Administration of the Access to Information Act Annual Report
April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Introduction

The Access to Information Act (the Act) gives Canadian citizens the legislated right to access information in federal government records, subject to certain limitations and specific exemptions. The Act complements other methods for obtaining government information and does not limit in any way the access to federal government information that is normally available to the public upon request.

This report is prepared by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act and section 20 of the Service Fees Act and is tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Health in accordance with the aforementioned sections. It describes how CIHR fulfilled its responsibilities under the Act during the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2023 and ending March 31, 2024.

CIHR was created in 2000 under the authority of the CIHR Actas the Government of Canada’s health research investment agency. The mandate of CIHR as per its enabling legislation is:

To excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.

CIHR is the largest funder of health research in Canada. Composed of 13 “virtual” Institutes and three business portfolios, CIHR provides leadership and support to over 15,000 world-class researchers and trainees from all pillars of health research and from all regions of Canada.

Organizational Structure

CIHR is led by a President and a Governing Council comprised of up to 18 members appointed by Order in Council. The Governing Council sets the overall strategic direction and goals and establishes health research institutes and determines the mandate of each. As outlined in the legislation, the Governing Council is responsible for developing CIHR’s strategic direction and goals; evaluating its performance, approving its budget; establishing a peer review process for research proposals submitted to CIHR; approving funding for research; approving other expenditures to carry out its objective; establishing policies; and dealing with any other matter that the Governing Council considers related to the affairs of CIHR.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office, part of CIHR’s Strategic Policy Division, administers the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act for the CIHR and is accountable to the President of CIHR. The ATIP Compliance Office, is comprised of one ATIP Manager, one Senior ATIP Analyst and one Junior ATIP Officer. In addition, in 2023-2024, CIHR engaged the services of one consultant. The ATIP Office is responsible for the following activities:

• managing all response to both formal and information requests made under both Acts;
• developing policies, guidelines and procedures with respect to fulfilling agency’s legislative requirements of both acts;
• promoting awareness of both acts, delivering training, and providing advice and guidance to ensure that employees and management understand their roles and responsibilities;
• monitoring compliance with both acts;
• participating in and contributing to the broader ATIP community of practice;
• preparing annual reports for tabling; and,
• updating the CIHR Info Source chapter annually.

In accordance with the Access to Information Act, an area on the premises of this institution has been designated as a public reading room. This can be found at 160 Elgin Street, 9th floor, Ottawa, Ontario.

CIHR was not party to any service agreements under section 96 of the Access to Information Act during the 2023-2024 reporting period.

Delegation of Authority

The President of CIHR, as designated Head of CIHR under the Access to Information Act, exercises powers entrusted to the position by the Act, such as exemptions and exclusions.

In accordance with her authority under Section 73, the President has designated the Executive Vice-President; the Associate Vice-President, Government and External Relations; the Director General, Strategic Policy; the ATIP Manager, the Senior ATIP Analyst and the Junior ATIP Officer to exercise his powers, duties or functions under the Act (See Appendix A - Delegation Order).

Performance 2023-2024

During the April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024 reporting period, CIHR received 19 requests and had five requests carried over from previous reporting periods, for a total of 24 formal requests. Out of these 24 requests, 20 were completed in the 2023-2024 fiscal year and four were carried over to the next fiscal year. One request was carried over from 2018-2019, which was not within legislated timelines. During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, CIHR received 24 informal requests, of which 20 were completed. Combined, CIHR completed the processing of 40 formal and informal requests. CIHR was also consulted on 18 requests from other federal institutions and one request from an external organization.

a. Formal Requests

A total of 24 requests were active during this reporting period, 20 of which were completed. (See Appendix B - Statistical Report). Of the 20 requests completed, 12 were completed within the first 30 days of receipt, five requests were completed within 31 – 120 days and three requests required more than 365 days. Three requests had no records found. Fifteen of the 20 requests completed in 2023-2024 were disclosed in part, representing 75 % of total requests. One request was transferred to another government institution and one request was abandoned.

A total of 10168 pages were processed and 2570 pages were disclosed in 2023-2024. During this period, 60% of the requests (12) were processed within the legislated time limit, compared to 61% in 2022-2023 and 60% in 2021-2022. Of the eight requests that were not closed within legislated timelines, workload, and increased response times when consulting with other government institutions were contributing factors.

As illustrated in Table 1, the number of requests received was comparable to the number received in 2022-2023. However, the number of pages per request significantly increased. This change can be attributed to a small number of high-volume requests, four of which account for 9210 pages (90.6%) of the total volume of pages processed.

