2020-2021 Annual report on the Access to Information Act

​​​​​Table of contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
    1. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
    2. Communications and Access to Information Directorate
  3. Delegation of authority
  4. Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act – Interpretation
    1. Requests received
    2. Disposition of requests completed
    3. Exemptions invoked
    4. Exclusions cited
    5. Completion time
    6. Extensions
    7. Translation
    8. Method of access
    9. Fees and Cost
    10. COVID-19
  5. Informal Access to Information requests
  6. Consultation requests
  7. Complaints and investigations
  8. Monitoring activities
  9. Education and training activities
  10. Policies, guidelines and procedures
  11. Reading rooms
  12. Appendix A: Delegation orders
  13. Appendix B: Statistical report on the Access to Information Act
  14. Appendix C: 2020-2021 Supplemental statistical Access to Information and Privacy statistical f​orm

1. Introduction

The Access to Information Act (the Act) provides Canadian citizens, permanent residents or any person or corporation present in Canada with a general right of access to information in records under the control of federal government institutions, subject to specific and limited exceptions.

Section 94 of the Act requires deputy heads of all government institutions to table an annual report on the administration of the Act within their respective institutions during each financial year.

This annual report provides a summary of the management and administration of the Act within the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) during the 2020–2021 reporting period. It is intended for use by the general public, members of Parliament, and IRB personnel.

2. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

I. The Immigration and Refugee Board

The IRB is Canada’s largest independent administrative tribunal. It is responsible for resolving immigration and refugee cases efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law.

The IRB is currently composed of four divisions:

  • The Refugee Protection Division (RPD), which decides:
    • claims for refugee protection made within Canada;
    • applications for vacation of refugee protection; and
    • applications for cessation of refugee protection.
  • The Immigration Division (ID), which conducts:
    • admissibility hearings for foreign nationals or permanent residents who seek entry into Canada, or who are already in Canada and are alleged to be inadmissible; and
    • detention reviews for foreign nationals or permanent residents who are detained for immigration reasons.
  • The Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), which hears:
    • appeals of family sponsorship applications refused by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC);
    • appeals from certain removal orders made against permanent residents, Convention refugees and other protected persons, and holders of permanent resident visas;
    • appeals by permanent residents against whom an IRCC officer outside of Canada has decided that they have not fulfilled their residency obligation; and
    • appeals by the Minister of Public Safety of ID decisions at admissibility hearings.

The fourth division, the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD), was established in December 2012 with the coming into force of the Balanced Refugee Reform Act and the Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act.

The RAD hears:

  • appeals from decisions of the RPD allowing or rejecting claims for refugee protection;
  • appeals from decisions of the RPD rejecting applications by the Minister for a determination that refugee protection has ceased; and
  • appeals from decisions of the RPD rejecting applications by the Minister to vacate a decision to allow a claim for refugee protection.

The Chairperson of the IRB reports to Parliament through the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

II. Communications and Access to Information Directorate

The Communications and Access to Information Directorate ensures that the IRB meets its statutory obligations under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act by:

  • processing access and privacy requests for the IRB;
  • responding to consultation requests submitted by other federal institutions;
  • providing advice and guidance to IRB personnel regarding the interpretation of both acts as well as related Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) policies and guidelines;
  • liaising on behalf of the IRB with the TBS, the offices of the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner as well as other government departments and agencies on a wide variety of ATIP-related issues ranging from legislative interpretation to details of process and procedures;
  • providing input into the development of IRB policies and procedures to ensure that they are in compliance with the provisions of both acts;
  • coordinating the preparation of the IRB’s Info Source chapter;
  • preparing the annual reports to Parliament on the administration of each act; and
  • participating in ATIP forums such as the TBS’s ATIP Community meetings and working groups.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Unit, which is within the Communications and Access to Information Directorate, is part of the Strategic Directions and Corporate Affairs Branch and is staffed by a manager/coordinator, a supervisor, six ATIP officers and two clerks.

Although section 96 of the Access to Information Act allows institutions reporting to the same Minister to enter into agreements with each other for the purpose of sharing ATIP resources and capacity, the IRB did not have any such service agreement for the reporting period.

3. Delegation of Authority

Pursuant to section 95(1) of the Act, the deputy head of a government institution may by order designate one or more officers or employees of the institution to exercise or perform any of the powers, duties or functions of the deputy head of the institution.

