic plaig ad developmet iitiatives, ad supports the Assistat Commissioer, Public Affairs Brach, ad Chief Privacy Officer. The ATIP Directorate is made up of two mai divisios: process; ad program support ad traiig (withi the Directorate ad CRA-wide). I additio to its headquarters office i Ottawa, the ATIP Directorate has a office i Vacouver ad a office i Motréal. I 2014 2015, 117 full-time ATIP Directorate employees admiistered the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act. Director, Access to Iformatio ad Privacy Directorate Assistat Director, ATIP Productios Corporate & Complex Case Divisio Assistat Director, ATIP Productios Strategic Compliace Divisio Assistat Director, ATIP Productios Legislative & HQ Operatioal Case Divisio Assistat Director, ATIP Productios Regioal Operatios Case Divisio Motreal Assistat Director, ATIP Productios Regioal Operatios Case Divisio Vacouver Assistat Director, Program Support ad Traiig Divisio Tax Compliace Sectio Operatios Traiig Maual Complaits Project Legislative Case Sectio HQ Operatios Sectio Goverace & Corporate Reportig Sectio Busiess Process Sectio The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 5
The Access to Iformatio ad Privacy Oversight Review Committee The Access to Iformatio ad Privacy Oversight Review Committee is a assistat commissioerlevel committee, chaired by the Chief Privacy Officer. The committee was established to esure horizotal cosultatio, collaboratio, ad decisio-makig o emergig ATIP issues at the CRA. Amog other resposibilities, the committee reviews high-risk privacy impact assessmets, idetifies measures to support more effective admiistratio of ATIP-related matters, ad champios ATIP related activities. Delegatio of resposibilities uder the Access to Iformatio Act As head of the CRA, the Miister of Natioal Reveue is resposible for how the CRA admiisters the Access to Iformatio Act ad complies with the Access to Iformatio Regulatios ad Treasury Board Secretariat policy istrumets. Sectio 73 of the Access to Iformatio Act gives the Miister of Natioal Reveue the authority to desigate oe or more officers or employees of the CRA to exercise or perform all, or part, of the Miister s powers, duties, ad fuctios uder the Act. The CRA s curret delegatio order for the Access to Iformatio Act was siged by the Miister of Natioal Reveue o March 6, 2014. It idetifies specific provisios of the Access to Iformatio Act ad its regulatios that the Miister has delegated to various positios withi the CRA. The Access to Iformatio ad Privacy Director ad assistat directors, as well as the maagers of the processig uits, approve resposes to uder the Access to Iformatio Act. Delegatios are also exteded to the Commissioer, the Deputy Commissioer, ad the Assistat Commissioer ad Chief Privacy Officer, Public Affairs Brach. 6 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Miister of Natioal Reveue Miistre du Reveu atioal Ottawa, Caada K1A 0A6 Access to Iformatio Act Delegatio Order Arrêté sur la délégatio e vertu de la Loi sur l accès à l iformatio I, Kerry-Lye D. Fidlay, Miister of Natioal Reveue, do hereby desigate, pursuat to sectio 73 of the Access to Iformatio Act, the officers or employees of the Caada Reveue Agecy who hold the positios set out i the attached Schedule to exercise or perform the powers, duties, or fuctios that have bee give to me as head of a govermet istitutio uder the provisios of the Access to Iformatio Act as set out i the Schedule. This desigatio replaces all previous delegatio orders. Je, Kerry-Lye D. Fidlay, miistre du Reveu atioal, délègue par les présetes, e vertu de l article 73 de la Loi sur l accès à l iformatio, aux cadres ou employés de l Agece du reveu du Caada déteteurs des postes metioés das l aexe ci joite les attributios dot je suis, e qualité de resposable d ue istitutio fédérale, ivestie par les dispositios de la Loi sur l accès à l iformatio qui sot metioées das l aexe. Le préset documet remplace et aule tout arrêté atérieur. La miistre du Reveu atioal, Kerry-Lye D. Fidlay Miister of Natioal Reveue Siged i Ottawa, Otario, Caada this 6th day of March, 2014 Sigé à Ottawa, Otario, Caada le 6 e jour de mars 2014 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 7