An upward trend on requests related to proactive disclosure material that was noted in both 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 continues to be noted during this reporting period. In response to the Government of Canada’s commitment to open government access and transparency, CIHR continues to make documents available to the public on the Open Government Registry Portal.

b. Informal Requests

In 2023-2024, CIHR received 24 informal requests, 20 requests were completed and four were carried over. All informal requests received in the 2023–2024 reporting period were for copies of records previously processed under the Access to Information Act. These requests were received via the Open Government Registry Portal. Of the 20 requests completed, 18 were completed in 1-15 days and two were completed in 61-120 days. A total of 1833 pages were released. This is a significant increase from 2023-20233 when five informal requests were received, and 162 pages were released.

c. Sources of Requests

Thirteen requests were received from the public in 2023-2024, equating to 68% of the requests received. This represents a continued increase in the proportion of requests received from the public from 30% in 2021-2022 and 52% in 2022-2023. Conversely, the number of requests from media have continued to decline. Media accounted for 43% of requests in 2021-2022 and 35% in 2022-2023. During 2023-2024, only 11% of requests (2) were received from the media. Academia represents 16% of requests received (3) and one request was received from an organization, representing 5%. No requests were received from businesses in 2023-2024.

d. Consultation Requests

During the 2023-2024 reporting period, the CIHR ATIP Office received 18 consultation requests from federal departments and one consultation from an outside organization. Two consultation requests were carried over from 2022-2023. Five consultations were recommended for partial disclosure, 14 were recommended for full disclosure and one was referred to another institution for consultation. Of the 20 consultations processed, twelve were completed in 1-30 days, six in 16-30 days, one in 61-120 days and one in 181-365 days. One request was carried over to 2024-2025.

The volume and nature of these consultations tend to be similar to those of requests for information CIHR receives on an annual basis, focusing primarily on CIHR programs and initiatives. In 2023-2024, CIHR was consulted on 378 pages, which is a decrease from 2022-2023 when a total of 584 pages were received for consultation.

e. Processing Requests

CIHR makes every effort to process requests within the 30-day time limit as required by the legislation. However, some delays may be incurred when records contain third-party information, which triggers the requirement for consultations, or when a significant volume of records must be treated for a request.

In 2023-2024, eight requests required an extension and, in some instances, extensions for interference with operations/workload and external consultations were both required. In total, three extensions were due to interference with operations/workloads, and eight extensions required external consultations. This represents extensions for 40% of all requests processed during the reporting year, compared to 39% in 2022-2023, 67% in 2021-2022 and 35.14% in 2020-2021.

Training and Awareness

During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the development of new and updated ATIP training resources was prioritized. A total of five information sessions were held with management and senior leadership to solicit feedback and seek endorsement of the proposed training plan. These discussions determined the need for enhanced agency-wide training to ensure CIHR employees are aware of the policies, procedures and their legal responsibilities under the Act. In addition, the ATIP office, in consultation with individual business units, identified a need for targeted training materials to support the successful administration of core business activities. A training plan and supporting materials were developed in response to the feedback received throughout the year, to be implemented in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives

While there were no significant revisions to current access to information policies, guidelines or procedures, CIHR dedicated time to reviewing efficiencies in the access to information process. The ATIP office provides internal advice, guidance and recommendations on a variety of access to information issues related to CIHR programs and initiatives.  ATIP staff continued to work with business units to develop text about access to information in many memorandums of understanding, especially in relation to joint-funding initiatives.

Proactive Publication Under Part 2 of the ATIA

CIHR is a government institution listed in Schedule II (section 2) of the Financial Administration Act for the purposes of Part 2 of the ATIA. As set out in sections 82 to 88 of the Access to Information Act, CIHR is subject to the following proactive publication requirements:

In 2023-2024, 78% of CIHR’s proactive publication requirements during the reporting period were published within the legislated timelines. This is a notable increase from the 48% compliance reported in 2022-2023. CIHR’s proactive publications can be found on the Open Government portal.

Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

In 2023-2024, CIHR evaluated the methods used to review briefing note titles for proactive disclosure. A new system was implemented internally to facilitate the review of titles to ensure CIHR was able to proactively disclose the information within legislated timelines. Internal measures were also implemented to facilitate responding to the increasing volume of requests for copies of previously released ATIA requests.

CIHR continues to review internal methods and projects that will improve access to CIHR information for Canadians.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

During the 2023-2024 reporting year, one complaint was received, one complaint was closed, and the Office of the Information Commissioner ceased to investigate one complaint. CIHR continues to engage with the Office of the Information Commissioner on 2 reopened complaints from 2019-2020.

In 2023-2024, CIHR made an application to the Office of the Information Commissioner in accordance with section 6 of the Access to Information Act seeking the Commissioner’s approval to decline to act on a request. This request for decision has been carried over to the next fiscal year.

Access to Information Fees for the Purposes of the Service Fees Act

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution. With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act. Owing to the difficulty of tracking all the operational costs related to the administration of the Act, the costs and human resource statistics are conservative estimates. Almost all costs are attributable to salary and include fractions of the salaries of the Deputy Directors and team leads who participated in work related to the Act.

• Enabling authority: Access to Information Act
• Fee payable: $5.00 application fee is the only fee charged for an ATIA request
• Total revenue: $115 for the 2023-2024 fiscal year
• Fees waived: $5.00 for one request.
• 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, CIHR 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 of operating the program: $142,132

Monitoring Process

The ATIP Office monitors the trends and time to process requests and administer the Access to Information Act. This includes providing performance reports on the status of the ATIP Office on a regular basis. In addition, weekly reports on new requests received are provided to the Offices of the Minister of Health and the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. ATIP updates are also provided to the Director General of Strategic Policy and the Associate Vice President of Government and External Relations. Any issues of significant interest are discussed with the President and Communications department on an as needed basis.

Date modified:

2024-10-10