Privacy Act - Annual report 2020-21

Table of contents

• Introduction
  • The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
  • Responsibility for Information Rights and Delegation of Authority
• Administration of the Privacy Act
  • Statistical Report
  • Fees
  • Information Holdings
  • OCL Website
  • Reading Room
  • Education and Training Activities
  • Privacy Impact Assessments
  • Disclosure of Personal Information
  • New/Revised Policies, Guidelines and Procedures Implemented
  • Complaints
  • Application to the Federal Court
  • Data Matching and Sharing Activities
  • Time to Process Access to Information Request Monitoring
  • Material Privacy Breaches
• Annex A — Delegation Orders
• Annex B — 2020-21 Statistical Report

This publication is available upon request in accessible formats.

Introduction

The Privacy Act (Revised Statute of Canada 1985, Chapter P-21) was proclaimed on July 1, 1983. The Privacy Act extends to individual Canadian citizens and permanent residents, the right of access to information about themselves held by the government, subject to specific and limited exceptions. The Privacy Act also protects the individual's right to privacy by preventing others from having access to personal information and gives individuals substantial control over its collection and use.

Section 72 of the Privacy Act requires that the head of every government institution prepare an annual report on the administration of the Privacy Act within the institution during each financial year for submission to Parliament.

This annual report is submitted by the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL) in accordance with the Privacy Act. It describes how the OCL fulfilled its responsibilities in fiscal year 2020-21.

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying

The Commissioner of Lobbying’s mandate, derived from the Lobbying Act (the Act), is to ensure transparency of the lobbying of federal public office holders. This contributes to increasing the confidence Canadians have in the integrity of government decision making.

The mandate of the Commissioner is threefold:

• maintaining the Registry of Lobbyists, which contains and makes public the registration information disclosed by lobbyists;
• developing and implementing educational programs to foster public awareness of the requirements of the Act; and
• conducting investigations to ensure compliance with the Act and the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct (the Code).

Under the Act, the Commissioner of Lobbying also has the authority to grant exemptions to former designated public office holders who are subject to a five-year prohibition on lobbying activities.

The Commissioner reports annually to Parliament on the administration of the Act and the Code. The Commissioner is also required to table to Parliament reports on investigations, which include her findings, conclusions and the reasons for her conclusions.

Responsibility for information rights and delegation of authority

The Privacy Act provides the authority to the Commissioner of Lobbying to exercise full powers granted under the Act. The OCL’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator is delegated the authority via a Delegation Order, of which a copy is attached in Annex A. The OCL has two positions responsible for the administration of the Privacy Act, an ATIP Coordinator and an Executive Assistant.

The Director of Corporate Services was the ATIP Coordinator from April 1st, 2020 to March 31, 2021. The ATIP Coordinator is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines and procedures to manage the OCL’s compliance with the Privacy Act. The coordinator makes decisions on the disposition of requests under the Privacy Act, promotes awareness of the legislation to ensure organizational responsiveness to its obligations, as well as monitors and advises on compliance with the Privacy Act, regulations, procedures and policies. Further, the Coordinator acts as spokesperson for the OCL in dealings with the Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privacy Commissioner, and other government departments and agencies. The coordinator is also responsible for conducting consultations with other governments within Canada and other federal organizations, as required. Finally, the Coordinator is the point of contact on issues involving the collection of personal information and privacy.

An Executive Assistant also provides support to the ATIP Coordinator on the process of any requests received under the Privacy Act.

Due to the limited number of requests received, the OCL did not dispose of any service agreements under section 73.1 of the Privacy Act during the reporting period from April 1st, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

Under the Act, the OCL collects information from registrants and lobbyists and the disclosures filed by registrants are accessible on the Registry of Lobbyists at the following address: lobbycanada.gc.ca.

The OCL’s Annual Report and Reports on Investigations must be tabled in both Houses of Parliament. They are also posted on the OCL’s website and on the Open Government Portal under the AIA requesting that all reports tabled in Parliament be proactively disclosed.