Schedule Access to Iformatio Act The CRA positios authorized to perform the powers, duties, or fuctios give to the Miister of Natioal Reveue as head of a govermet istitutio uder the provisios of the Access to Iformatio Act ad its regulatios are the followig: Commissioer Full authority Deputy Commissioer Full authority Assistat Commissioer, Public Affairs Brach (PAB) ad Chief Privacy Officer Full authority Director, Access to Iformatio ad Privacy (ATIP) Directorate, PAB Full authority Assistat directors, ATIP Directorate, PAB Full authority Maagers, ATIP Directorate, PAB Subsectio 4(2.1); paragraphs 7(a) ad (b); subsectio 8(1); sectio 9; subsectios 11(2) to (6); sectio 10; paragraphs 12(2)(b) ad 12(3)(b); sectios 13 to 16; sectios 17 ad 18; sectio 19 ad 20; sectio 21 to 26; subsectios 27(1) ad (4); paragraph 28(1)(b); subsectios 28(2) ad (4); subsectio 29(1); sectio 33; paragraph 35(2)(b); subsectios 37(4), 43(1), 44(2) ad 71(1) of the Access to Iformatio Act; subsectios 6(1), 7(2) ad 7(3); ad sectios 8 ad 8.1 of the Access to Iformatio Regulatios. 8 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Statistical report (Appedix A) Iterpretatio ad explaatio Appedix A provides a statistical report o the CRA s activities uder the Access to Iformatio Act for the 2014 2015 reportig period. The followig explais ad iterprets the statistical iformatio. Requests uder the Access to Iformatio Act Durig this reportig period (April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015), the CRA received 3,006 ew uder the Access to Iformatio Act. This is a icrease of 255 (9%) over last year s total of 2,751. With the 588 carried forward from 2013 2014, there were 3,594 active. The breakdow of the source of the 3,006 received durig the 2014 2015 reportig period is outlied i the followig table. Source Percetage Media 112 3.7% Academia 12 0.4% Busiess (private sector) 886 29.5% Orgaizatio 55 1.8% Public 1,809 60.2% Declie to idetify 132 4.4% I 2014 2015, the CRA s ATIP Directorate processed the secod-largest volume of material i the past five years: 1,306,661 pages. The followig table shows a five-year tred. Requests received ad completed i the past five fiscal years Fiscal year Requests received Requests completed Pages processed 2010 2011 2,589 2,605 1,116,838 2011 2012 2,237 2,683 998,802 2012 2013 3,137 3,083 1,203,253 2013 2014 2,751 2,795 1,636,782 2014 2015 3,006 2,668 1,306,661 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 9
Other Requests I 2014 2015, the ATIP Directorate closed 127 cosultatio from other govermet istitutios ad orgaizatios. A total of 6,353 pages were reviewed to respod to these. Aother 16 cosultatio were carried forward to the 2015 2016 reportig period. (For more details o the cosultatios received from other govermet istitutios ad orgaizatios, icludig dispositio ad completio times, see Appedix A.) Durig the same reportig period, as a result of the web postig of summaries of completed made uder the Access to Iformatio Act, the CRA also received 329 for previously released iformatio, a icrease of 32 (10%) over the previous year. These are iformal that do ot fall uder the Access to Iformatio Act. The ATIP Directorate s Program Support ad Traiig Divisio respoded to 2,333 emails ad 704 telephoe equiries from iside ad outside the CRA. The resposes icluded givig advice ad guidace o processes ad procedures related to the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act ad providig cotact iformatio. Dispositio of completed Durig the reportig period, the ATIP Directorate completed 2,668 related to the Access to Iformatio Act. 555 were fully disclosed (20.80%) 1,367 were partially disclosed (51.24%) 4 were exempted i their etirety (0.15%) 15 were excluded i their etirety (0.56%) 152 resulted i o existig records (5.70%) 34 were trasferred to aother istitutio (1.27%) 541 were abadoed by requesters (20.28%) 0 were either cofirmed or deied (0%) For more details, see table 2.1 of Appedix A. Exemptios The Access to Iformatio Act allows a istitutio to sometimes refuse access to certai iformatio (for example, the CRA caot disclose iformatio about a taxpayer if the taxpayer did ot give coset). These types of refusals are called exemptios. They must be limited ad relate to specific sectios of the Access to Iformatio Act. I 2014 2015, the CRA used the followig sectios of the Access to Iformatio Act to refuse access to iformatio i full or i part for 1,922 (72%) of the 2,668 closed durig the reportig period. Sectio 13 Iformatio obtaied i cofidece (76 ) Sectio 14 Federal-provicial affairs (18 ) 10 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Sectio 15 Iteratioal affairs ad defece (15 ) Sectio 16 Law eforcemet ad ivestigatio, ad security (897 ) Sectio 17 Safety of idividuals (3 ) Sectio 18 Ecoomic iterests of Caada (5 ) Sectio 19 Persoal iformatio (870 ) Sectio 20 Third-party iformatio (34 ) Sectio 21 Operatios of govermet (280 ) Sectio 22 Testig procedures, tests, ad audits (8 ) Sectio 23 Solicitor-cliet privilege (240 ) Sectio 24 Statutory prohibitios (1,153 ) Exclusios The Access to Iformatio Act does ot apply to iformatio that is already publicly available, such as govermet publicatios ad material i libraries ad museums. It