Privacy Act - Annual report 2018-19

Table of contents

• Introduction
  • The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
  • Responsibility for Information Rights / 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 — 2018-19 Statistical Report

This publication is available upon request in accessible formats.

For a print copy of this publication, please contact:

Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying

Tel.: 613-957-2760
Fax: 613-957-3078
Email: questionslobbying@lobbycanada.gc.ca

This publication is also available electronically on the Web in HTML and PDF formats at the following address: lobbycanada.gc.ca.

Permission to reproduce

Except as otherwise specifically noted, the information in this publication may be reproduced, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, provided that due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the information reproduced; that the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying is identified as the source institution; and, that the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the information reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

For permission to reproduce the information in this publication for commercial redistribution purposes, please email: questionslobbying@lobbycanada.gc.ca.

Aussi offert en français sous le titre
Commissariat au lobbying du Canada – Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels – Rapport annuel 2017-2018

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 2018-19.

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying

The Commissioner of Lobbying is responsible for the administration of the Lobbying Act (the Act) and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct (the Code). The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying (OCL) supports the Commissioner in her mandate. The authority of the Commissioner is derived from the Act. The legislation seeks to improve transparency and accountability regarding communications between lobbyists and federal public office holders and increase the confidence of Canadians in the integrity of government decision-making.

The mandate of the Commissioner is threefold:

• establish and maintain the Registry of Lobbyists, which contains and makes public the registration information disclosed by lobbyists;
• develop and implement educational programs to foster public awareness of the requirements of the Act; and
• undertake investigations to ensure compliance with the Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct.

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 conclusion.

Responsibility for information rights / 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 copies are attached in Annex A. The OCL has two positions responsible for the administration of the Privacy Act, an ATIP Coordinator and an ATIP Advisor.

The Director of Internal Service and Chief Financial was the ATIP Coordinator from April 1, 2018 to April 30, 2018 and the Director of Registration and Clients services was the ATIP Coordinator from May 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019. 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.

The ATIP Advisor is responsible for processing the requests received under the Privacy Act and making recommendations to the ATIP Coordinator on the disposition of any requests received. Under the authority of the Act, the OCL collects personal information from registrants and the disclosures filed by registrants are accessible on the Registry of Lobbyists at the following address: lobbycanada.gc.ca.

Reports on Investigations that are completed must be tabled in both Houses of Parliament. They are also posted on the OCL's website.

Administration of the Privacy Act

Statistical report

Annex B provides a statistical summary of requests under the Privacy Act. In 2018-19, the OCL did not received any request under the Act.

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 Info Source publication. This publication contains a description of the classes of institutional records held by the OCL. The OCL does not have any exempt banks.

Info Source can be obtained through public or academic libraries or it may be viewed online on the Treasury Board Secretariat's website at www.infosource.gc.ca.

OCL website

The OCL's website 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 8^th Floor at 410 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1R 1B7.

Education and training activities

In 2018-19, the OCL provided training to staff on determining Information Records of Business Value in anticipation of the Office relocation in May 2019. Further training was provided to the Investigations Directorate on ways to facilitate the release of information.

Privacy impact assessments

No Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) was completed for the period of 2018-19.

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

A procedure manual was developed to establish service standards and consistency of the program within the OCL.

Complaints

No complaints concerning the Privacy Act were received from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in 2018-19.

Appeals to the federal court

There were no applications filed in 2018-19 related to the Privacy Act.

Data matching and sharing activities

No data matching or sharing activities were undertaken during 2018-19.

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 2018-19.

Annex A — Delegation orders

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act delegation order

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, Internal Services and Chief Financial Officer

Access to Information Act and Regulations

Full authority

Privacy Act and Regulations

Full authority

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, this Tuesday, January 9, 2018,

Nancy Bélanger

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act delegation order

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

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, this Tuesday, May 1, 2018,

Nancy Bélanger

Annex B — 2018-19 Statistical report

Statistical report on the Privacy Act

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

Reporting period: 2018-04-01 to 2019-03-31

Part 1: Requests under the Privacy Act

Part 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 Deemed refusals

2.6.1 Reasons for not meeting statutory deadline

2.6.2 Number of days past deadline

2.7 Requests for translation

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

Part 4: Requests for correction of personal information and notations

Part 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

5.2 Length of extensions

Part 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

Part 7: Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with legal services

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Part 8: Complaints and investigations notices received

Part 9: Privacy impact assessments (PIAs)

Part 10: Resources related to the Privacy Act

10.1 Costs

10.2 Human resources

Note: Enter values to two decimal places.