Administration of the Privacy Act

Statistical report

Annex B provides a statistical summary of requests under the Privacy Act. In 2020-21, the OCL did not received any request under the Act.

Since the OCL did not receive any request under the Privacy Act, the COVID-19 pandemic did not influence the OCL ability to fulfill its Privacy Act responsibilities. Therefore, the OCL did not have to put some mitigation measures in place.

Fees

No fees are applicable under the Privacy Act.

Information holdings

The OCL is responsible for providing a full accounting of information holdings to the Treasury Board Secretariat and ensuring that updates are provided for inclusion in the Canada.ca publication. This publication contains a description of the classes of institutional records held by the OCL, and can be obtained through public or academic libraries or it may be viewed online on the Treasury Board Secretariat’s website at Canada.ca. The OCL does not have any exempt banks.

OCL website

The OCL’s website available at lobbycanada.gc.ca, allows the user to access and search the Registry of Lobbyists, as well as to obtain copies of reports, including the OCL’s annual reports on Access to Information and Privacy. Summaries of completed requests are available on the OCL website.

Reading room

A reading room is available at the OCL’s office, situated on the 8th floor at 410 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1R 1B7.

Education and training activities

In 2020-21, the OCL did not provide any education and training activity regarding the Privacy Act to its staff.

Privacy impact assessments

In 2020-21, the OCL conducted three Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs).

Privacy Impact Assessment on the use of security cameras

The fist PIA was related to the installation of security cameras placed within the entrances of the OCL office to ensure protection against unauthorized access and to mitigate physical threats to staff as well as to mitigate any threats to OCL information and assets.

It is to be noted that no auditory components are being captured by the cameras. This PIA was therefore limited to privacy based solely on the visual components. In addition, cameras and recordings are not a tool used by OCL’s managers to monitor any of the day-to-day activities of staff. Access to the cameras and recordings is not given at any time to managers or others who are not designated by the Commissioner or the Chief Security Officer. Security cameras are not located in private or secure area such as washroom facilities, workstations, or boardrooms.

It was determined that the risk level for privacy associated with the installation of security cameras is low. Mitigation measures were put in place to address some issues that may arise as a result of the installation of the security cameras.

A detailed summary of this PIA can be found on the OCL Website at lobbycanada.gc.ca.

Privacy Impact Assessment of the Investigation Directorate Information Management System

The second PIA was related to the Investigation Directorate Information Management System (IDIMS).

IDIMS stores data related to the review and investigation of individuals suspected of breaching the Lobbying Act (Act) or the Lobbyist’s Code of Conduct (Code), to the request for an exemption to the five-year prohibition on lobbying, and to compliance verification. The information contained in this system is “PROTECTED B” and is not released to the public, unless permitted under specified dispositions of the Act, such as in a referral to a peace officer if the Commissioner believes on reasonable grounds that an offence under the Act has occurred, or in a report on investigations tabled in Parliament.

The OCL is considering expanded access to this system within the OCL to Client Services Advisors, who are responsible for assisting lobbyists with registration, based on the need to know principle and to improve efficiency and decision-making.

In total, ten recommendations were submitted to the OCL to mitigate the risks that may arise from the expansion of the access to the system. The OCL will ensure that these recommendations are in place before expending the access to IDIMS to the Client Services Advisors.

A detailed summary of this PIA can be found on the OCL Website at lobbycanada.gc.ca.

Privacy Impact Assessment on the Lobbyist Registration System

The third PIA was related to the Lobbyists Registration System (LRS).