also excludes material such as Cabiet cofideces. I 2014 2015, the CRA applied exclusios 36 times: 25 times for iformatio that is publicly available ad 11 times for Cabiet cofideces. Format of iformatio released Requesters ca choose to receive their respose package i paper, CD, or DVD format. Providig documets electroically sigificatly reduces maual processes ad paper cosumptio. I 2014 2015, of the 1,922 for which iformatio was disclosed i full or i part, 1,628 (85%) were released i electroic format. This is a 5% icrease over the previous reportig period. Of the 1,064,147 pages fully or partially disclosed i 2014 2015, 1,046,728 (98%) pages were released i electroic format. Completio time ad extesios The Access to Iformatio Act sets the timelies for respodig to access to iformatio ad allows for time extesios to be take whe there is a large volume of records or a eed for cosultatios (for example, if there is a eed to cosult aother taxpayer or aother govermet istitutio). Of the 2,668 closed i 2014 2015, the CRA took extesios o 1,104 (41%) of them. Extesios were take 96% of the time because the ivolved large volumes of pages ad meetig the origial 30-day time limit would have resulted i a ureasoable iterferece with CRA operatios. The remaiig 4% of extesios were take to cosult with third parties or other govermet istitutios. The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 11
The followig chart shows the completio times for the 2,668 closed i 2014 2015. The ATIP Directorate completed 2,320 (87%) withi the timelies required by the law. This meas that resposes were provided withi 30 caledar or, whe a extesio was take, withi the exteded deadlie. Deemed refusals ad complexities A deemed refusal is a request that was closed after the deadlie of 30 set by law. Of the 2,668 closed durig the reportig period, 348 were closed after the deadlie, resultig i a deemed refusal rate of 13%. This is a slight icrease from the deemed refusal rate of 12% i 2013 2014, but a decrease from previous reportig periods: 15% i 2012 2013 ad 32% i 2011 2012. Although the CRA cotiues to work toward a deemed refusal rate of zero, as recommeded by the Office of the Iformatio Commissioer, operatioal pressures make achievig this goal a cotiuig challege. The Treasury Board Secretariat developed criteria to determie if a request is complex. These criteria are: the umber of pages to process; ad the ature ad sesitivity of the subject matter. The CRA cotiues to hadle a large umber of that are cosidered complex based o the umber of pages. (See table 2.5.3 of Appedix A for details.) For closed i 2014 2015, the CRA reviewed 1,306,661 pages, a decrease of 8% over the previous year, but the secod-largest volume of pages processed i the past five years. 12 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Completio time of cosultatios o Cabiet cofideces Although Cabiet cofideces are excluded from the applicatio of the Access to Iformatio Act (sectio 69), policies of the Treasury Board Secretariat require departmets to process iformatio that, if released, could reveal a cofidece. Departmets must cosult their legal services to determie if the iformatio should be excluded. If there is ay doubt, or i cases whe the records cotai discussio papers, legal cousel must cosult the Office of the Cousel to the Clerk of the Privy Coucil Office. I 2014 2015, the CRA applied 11 Cabiet cofidece exclusios. These exclusios were applied after the ATIP Directorate cosulted the Legal Services Brach ad received cofirmatio that the iformatio qualified as a Cabiet cofidece. Cosultatios with PCO were required o four. Requests for traslatio I 2014 2015, the CRA traslated records i respose to two access to iformatio. Records are ormally released i the laguage i which they exist; however, records may be traslated i a particular official laguage whe requested, ad the istitutio cosiders it i the public iterest to have the records traslated. Fees Fees collected durig the reportig period amouted to $13,012. For more details, see Part 4 of Appedix A. Costs I 2014 2015, the ATIP Directorate s cost to admiister the Access to Iformatio Act was $5,419,217. This excludes sigificat support ad resources from the braches ad regios. For more details, see Appedix A. The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 13
