Office of the Auditor General of CanadaAnnual Report on the Privacy Act—2022–23

Introduction

The Privacy Act gives individuals the right to access information about themselves that is held by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG), subject to certain specific and limited exceptions. The Privacy Act also protects the privacy of individuals by giving them substantial control over the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information and by preventing others from having access to that information.

Section 72 of the act requires the head of each government institution to prepare an annual report on the administration of the act within the institution and to submit the report to Parliament.

This annual report on the Privacy Act at the OAG describes how we administered our responsibilities under the act during the 2022–23 fiscal year.

The OAG audits federal government operations and provides Parliament with independent information, advice, and assurance regarding the federal government’s stewardship of public funds.

We are in the business of legislative auditing. We conduct

• performance audits of federal departments and agencies
• annual financial audits of the government’s financial statements
• special examinations and annual financial audits of Crown corporations
• audits of the governments of Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories

Since 1995, the OAG has also had a specific environmental and sustainable development mandate, which is carried out by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada. The Commissioner has additional responsibilities under the Federal Sustainable Development Act and the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act to review and monitor the Government of Canada’s sustainable development strategies and its implementation of measures aimed at mitigating climate change.

Access to Information and Privacy team

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator is a member of the Legal Services, ATIP, and Policy team headed by the OAG’s Senior General Counsel. The full-time ATIP Coordinator is supported by a junior analyst, counsel, and administrative staff as required. The main activities of the ATIP Coordinator included

• monitoring compliance with ATIP legislation and relevant procedures and policies
• processing requests under both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
• developing and maintaining policies, procedures, and guidelines to ensure that the OAG respected the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
• promoting awareness of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act within the OAG to ensure that employees were aware of their responsibilities
• preparing annual reports to Parliament and other statutory reports, as well as other material that might be required by central agencies
• representing the OAG in dealings with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the information and privacy commissioners, and other government departments and agencies in matters pertaining to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act
• helping the OAG meet its commitments to ensure openness and transparency, through proactive and informal disclosure of information

The OAG was not a party to any service agreements under section 73.1 of the act during the 2022–23 reporting period.

Performance in 2022–23

Completion time for closed requests

During the reporting period, from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, the OAG received 1 formal Privacy Act request and completed a request that had been carried over from the previous reporting period. Both requests were completed within legislated timelines. One request was completed in less than 30 days, and the other request was completed within 60 days.

There were no outstanding formal requests carried over to the next reporting period.

Trends

The OAG responds to multiple requests throughout the year from individuals seeking informal feedback, input, or advice regarding whether they should submit a formal request for their personal information, either to the OAG or to another institution.

The OAG processed and completed a total of 6 formal requests for personal information during the past 4 reporting periods, including the period of this report.

The OAG assists with or redirects multiple requests for personal information annually, as many individuals believe that the OAG either has their personal information or through the course of audits has collected their personal information. Additionally, many individuals believe that the OAG should audit the subject of their grievances against the federal government. While these are not processed as formal requests for information, they can often result in prolonged efforts to address individuals’ concerns and ascertain which department, if any, should receive their request.

Training and awareness

The OAG requires that all employees complete mandatory ATIP training, offered by the Canada School of Public Service as an online, self-paced course.

All new OAG employees are required to complete the training within 3 months of the start date of their employment.

During the reporting period, 50 employees completed this training.

OAG employees were offered an informal information session regarding definitions of personal information.

To ensure in-depth training is taken by employees of the OAG who have functional or delegated responsibility for the administration of the Privacy Act and Privacy Regulations, the OAG ATIP Coordinator participated in the 2022 Canadian Privacy Symposium offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and the OAG Junior ATIP Analyst attended the 2022 Canadian Access and Privacy Association Conference.

The ATIP Coordinator regularly provides OAG employees with guidance and briefings on the processing of ATIP requests. Furthermore, information is available on the OAG’s internal website to help raise employees’ awareness of privacy issues, such as the collection, retention, use, and disclosure of personal information.

Policies, guidelines, and procedures

The OAG did not revise policies, guidelines, or procedures related to the act or implement new ones during the reporting period.

Initiatives and projects to improve privacy

The OAG plans to procure and use request tracking and reporting software to modernize our ability to receive and process formal and informal requests.

The OAG has been included in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s ATIP online program.

Summary of key issues and actions taken on complaints

The OAG did not receive any complaints pursuant to the Privacy Act during this reporting period, and no investigations regarding the OAG were carried out.