Authority to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Chairperson (deputy head) of the IRB for the purposes of the Act has been delegated to the Executive Director, the Director General of the Strategic Directions and Corporate Affairs Branch, , Director of the Communications and Access to Information Directorate and the ATIP Manager/Coordinator.

A copy of the delegation order is enclosed at Appendix A.

4. Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act – Interpretation

I. Requests Received:

The IRB received 160 formal Access to Information requests in 2020–21, the majority of which were submitted by the business sector. This represents a 43 percent decrease in volume from fiscal year 2019–20, during which 229 formal requests were submitted. An additional 34 requests were also carried forward from the previous reporting period.

Text version
Reporting periodsNumber of requests receivedNumber of requests completed
2016-2017230195
2017-2018238263
2018-2019225210
2019-2020229229
2020-2021160153

II. Disposition of requests completed:

A total of 153 formal requests were completed during the 2020–21 reporting period. The completed requests were finalized in the following manner:

DispositionNumber of requestsPercentage
All disclosed8153%
Disclosed in part2919%
All exempt0N/A
All excluded10.7%
No records exist2214%
Request transferred1510%
Request abandoned53.3%

Of the 82,820 pages reviewed in response to these requests, 60,410 were released. To compare, approximately 41,000 less pages were reviewed and 49,500 less pages were released in 2020–21 than in the previous fiscal year.

Cases in which no access to records was provided are attributable to situations beyond the control of the IRB. A total of 15 requests were transferred to other government institutions. An additional 22 requests could not be processed as no relevant records existed under the control of the IRB. Finally, 5 requests were deemed abandoned as the applicants either did not provide the application fee or the clarification needed to process the request.

III. Exemptions invoked:

Section 3.2 of the statistical report outlines the exemptions that were applied in accordance with the Act. In 2020–21, the IRB relied primarily on the exemptions provided for in the following provision of the Act:

  • Subsection 19(1) dealing with personal information;
  • Subsection 21(1) dealing with operations of Government; and
  • Section 23 dealing with the solicitor-client privilege.

It should be noted that if an exemption was applied several times within the same request, it is reported only once in the enclosed statistical report.

IV. Exclusions cited:

Pursuant to sections 68 and 69, this Act does not apply to:

  • published materials or materials available for purchase by the public;
  • library or museum material preserved solely for public reference or exhibition purposes;
  • materials placed in libraries and museums by or on behalf of persons or organizations other than government institutions; and
  • confidences of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.

Section 3.3 of the statistical report is reserved for reporting on the number of exclusions applied in accordance with these sections of the Act.

During the 2020–21 reporting period, only one exclusion pursuant to section 68 and no exclusion pursuant to section 69 of the Act were applied by the IRB.

V. Completion time:

The chart below summarizes the length of time required to process the 153 requests completed in 2020–21. Of those requests, 74.5 percent were completed on time.

It should be noted that, at the beginning of the pandemic, the IRB halted all in-person functions in order to protect the health and safety of staff. The impact of that stoppage made it impossible to meet the legal deadline in a total of 31 requests due to the inability to access paper-based records while employees were working from home. If those delayed files were discounted, t​he processing time for applications would have been in the order of 94.7 percent.

Text version
Completion timesNumber of requests
Within 30 days or fewer90
31 to 60 days6
61 to 120 days18
121 to 180 days12
181 days or more17

  • 90 requests in 30 days or less (59%);
  • 6 requests in 31 to 60 days (4%);
  • 18 requests in 61 to 120 days (12%);
  • 12 requests in 121 to 180 days (8%); and
  • 27 requests in 181 days or more (17%).

VI. Extensions:

Section 9 of the Act allows government institutions to extend the statutory 30-day time limit for processing a request.

During the 2020–21 reporting period, a total of 29 extensions were taken by the IRB. In 25 cases, the statutory deadline was extended as the requests were for a large number of records or necessitated a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would have unreasonably interfered with the operations of the IRB.

In 4 other cases, consultations with other government institutions or third parties were necessary and the request could not reasonably be completed within the original time limit.

VII. Translation:

There were no requests for the translation of records from one official language to the other during the reporting period.

VIII. Method of access:

In 2020–21, access to the records was given in whole or in part in 110 cases. Copies of the requested material were provided in 21 of those cases, while in the other 89 cases, the records were provided electronically.

It should be noted that these figures are based solely on those requests for which information was disclosed.