Operatioal eviromet Historically, the CRA s ATIP Directorate has processed a large volume of access to iformatio. This cotiued to be the case i 2014 2015. The CRA received 255 (9%) more tha the previous year. The umber of pages processed was the secod-largest volume i the past five years at 1,306,661 pages. The followig is a list of may of the iformatio categories ad associated documets that the CRA makes public through its website, other govermet departmet websites, ad the Govermet of Caada website: Acts ad regulatios the CRA provides a list of acts it admiisters ad Regulatios related to taxatio ad beefits. These documets are also available o the Justice Caada website Board of Maagemet documets the CRA Board of Maagemet goverace documets, icludig the Board s oversight framework, by-laws, ad coflict-of-iterest guidelies ca be foud o the CRA website. Corporate reports icludes report o maagemet accoutability at the CRA, quarterly fiacial reports, ad iteral audit ad program evaluatios. Corporate procedures various corporate procedural documets o procuremet i the CRA, sustaiable developmet, service stadards, ad procedures for protectig taxpayer privacy. Completed Access to Iformatio the CRA posts summaries of all completed, excludig those that cotai persoal or busiess iformatio. The CRA s summary lies are also available at Caada.ca. Charities listigs this is a searchable list of Caadia registered charities that icludes iformatio about the charity s status, cotact iformatio, iformatio retur, fiacial iformatio, ad activities. CRA Code of Ethics ad Coduct the Code provides all CRA employees with guidace o their obligatios ad expected stadard of coduct. Data sets the CRA posts data sets o the Govermet of Caada s ope data website. Disclosure documets the CRA posts disclosure documets o its website as required by law, ad by Appedix B of the Directive o Ope Govermet, icludig: aual travel, hospitality, ad coferece expeses; quarterly travel ad hospitality expeses; cotracts; grats; cotributio awards; ad job reclassificatios. Icome tax iformatio circulars the CRA s icome tax iformatio circulars, available o its website, provide iformatio about admiistrative, eforcemet, or procedural matters relatig to icome tax law, such as collectios policies ad the Volutary Disclosure Program. News releases the CRA regularly publishes ews releases o its website that iform Caadias about govermet activities ad priorities, public cosultatios, ad compliace-related activities such as crimial charges ad covictios uder the Icome Tax Act. These releases are also distributed via ewswire services, mailig lists, ad RSS feeds. 14 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Privacy impact assessmet summaries the CRA icludes the summaries of all privacy impact assessmets o its website. Public cosultatios the CRA posts public cosultatio documets ad reports o the Cosultig with Caadias website. Public Opiio Research Reports i accordace with the Public Opiio Research regulatios as part of the Federal Accoutability Act, the CRA posts its cotracted public opiio research reports ad associated data files to the Library ad Archives Caada website. The CRA also posts the executive summaries of these reports o its ow website. Reports to Parliamet the CRA posts corporate busiess plas, reports o plas ad priorities, aual reports to Parliamet, ad departmetal performace reports o its website. Tax alerts the CRA publishes tax alerts o the CRA website ad distributes them o chaels such as ewswire services, mailig lists, ad RSS feeds. Iformatio cotaied i the alerts icludes protectio from tax schemes ad fraud ad uderstadig the cosequeces of participatig i tax schemes. Taxatio operatio mauals the public ca view copies of the CRA s taxatio operatio mauals i public readig rooms. Taxpayer Bill of Rights the CRA publishes the Taxpayer Bill of Rights o its website to make sure taxpayers uderstad their rights ad what they ca expect whe dealig with the CRA. Tax treaties Caada has tax covetios or agreemets, commoly kow as tax treaties, with may coutries. The mai purposes of tax treaties are to avoid double taxatio ad to prevet tax evasio. The CRA publishes iformatio related to tax treaties o its website. The texts of the treaties themselves are available o the Fiace Caada ad Foreig Affairs, Trade ad Developmet Caada websites. Techical iformatio the CRA posts a wide variety of techical iformatio o its website, related to excise, GST/HST, icome tax, ad more. This iformatio is iteded to help taxpayers meet their tax obligatios Video gallery ad webiars the CRA s website offers a sigificat umber of videos ad recorded webiars that preset iformatio about CRA programs ad iitiatives as well as istructioal iformatio for taxpayers o how to meet their tax obligatios to a variety of audieces icludig busiesses, idividuals, charities, studets, ad others. May of these videos are also available o YouTube. The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 15