Material privacy breaches

One material privacy breach occurred during the reporting period. A security clearance form containing an individual’s sensitive personal information was mistakenly sent to another individual by email. The affected individual was notified, and the recipient of the incorrect form confirmed it was deleted. The OAG notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Privacy impact assessments

Audit resource management system

The objective of the project was to update Retain corporate software, an audit resource management software, from version 5 to version 7 as the previous version is not supported by the vendor anymore. To efficiently coordinate and manage audits, resource planning is required. The OAG implemented Retain corporate software version 7 to continue to be able to efficiently schedule audit resources, define and store comprehensive skills information, produce various reports, and allow real-time viewing of audit schedules through a standard web browser. Personal information is used for planning purposes and is not shared outside of the OAG.

Learning management system

The new learning management system replaces the OAG’s professional development and learning tool, Learning Management Solution and OAG Campus. The system is an amalgamation of internal and external training and compliance management and monitoring. Although the system mostly uses non-personal employee information, it does use some personal information of OAG employees. The system also uses some cloud-based data storage.

Preliminary (informal) assessments

For all new or amended projects, the OAG has implemented a mandatory process that requires the completion of a Preliminary Privacy Assessment checklist. This document ensures that personal information elements are considered before and during the completion of the project.

This process also identifies the required elements for a formal privacy impact assessment, which is initiated if the preliminary assessment identifies the need for one.

During the reporting period, the OAG completed 18 preliminary assessments, 2 of which resulted in formal privacy impact assessments.

Public interest disclosure

The OAG did not disclose any personal information pursuant to paragraph 8(2)(m) during the reporting period.

Monitoring compliance

The OAG uses a case management system that tracks both active and closed requests. The system is designed to track legislative deadlines. The OAG also uses a time code system to track and monitor all OAG activities, including Privacy Act–related functions.

The costs directly associated with the administration of the Privacy Act for the reporting period are estimated to be $11,453 for salaries. This salary amount includes time spent by the ATIP Coordinator, part-time members of the ATIP team, and all OAG employees on all privacy-related activities. The OAG is able to estimate salary costs for time spent on all ATIP-related activities because of the OAG’s timekeeping software and practices, which require all employees to charge time spent on ATIP matters.

The OAG conducts inter-institutional consultations if required, such as in the case of the collection of personal information during an audit or special examination. This activity is monitored in the ATIP file management system.

The OAG encourages informal disclosure of personal information, such as human resourcesHR personnel files to employees when requested. If personal information is not available by informal means, the ATIP Coordinator assists the requester with the submission of a formal request.

The OAG uses standard language in all contracts, agreements, and arrangements ensuring the protection and appropriate management of personal information. Standard contract clauses are reviewed periodically, as required.

Impact of COVID-19 measures

The OAG was not affected by COVID-19–related measures during the reporting period.

Administration of the Privacy Act

Requests under the Privacy Act

Disposition of completed requests

One request was disclosed in its entirety, and the other was disclosed in part.

Exemptions invoked

For the request that was partially disclosed, the OAG exempted certain portions of the records pursuant to section 26 (personal information of other individuals) and section 27 (solicitor-client privileged information).

Exclusions cited

The OAG did not cite any exclusions during the reporting period.

Completion time

One request was completed within 30 days, and the other request was completed within 60 days.

Extension of time limits

The OAG extended 1 request by 30 days to process a large volume of records.

Method of access

For both formal requests closed during this reporting period, copies of records were provided in digital format.

Appendix—Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Statistical Report on the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Office of the Auditor General of Canada

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Section 1: Requests Under the Privacy Act

1.1 Number of requests received

1.2 Channels of requests

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

2.4 Pages released informally

Section 3: Requests Closed During the Reporting Period

3.1 Disposition and completion time

3.2 Exemptions

3.3 Exclusions

3.4 Format of information released

3.5 Complexity

3.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper and e‑record formats

3.5.2 Relevant pages processed by request disposition for paper and e‑record formats by size of requests

3.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

3.5.4 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for audio formats by size of requests

3.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

3.5.6 Relevant minutes processed per request disposition for video formats by size of requests

3.5.7 Other complexities

3.6 Closed requests

3.6.1 Number of requests closed within legislated timelines

3.7 Deemed refusals

3.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

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

3.8 Requests for translation

Section 4: Disclosures Under Subsections 8(2) and 8(5)

Section 5: Requests for Correction of Personal Information and Notations

Section 6: Extensions

6.1 Reasons for extensions

6.2 Length of extensions

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

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

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

7.3 Recommendations and completion time for consultations received from other organizations outside the Government of Canada

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 9: Complaints and Investigations Notices Received

Section 10: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Personal Information Banks (PIBs)

10.1 Privacy impact assessments

10.2 Institution-specific and central personal information banks

Section 11: Privacy Breaches

11.1 Material privacy breaches reported

11.2 Non-material privacy breaches

Section 12: Resources Related to the Privacy Act

12.1 Allocated costs

12.2 Human Resources