IX. Fees and Cost:

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 section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

  • Enabling authority: Access to Information Act
  • Fee amount: $5, the only fee charged for an access to information request
  • Total revenue: $780
  • Fees waived: 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, the IRB 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.
  • Cost: The total costs incurred by the ATIP Unit for the administration of the Act is estimated to be $149,306 in salaries. The human resources used for this reporting period are estimated at two FTEs.

X. COVID-19

Because teleworking was a common practice in the ATIP Unit before the pandemic, the exceptional measures to curb COVID-19 implemented by the Government of Canada had a minimal impact on the IRB’s ability to receive requests as set out in the Access to Information Act. Challenges with accessing paper-based records while employees were working from home, however, did result in delays in processing times. In the early days of the pandemic, this issue resulted in delays for 31 requests. Administrative measures have since been taken to address this issue.

5. Informal Access to Information requests

In 2020–21, the IRB processed 205 informal access requests. This represents a 23 percent decrease in volume from the previous reporting period, during which 267 requests were processed. A total of 159,041 pages were released to the applicants.

The majority of the material reviewed in response to informal access requests consisted of immigration and refugee decisions that are made available to the public electronically through the website of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII).

As the majority of RPD/RAD proceedings are held in private, RPD/RAD decisions must be sanitized by the ATIP Unit prior to being made public, in order to maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings and the privacy of the refugee protection claimants.

ID and IAD proceedings are held in public unless the proceedings are ordered to be held, in whole or in part, in private. Where such an order is made, the decision is sanitized by ATIP prior to it being made public.

6. Consultation Requests

The IRB responded to 15 consultation requests made by other government institutions or organizations in 2020–21. A total of 168 pages were reviewed in response to these consultations, and the majority of pages were recommended for release to the applicant.

7. Complaints and Investigations

In fiscal year 2020–21, five new complaints against the IRB were registered with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada. Four complaints, including two that were received in previous fiscal years (2017 to 2019), were processed then closed. These five complaints represent 3.3% of all requests received and completed during the same period. Four complaints were related to exemptions and the fourth one was related to the treatment of the request (failed to conduct reasonable research for records). A total of three complaints were still ongoing at year end.

So far, no significant issues were raised following the opening of these access to information investigations, and no audit of the IRB’s access to information practices was conducted in fiscal year 2020–21.

8. Monitoring Activities

The manager, in cooperation with the supervisor and analysts, monitors the processing times for access to information requests, on a weekly basis. In addition, ATIP staff periodically perform diagnostic activities related to the processing of the various requests received.

9. Education and Training Activities

No formal session was delivered to IRB employees. However, individual and informal training was offered when needed. In addition, the ATIP team is currently working on updating its general ATIP training which will have a portion dealing with privacy breaches.

10. Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

The IRB implemented the Privacy Implementation Notice 2020-03: Protecting privacy when releasing information about a small number of individuals during the 2020–21 reporting period, to prevent inadvertent identification of individuals from small data sets in highly sensitive contexts (e.g. refugee claims).

11. Reading Rooms

Individuals who wish to examine records released under the Act can usually contact the Communications and Access to Information Directorate to make arrangements to view release packages at the IRB Headquarters in Ottawa or at one of its regional offices. However, and due to the exceptional measures to curb COVID-19 implemented by the Government of Canada, it has not been possible to do so in 2020-21.


Appendix A - Delegation Orders (Access to Information Act)

The Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, pursuant to section 73(1) of the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule below, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Chairperson as the head of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, under the provisions of the Act and related regulations set out in the Schedule opposite each position. This designation replaces all previous delegation orders.

Dated, at the City of Ottawa, this 12th day of January 2021.

Richard Wex, Chairperson

Schedule
Position Access to Information Act and regulations
ChairpersonFull authority
Executive DirectorFull authority except: subsection 95(1)
Regulations: Full authority
Director General, Strategic Directions and Corporate Affairs Branch
Director, Communications and Access to Information Directorate
Manager, Access to Information and Privacy
Full authority expect: subsection 95(1)
Regulations: Full authority

Appendix B - Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

SourceNumber of requests
Received during reporting period160
Outstanding from previous reporting period34
Total 194
Closed during reporting period153
Carried over to next reporting period41

1.2 Sources of requests

SourceNumber of requests
Media5
Academia19
Business (private sector)89
Organization2
Public45
Decline to identify0
Total 160

1.3 Informal requests

Completion time
1 to 15 days16 to 30 days31 to 60 days61 to 120 days121 to 180 days181 to 365 daysMore Than 365 days Total
882232431271 205

Note: All requests previously recorded as "treated informally" will now be accounted for in this section only.