ATIP actio pla I respose to a privacy breach that occurred i the ATIP Directorate i November 2014, the CRA implemeted a actio pla stregtheig privacy cotrols i three broad areas: operatioal processes, commuicatios ad traiig, ad accoutabilities. May of these activities have already bee implemeted, icludig the followig: completio of role-specific traiig ad madatory security traiig by all ATIP Directorate staff itroductio of additioal quality assurace at the mail-out stage of the process for preparig ad sedig request resposes additioal trackig system gates to reiforce critical steps i processig a request I additio to the actio pla, the CRA also iitiated a third-party idepedet review of its privacy maagemet framework withi the ATIP Directorate. The recommedatios from this review will be implemeted i 2015 2016. Right to Kow Week Right to Kow Week is a iteratioal evet that raises awareess about the public s right of access to iformatio. Right to Kow Week has bee observed at the CRA every September sice 2011. The focus of the week s activities i 2014 was iformal disclosure. The theme for the week s activities was, Efficiet. Proactive. Preferred. By highlightig the efficiecy of iformal disclosure, the CRA 16 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
reiforces its commitmet to ope iformatio, a commitmet also icluded i Blueprit 2020, a strategy that details a clear ad shared visio of what Caada s public service should be, ow ad i the future. Participatig i iformal disclosure is proactive ad reiterates the CRA s commitmet to service ad itegrity. Traiig The ATIP Directorate provides traiig to CRA employees about the requiremets of, ad their resposibilities uder, the Access to Iformatio Act ad the Privacy Act. This traiig is tailored to the eeds of specific audieces. For istace, employees who have little or o kowledge of the subject take course ATIP 101. Subject matter experts take more specific traiig, such as o how to respod to for records. I 2014 2015, ATIP traiig was give to 1,908 participats i 69 sessios across Caada. Also, 144 maagers received olie ATIP traiig uder the CRA s maagemet learig program. The ATIP Director also preseted awareess sessios to two CRA seior maagemet committees ad gave several presetatios at ATIP Oversight Review Committee meetigs. The CRA s Legal Services Brach also provided eight traiig sessios to 90 employees. These sessios focused o preparig documets for release i CRA readig rooms, o ATIP legal awareess, ad o ATIP iformatio for techology specialists. Also durig the fiscal year, all employees i the ATIP Directorate completed the madatory CRA security awareess course. Ope Govermet Implemetatio Pla Caada is a participat i the multilateral Ope Govermet Partership iitiative to make govermets more trasparet, accoutable, ad resposive to citizes. The CRA is a sigificat cotributor to the govermet s efforts for greater trasparecy, accoutability, ad resposiveess. Virtual Library Oe iitiative highlighted i the Ope Govermet Implemetatio Pla is the virtual library project. Durig the fiscal year, the CRA cotiued its work o this project, which aims to post mauals listed i Ifo Source o the CRA website. Ifo Source is a series of aual publicatios i which govermet istitutios describe their fuctios, programs, activities, ad iformatio holdigs, icludig collectios of persoal iformatio. The CRA receives a high volume of access to iformatio for its operatioal mauals ad procedural guides. As a result, the CRA has made it a priority to place its mauals o the CRA website. Postig will begi i 2015 2016. The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 17
Moitorig request ivetories The CRA s ATIP Directorate produces a mothly report that captures key statistical iformatio about the CRA s ivetory of ATIP. This report shows the average times for each of the key phases of request processig (for example, itake, search ad locate records, ad aalysis). The report also provides statistical iformatio about the umber of time extesios take, completio times, pages processed, complaits, ad complait dispositio. The ATIP Director uses this report to moitor treds, measure ATIP Directorate performace, ad determie ay process chages required to improve performace. The ivetory is a regular ageda item for seior maagemet meetigs withi the ATIP Directorate. Policies, guidelies, ad procedures The CRA cotiues to promote ad support compliace with Treasury Board Secretariat policies, guidelies, ad procedures through its commuicatios ad traiig. The ATIP Directorate also worked with the Strategy ad Itegratio Brach to provide directio o access to iformatio matters that relate to the disclosure of taxpayer iformatio. Complaits ad ivestigatios, ad Federal Court cases Durig 2014 2015, the CRA received 249 access to iformatio complaits, which is a decrease of 95 complaits (28%) from the 344 complaits received i the previous reportig