The LRS is a system developed by the OCL to facilitate the registration of lobbyists and their lobbying activities and the filling of Monthly Communication Reports (MCR’s) in accordance with the Lobbying Act. The LRS contains the names of registrants and individual lobbyists carrying out lobbying activities, as well as the names, business addresses, business email addresses and telephone numbers of their firms (consultant lobbyists), and employers (in-house corporation and organization lobbyists). It also contains the names of the government institution(s) they are communicating with, as well as the subject matter of the lobbying activities they are required to report under the Act and the Lobbyists Registration Regulations. In the case of former public office holders, the database contains information related to past positions they occupied within the federal government. The online Registry, in accordance with the Act, also includes prescribed information regarding lobbyists' communications with Designated Public Office Holders (DPOH), and information regarding the five-year prohibition on lobbying by former DPOH's, as well as effective dates, exemptions and other relevant data. Through the online Registry of Lobbyists, anyone can search for lobbyists and lobbying activities. While all data submitted to the OCL is a matter of public record to ensure transparency of lobbying activities, so that the general public, the media and public office holders may know who is lobbying the government, for what purpose and in whose interest, some information provided by registrants, for example, internal dialogues with OCL advisors, LRS dashboard warnings about late filings, etc. are not made public.

In the past, the OCL’s exemption request process required former DPOHs to make a written request for exemption in accordance with the information described by the OCL on its website. Making the exemption process available through the LRS is intended to make the process more efficient.

This PIA examined the aspects of the business process and dataflows as well as the policies and procedures relating to the LRS, including the online exemption request process, so as to identify and evaluate any potential risks to the privacy of personal information, and to recommend possible options for mitigating any privacy risks identified.

It was determined that the risk level related to privacy remains low. Mitigation measures were put in place to address some issues that may arise as a result of the provision of an exemption process through the LRS.

A detailed summary of this PIA can be found on the OCL Website at lobbycanada.gc.ca.

Disclosure of personal information

There were no disclosures of personal information by the OCL during the reporting period pursuant to each of the following provisions of the Privacy Act: paragraphs 8(2)(m), 19(1)(e) or (f), or sections 22.2, 22.3, 69.1 or 70.1.

New/Revised policies, guidelines and procedures implemented

During the reporting period, the OCL did not implement new policies, guidelines, procedures or initiatives related to the Privacy Act.

Complaints

No complaints concerning the Privacy Act were received from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in 2020-21.

Application to the Federal Court

There were no applications filed in 2020-21 related to the Privacy Act.

Data matching and sharing activities

No data matching or sharing activities were undertaken during 2020-21.

Time to process Access to Information Request monitoring

Given the small number of requests received and processed by the OCL, no formal monitoring system was required during the reporting period.

Material Privacy Breaches

No Material Privacy Breaches occurred in 2020-21.

Annex A — Delegation orders

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act delegation order

October 29, 2020

The Commissioner of Lobbying, pursuant to section 73 of the Access to Information Act and section 73 of the Privacy Act, hereby designates the person holding the position set out in the schedule hereto, or the person occupying on an acting basis that position, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Commissioner of Lobbying as the head of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Schedule

Position

Director of Registration and Client Services

Access to Information Act and Regulations

Full authority

Privacy Act and Regulations

Full authority

Nancy Bélanger

Annex B — 2020-21 Statistical report

Statistical report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada

Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-03-31

Section 1: Requests under the Privacy Act

Section 2: Requests closed during the reporting period

2.1 Disposition and completion time

2.2 Exemptions

2.3 Exclusions

2.4 Format of information released

2.5 Complexity

2.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

2.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

2.5.3 Other complexities

2.6 Closed requests

2.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

2.7 Deemed refusals

2.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

2.7.2 Requests closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

2.7 Requests for translation

Section 3: Disclosures under subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 4: Requests for correction of personal information and notations

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.2 Length of extensions

Section 6: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and other organizations

6.2 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

Section 7: Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with legal services

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 8: Complaints and investigations notices received

Section 9: Privacy impact assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIB)

9.1 Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

9.2 Personal Information Banksa

Section 10: Material privacy breaches

Section 11: Resources related to the Privacy Act

11.1 Costs

11.2 Human resources

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