Section 2: Decline to act vexatious, made in bad faith or abuse of right requests

SourceNumber of requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period0
Sent during reporting period0
Total 0
Approved by the Information Commmissioner during reporting period0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period0
Carried over to next reporting period0

Section 3: Requests closed during the reporting period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of requestsCompletion time
1 to 15 days16 to 30 days31 to 60 days61 to 120 days121 to 180 days181 to 365 daysMore Than 365 days Total
All disclosed2403156150 81
Disclosed in part0823664 29
All exempted0000000 0
All excluded1000000 1
No records exist15500020 22
Request transferred15000000 15
Request abandoned3110000 5
Neither confirmed nor denied0000000 0
Decline to act with the approval of the Information Commisioner0000000 0
Total365461812234 153

3.2 Exemptions

SectionNumber of requestsSectionNumber of requestsSectionNumber of requestsSectionNumber of requests
13(1)(a)016(2)218(a)020.10
13(1)(b)016(2)(a)018(b)020.20
13(1)(c)016(2)(b)018(c)020.40
13(1)(d)016(2)(c)118(d)021(1)(a)7
13(1)(e)016(3)018.1(1)(a)021(1)(b)1
14016.1(1)(a)018.1(1)(b)021(1)(c)0
14(a)016.1(1)(b)018.1(1)(c)021(1)(d)2
14(b)016.1(1)(c)018.1(1)(d)0220
15(1)016.1(1)(d)019(1)2422.1(1)0
15(1) 0 I.A.*016.2(1)020(1)(a)0235
15(1) - Def.*016.3020(1)(b)023.10
15(1) - S.A.*016.31020(1)(b.1)024(1)0
16(1)(a)(i)316.4(1)(a)020(1)(c)0260
16(1)(a)(ii)016.4(1)(b)020(1)(d)0
16(1)(a)(iii)016.50
16(1)(b)016.60
16(1)(c)1170
16(1)(d)0

3.3 Exclusions

SectionNumber of requestsSectionNumber of requestsSectionNumber of requests
68(a)169(1)069(1)(g) re (a)0
68(b)069(1)(a)069(1)(g) re (b)0
68(c)069(1)(b)069(1)(g) re (c)0
68.1069(1)(c)069(1)(g) re (d)0
68.2(a)069(1)(d)069(1)(g) re (e)0
68.2(b)069(1)(e)069(1)(g) re (f)0
69(1)(f)069.1(1)0

3.4 Format of information released

PaperElectronicOther
21881

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed

Number of pages processedNumber of pages disclosedNumber of requests
8282060410116

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed and disclosed by size of requests

DispositionLess than 100 pages processed101-500 pages processed501-1000 pages processed1001-5000 pages processedMore than 5000 pages processed
Number of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosed
All disclosed39820267865853017872617514
Dislosed in part8140915824267946954418829
All exempted0000000000
All excluded1000000000
Request abandoned5000000000
Neither confirmed nor denied0000000000
Declined to act with the approval of the information commissioner0000000000
Total539603594471279801115680526343

3.5.3 Other complexities

DispositionConsultation requiredAssessment of feesLegal advice soughtOtherTotal
All disclosed1001011
Disclosed in part2051421
All exempted00000
All excluded00000
Request abandoned00011
Neither confirmed nor denied00000
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner00000
Total3052533

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests cosed within legislated timelines

Requests closed within legislated timelines
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines114
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines74.5

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Number of requests closed past the legislated timelinesPrincipal reason
Interference with Operations / WorkloadExternal consultationInternal consultationOther
3971031

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

Number of days past legislated timelinesNumber of requests past legislated timelines where no extension was takenNumber of requests past legislated timeline where an extension was takenTotal
1 to 15 days101
16 to 30 days202
31 to 60 days325
61 to 120 days101
121 to 180 days13114
181 to 365 days15116
More than 365 days000
Total35439

3.8 Requests for translation

Translation requestsAcceptedRefusedTotal
English to French000
French to English000
Total000