period. A challege for the CRA is the umber of complaits received from oe frequet requester. These complaits i 2014 2015 were almost oe-third (30%) of the complaits received. Oe ad a half full time employees were dedicated to respodig to the complaits from this requester. Durig the fiscal year, 157 complaits were subject to sectio 35 of the Access to Iformatio Act. Sectio 35 esures that the complaiat ad the CRA have a reasoable opportuity to make represetatios to the Iformatio Commissioer. It also deies a right of access to such represetatios. The applicatio of sectio 35 may apply to complaits made i previous fiscal years. I 2014 2015, the CRA closed 107 complaits. The followig chart shows the dispositio of the complaits closed durig the fiscal year. For defiitios of the dispositio categories, go to http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eg/iv-iv_dispositio-categories-des-plaites.aspx. 18 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Thirty-seve cases ivolvig the CRA wet to Federal Court i 2014 2015. Of these, 36 cases were iitiated by the requester ad oe was iitiated by a third party. Office of the Iformatio Commissioer certificatio letters I 2014 2015, the Office of the Iformatio Commissioer asked the CRA for certificatio to complete their ivestigatio o missig records complaits for 25. The purpose of certificatio is to make sure that all reasoable measures have bee take to properly idetify resposive records, esure they are provided, ad prevet ay lack of due diligece i the search for records. The CRA bega issuig the letters at the ed of March ad fidigs will be reported i fiscal year 2015 2016. Collaboratio with oversight bodies ad other orgaizatios The CRA cotiues to work closely with the Office of the iformatio Commissioer, the Treasury Board Secretariat, ad other orgaizatios to stregthe access to iformatio at the CRA. Office of the Iformatio Commissioer The CRA worked closely with the Office of the Iformatio Commissioer i 2014 2015, primarily with respect to maagig the complaits of frequet requesters as well as coordiatig the certificatio letter process. The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 19
Treasury Board Secretariat The CRA cosulted with the Treasury Board Secretariat s Iformatio ad Privacy Policy Divisio o umerous occasios. CRA officials also participated i ATIP commuity meetigs that the Treasury Board led throughout the fiscal year. The CRA s ATIP Coordiator participated i three pael discussios durig these meetigs. The CRA also participated i the Treasury Board s director geeral-level ATIP Traiig Workig Group. The group established six priorities for 2014 2015 to moderize ATIP traiig i the Govermet of Caada: privacy basics, icludig privacy impact assessmets prevetig, maagig, ad reportig privacy breaches ATIP awareess traiig for the executive cadre i govermet Cabiet cofideces ad the revised cosultatio process most-frequetly ivoked exemptios ATIP geeral awareess Several ATIP Directorate employees participated o the sub-workig groups to develop traiig products for these six priorities. I April 2014, the CRA joied the ATIP request ad pay olie iitiative. This iitiative has sigificatly decreased the umber of ATIP received by mail. The CRA is also a member of the request ad pay olie desig workig group. The CRA provides ogoig feedback to the group o the olie request iitiative to improve its fuctioality. The CRA also tracks the umber of olie received compared to the total umber of received from all other methods to assess whether the public is receptive to this ew method of access. House Stadig Committee o Access to Iformatio, Privacy ad Ethics I April 2014, three seior CRA officials, icludig the Chief Privacy Officer, appeared before the House Stadig Committee o Access to Iformatio, Privacy ad Ethics. The CRA was oe of several istitutios ivited to appear before the Committee to support its study o the growig problem ad impact of idetity theft. 20 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Coclusio The CRA is committed to providig all Caadias with access to iformatio i keepig with the Access to Iformatio Act. I 2014 2015, the CRA made sigificat progress i addressig its challeges ad respodig to the recommedatios made by oversight bodies o its access to iformatio performace. To cotiue to improve operatios, ad to fully respod to the recommedatios made by oversight bodies, the CRA will focus its efforts o the followig actios i 2015 2016: promotig the use of iformal disclosure iterally; providig support to program areas that are trasitioig toward releasig more iformatio iformally; lauchig the CRA virtual library; icreasig quality assurace; ad reviewig the complait ivetory to idetify ad make systemic chages that improve its processig operatios. The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 21
Appedix A Statistical report Statistical Report o the Access to Iformatio Act Name of istitutio: Caada Reveue Agecy Reportig period: April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 PART 1 Requests uder the Access to Iformatio Act 1.1 Received durig reportig period 3,006 Outstadig from previous reportig period 588 Total 3,594 Closed durig reportig period 2,668 Carried over to ext reportig period 926 1.2 Sources of Source Media 112 Academia 12 Busiess (Private sector) 886 Orgaizatio 55 Public 1,809 Declie to idetify 132 Total 3,006 1.3 Iformal 1 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 60 Completio time 61 to 120 121 to 180 181 to 365 More tha 365 169 24 71 35 5 24 1 329 Total 22 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
PART 2 Requests closed durig the reportig period 2.1 Dispositio ad completio time Dispositio of 1 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 60 Completio time 61 to 120 121 to 180 181 to 365 More tha 365 All disclosed 69 285 120 61 8 10 2 555 Disclosed i part 37 346 402 338 138 76 30 1367 All exempted 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 4 All excluded 1 4 3 4 0 0 3 15 No records exist 23 87 23 11 5 3 0 152 Request trasferred 32 2 0 0 0 0 0 34 Request abadoed 494 27 5 3 7 4 1 541 Neither cofirmed 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 or deied Total 657 752 553 418 159 93 36 2668 Total The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 23
2.2 Exemptios Sectio Sectio Sectio Sectio 13(1)(a) 18 16(1)(b) 237 16.4(1)(b) 0 20(1)(c) 6 13(1)(b) 0 16(1)(c) 607 16.5 0 20(1)(d) 0 13(1)(c) 58 16(1)(d) 0 17 3 20.1 0 13(1)(d) 0 16(2) 3 18(a) 0 20.2 0 13(1)(e) 0 16(2)(a) 0 18(b) 0 20.4 0 14 0 16(2)(b) 0 18(c) 0 21(1)(a) 94 14(a) 14 16(2)(c) 26 18(d) 5 21(1)(b) 180 14(b) 4 16(3) 0 18.1(1)(a) 0 21(1)(c) 1 15(1) 6 16.1(1)(a) 1 18.1(1)(b) 0 21(1)(d) 5 15(1) - 7 16.1(1)(b) 0 18.1(1)(c) 0 22 7 Iteratioal Affairs 15(1) - 0 16.1(1)(c) 1 18.1(1)(d) 0 22.1(1) 1 Defece of Caada 15(1) - 2 16.1(1)(d) 0 19(1) 870 23 240 Subversive Activities 16(1)(a)(i) 10 16.2(1) 0 20(1)(a) 2 24(1) 1,153 16(1)(a)(ii) 12 16.3 0 20(1)(b) 26 26 0 16(1)(a)(iii) 0 16.4(1)(a) 0 20(1)(b.1) 0 2.3 Exclusios Sectio Sectio Sectio 68(a) 198 69(1)(a) 8 69(1)(g) re (b) 0 68(b) 0 69(1)(b) 0 69(1)(g) re (c) 1 68(c) 0 69(1)(c) 0 69(1)(g) re (d) 0 68.1 0 69(1)(d) 0 69(1)(g) re (e) 10 68.2(a) 0 69(1)(e) 0 69(1)(g) re (f) 1 68.2(b) 0 69(1)(f) 0 69.1(1) 0 69(1) 0 69(1)(g) re (a) 12 24 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
2.4 Format of iformatio released Dispositio Paper Electroic Other formats All disclosed 178 377 0 Disclosed i part 116 1,251 0 Total 294 1,628 0 2.5 Complexity 2.5.1 Relevat pages processed ad disclosed Dispositio of pages processed pages disclosed All disclosed 37,591 37,591 555 Disclosed i part 1,165,317 1,026,556 1,367 All exempted 42 0 4 All excluded 571 0 15 Request abadoed 103,140 13,991 541 Neither cofirmed or deied 0 0 0 2.5.2 Relevat pages processed ad disclosed by size of Dispositio of Less tha 100 pages processed Pages disclosed 101-500 pages processed Pages disclosed 501 1000 pages processed Pages disclosed 1001 5000 pages processed Pages disclosed More tha 5000 pages processed Pages disclosed All disclosed 461 12,136 82 16,167 9 5,683 3 3,605 0 0 Disclosed i part 387 16,159 501 129,185 214 150,139 236 465,776 29 265,297 All exempted 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 All excluded 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Request abadoed Neither cofirmed or deied 536 98 1 132 0 0 3 4,555 1 9,206 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 1,403 28,393 584 145,484 223 155,822 242 473,936 30 274,503 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 25
2.5.3 Other complexities Dispositio Cosultatio required Assessmet of fees Legal advice sought Other All disclosed 16 0 0 21 37 Disclosed i part 77 2 3 29 111 All exempted 0 0 0 0 0 All excluded 1 0 0 2 3 Request 0 0 0 19 19 abadoed Neither 0 0 0 0 0 cofirmed or deied Total 94 2 3 71 170 Total 2.6 Deemed refusals 2.6.1 Reasos for ot meetig statutory deadlie closed past the statutory deadlie Workload Pricipal reaso Exteral cosultatio Iteral cosultatio Other 348 218 27 13 90 26 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