Section 4: Extensions

4.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of requests where an extenson was taken9*1)(a) Interferene with operations9(1)(b) Consultation9(1)(c) Third-party notice
Section 69Other
All disclosed10011
Disclosed in part14020
All exempted0000
All excluded0000
No records exist0000
Request abandoned0000
Decline to act with the approval of the information commissioner1000
Total25031

4.2 Length of extensions

Length of extensions9(1)(a) Interference with operations9(1)(b) Consultation9(1)(c) Third-party notice
Section 69Other
30 days or less1000
31 to 60 days3021
61 to 120 days11010
121 to 180 days4000
181 to 365 days3000
365 days or more3000
Total25031

Section 5: Fees

Fee typeFee collectedFee waived or refunded
RequestsAmountRequestsAmount
Application156$7804$20
Other fees0$00$0
Total156$7804$20

Section 6: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

6.1 Consultations received from other Government of Canada institutions and Organizations

ConsultationsOther Government of Canada institutionsNumber of pages to reviewOther organizationsNumber of pages to review
Received during reporting period1516800
Outstanding from the previous reporting period0000
Total1516800
Closed during the reporting period1416300
Carried over to next reporting period1500

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

RecommendationNumber of days required to complete consultation requests
1 to 15 days15 to 30 days61 to 120 days121 to 180 days181 to 365 daysMore than 365 daysTotal
Disclose entirely64100011
Disclose in part1000001
Exempt entirely1000001
Exclude entirely0000000
Consult other institution0000000
Other0100001
Total85100014

6.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations

RecommendationNumber of days required to complete consultation requests
1 to 15 days16 to 30 days31 to 60 days61 to 120 days121 to 180 days181 to 365 daysMore than 365 daysTotal
Disclose entirely00000000
Disclose in part00000000
Exempt entirely00000000
Exclude entirely00000000
Consult other institution00000000
Other00000000
Total00000000

Section 7: Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences

7.1 Requests with Legal Services

Number of daysFewer than 100 pages processed101-500 pages processed501-1000 pages processed1001-5000 pages processedMore than 5000 pages processed
Number of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosed
1 to 150000000000
16 to 300000000000
31 to 600000000000
61 to 1200000000000
121 to 1800000000000
181 to 3650000000000
More than 3650000000000
Total0000000000

7.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of daysFewer than 100 pages processed101-500 pages processed501-1000 pages processed1001-5000 pages processedMore than 5000 pages processed
Number of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosedNumber of requestsPages disclosed
1 to 150000000000
16 to 300000000000
31 to 600000000000
61 to 1200000000000
121 to 1800000000000
181 to 3650000000000
More than 3650000000000
Total0000000000

Section 8: Complaints and investigations

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigateSubsection 30(5) Ceased to investigateSection 35 Formal representationsSection 37 Reports of finding receivedSection 37 Reports of finding containing recommendations issues by the Information CommissionerSection 37 Reports of finding containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
500300

Section 9: Court Action

9.1 Court actions on complaints received before June 21, 2019 and on-going

Section 41 (before June 21, 2019)Section 42Section 44
000

9.2 Court actions on complaints received after June 21, 2019

Section 41 (after June 21, 2019)
Complainant (1)Institution (2)Third party (3)Privacy Commissioner (4)Total
00000

Section 10: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

10.1 Costs

ExpendituresAmount
Salaries$62,002
Overtime$87,304
Goods and services$0
- Professional services contracts$0
- Other$0
Total$149,306

10.2 Human Resources

ResourcesPerson Years dedicated to access to information activities
Full-time employees0.800
Part-time and casual employees0.000
Regional staff0.000
Consultants and agency personnel0.000
Students0.000
Total0.800

​Appendix C - Supplemental Access to Information and Privacy Statistical Form

Section 1: Capacity to receive requests

ChannelNumber of weeks
Able to receive requests by mail30
Able to receive requests by email52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service52

Section 2: Capacity to process records

2.1 Number of weeks the IRB was able to process paper records in different classification levels:

RecordsNo capacityPartial capacityFull capacityTotal
Unclassified paper records22030 52
Protected B paper records22030 52
Secret and Top Secret paper records5200 52

2.2. Number of weeks the IRB was able to process electronic records in different classification levels:​

RecordsNo capacityPartial capacityFull capacityTotal
Unclassified electronic records0052 52
Protected B electronic records0052 52
Secret and Top Secret electronic records5200 52