2.6.2 past deadlie past deadlie past deadlie where o extesio was take past deadlie where a extesio was take 1 to 15 26 69 95 16 to 30 15 43 58 31 to 60 14 30 44 61 to 120 25 39 64 121 to 180 14 25 39 181 to 365 4 24 28 More tha 365 5 15 20 Total 103 245 348 Total 2.7 Requests for traslatio Traslatio Requests Accepted Refused Total Eglish to Frech 1 0 1 Frech to Eglish 1 0 1 Total 2 0 2 Part 3 Extesios 3.1 Reasos for extesios ad dispositio of Dispositio of where a extesio was take 9(1)(a) Iterferece with operatios 9(1)(b) Cosultatio Sectio 69 Other 9(1)(c) Third party otice All disclosed 145 0 13 2 Disclosed i part 877 0 19 3 All exempted 1 0 0 0 All excluded 4 1 0 0 No records exist 22 0 1 0 Request abadoed 16 0 0 0 Total 1,065 1 33 5 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 27
3.2 Legth of extesios Legth of extesios 9(1)(a) Iterferece with operatios 9(1)(b) Cosultatio Sectio 69 Other 9(1)(c) Third party otice 30 or less 541 0 11 1 31 to 60 287 1 8 1 61 to 120 178 0 14 3 121 to 180 39 0 0 0 181 to 365 19 0 0 0 365 or more 1 0 0 0 Total 1,065 1 33 5 Part 4 Fees Fee Type Fees Collected Amout $ Fees Waived or Refuded Amout $ Applicatio 2,364 $11,820 75 $375 Search 0 $0 0 $0 Productio 0 $0 0 $0 Programmig 0 $0 0 $0 Preparatio 0 $0 0 $0 Alterative format 0 $0 0 $0 Reproductio 11 $1,192 0 $0 Total 2,375 $13,012 75 $375 28 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
Part 5 Cosultatios received from other istitutios ad orgaizatios 5.1 Cosultatios received from other govermet istitutios ad orgaizatios Cosultatios Other govermet of Caada istitutios pages to review Other orgaizatios pages to review Received durig reportig period 122 5,786 13 332 Outstadig from the previous 6 228 1 7 reportig period Total 128 6,014 14 339 Closed durig the reportig period 113 3,636 14 339 Pedig at the ed of the reportig period 15 2,378 0 0 5.2 Recommedatios ad completio time for cosultatios received from other Govermet of Caada istitutios Recommedatio 1 to 15 required to complete cosultatio 16 to 30 31 to 60 61 to 120 121 to 180 181 to 365 More tha 365 Total Disclose etirely 21 22 13 2 1 0 0 59 Disclose i part 11 19 13 6 0 1 0 50 Exempt etirely 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Exclude etirely 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Cosult other istitutio 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Other 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Total 34 42 26 9 1 1 0 113 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 29
5.3 Recommedatios ad completio time for cosultatios received from other orgaizatios Recommedatio 1 to 15 required to complete cosultatio 16 to 30 31 to 60 61 to 120 121 to 180 181 to 365 More tha 365 Disclose etirely 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 9 Disclose i part 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 5 Exempt etirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Exclude etirely 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cosult other istitutio 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 3 8 3 0 0 0 0 14 Total Part 6 Completio time of cosultatios o Cabiet cofideces 6.1 Requests with Legal Services Days Fewer Tha 100 Pages Processed Pages disclosed 101-500 Pages Processed Pages disclosed 501-1000 Pages Processed Pages disclosed 1001 5000 Pages Processed Pages disclosed More tha 5000 pages Processed Pages disclosed 1 to 15 1 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 to 30 3 135 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 to 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 More tha 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 4 147 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet
6.2 Requests with Privy Coucil Office Days Fewer Tha 100 Pages Processed Pages disclosed 101-500 Pages Processed Pages disclosed 501-1000 Pages Processed Pages disclosed 1001 5000 Pages Processed Pages disclosed More tha 5000 pages Processed Pages disclosed 1 to 15 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 to 30 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 to 60 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 to 120 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 121 to 180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 181 to 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 More tha 365 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Part 7 Complaits ad ivestigatios Sectio 32 Sectio 35 Sectio 37 Total 249 157 107 513 Part 8 Court actio Sectio 41 Sectio 42 Sectio 44 Total 36 0 1 37 Part 9 - Resources related to the Access to Iformatio Act 9.1 Costs Expeditures Amout $ Salaries $4,244,908 Overtime $52,138 Goods ad Services $1,122,171 Professioal services cotracts $959,552 Other $162,619 Total $5,419,217 The Admiistratio of the Access to Ifor matio Act 31
9.2 Huma Resources Resources Perso years dedicated to access to iformatio activities Full-time employees 63.00 Part-time ad casual employees 0.00 Regioal staff 0.00 Cosultats ad agecy persoel 6.50 Studets 1.00 Total 70.50 32 2014 2015 Aual Report to Parliamet