2024-2025 Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act
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Copyright
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, 2025.
Cat. No. Iu151-1E-PDF
ISSN 2819-7291
1. Introduction
Purpose of the Access to Information Act
The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to provide the public with a right of access to information contained in government records, subject to certain specific and limited exceptions. Decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government. The Act also enhances the accountability and transparency of federal institutions, promoting an open and democratic society, and enabling public debate on the conduct of government institutions. Part two of the Act sets out requirements for the proactive publication of information.
In accordance with section 94 of the Access to Information Act, this annual report detailing the administration of the Access to Information Act within Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) was prepared and tabled in Parliament.
This annual report describes how HICC administered the Act from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
Mandate of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada
Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada’s policies, programs and investments help build sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient communities while addressing challenges Canadians face every day, including access to:
- safe and affordable housing;
- modern and accessible public transit;
- climate-resilient infrastructure to protect communities in the face of climate change;
- safe and clean water; and
- inclusive cultural and recreational community spaces.
HICC does this by:
- investing in housing and infrastructure that fosters more inclusive and sustainable Canadian communities and supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate chronic homelessness;
- collaborating with all orders of government, Indigenous communities and key stakeholders to create world-class, modern public infrastructure, reliable public transit systems and affordable housing;
- working with Indigenous partners, Crown corporations, other levels of government and the private sector to address housing needs and deliver major infrastructure projects, and leveraging alternative financing and investment options to promote economic growth;
- supporting climate-ready structural and natural infrastructure projects to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters triggered by climate change and help communities adapt and build resilience; and
- conducting research and economic analysis and collecting data to identify community priorities and supporting long-term planning toward a net-zero, low-carbon and climate-resilient future.
HICC is not reporting on behalf of a non-operational subsidiary or non-operational institution.
2. Organizational structure
Structure of HICC to fulfill its Access to Information Act responsibilities including Part 2 proactive publication
Requirements under Part 1 of the Act are met in collaboration with the branches within HICC. The Deputy Minister (DM) of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada is the head of the institution under the Act. The DM is supported by the Assistant Deputy Ministers of Policy and Results, Communities and Infrastructure Programs, Corporate Services, Community Policy and Programs, and Investment, Partnerships and Innovation, as well as the Directors General of Communications and the Corporate Secretariat, and the Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive.
Proactive publication requirements under Part 2 of the Act are met in collaboration with several lead branches within HICC. The Corporate Secretariat, which includes Parliamentary Affairs and ATIP, is the departmental lead on disclosures relating to Question Period notes, ATIP Annual Reports to Parliament, Parliamentary Committee binders and memorandum titles, and may review other publication requirements prior to their posting. The Policy and Results Branch is responsible for coordinating the package of briefing materials that is prepared for new ministers and deputy heads. The Corporate Services Branch is the lead on disclosures relating to travel, hospitality, contracts, grants and contributions, Minister’s Office expenses, reclassification of positions, and other reports tabled in Parliament.
For a breakdown of the groups and/or positions responsible for meeting each applicable proactive publication requirement under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, see the section “Proactive publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act”, below.
Structure of the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office
The ATIP Office at HICC is led by the Director of ATIP and Executive Correspondence, who reports to the Director General of the Corporate Secretariat. At the end of the reporting period, the ATIP Office was comprised of 11 members: the Director, one manager of ATIP Operations, three team leaders, five ATIP analysts and one casual split between the ATIP Operations and the Privacy Policy teams.
HICC follows the hybrid work model. While onsite, most employees work in the Ottawa office, with one employee working in the Montréal office. The ATIP Office did not have any consultants during fiscal year 2024-2025.
The work of the ATIP Office under the Act involves:
- processing Access to Information Act requests and related activities;
- processing consultations received from other institutions;
- providing advice and guidance to employees and senior officials on access related matters;
- developing and delivering training to departmental employees; and
- representing HICC in engagements with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (OIC) and other government institutions regarding the application of the ATIP legislation.
There was no service agreement under section 96 of the Access to Information Act for HICC during this reporting period.
Other organizational context
Each branch throughout HICC has ATIP contacts responsible for liaising with the ATIP Office and their respective branch to facilitate timely and efficient processing of ATIP requests. As soon as the ATIP Office receives a request under the Access to Information Act, the branch responsible for the ATIP request is engaged through their ATIP contact. These contacts assist with request clarifications, as well as in identifying the offices of primary interest and subject-matter experts tasked to retrieve records. They are also responsible for the coordination of internal consultations, delegated approvals and other inquiries.
3. Delegation order
The delegation order in effect at the end of this reporting period was signed in January 2025. Under this order, full authority to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Deputy Minister for all sections of the Act was delegated to all Assistant Deputy Ministers, the Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive, the Director of ATIP and Executive Correspondence, and the Manager of ATIP. Some authority was delegated to the ATIP team leaders.
A copy of the signed and dated delegation order can be found in Annex A of this report.
4. Performance under Part 1 of the Access to Information Act, 2024-2025
The Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act is prepared by government institutions to assist TBS in analyzing trends and exercising oversight. The analysis in this section compares data found in HICC’s 2024-2025 Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act with data from the three previous fiscal years to produce a four-year trend analysis.
Percentage of requests responded to within legislated timelines
One of the key measures of HICC’s ATIP performance is the number of requests responded to within legislated timelines. In 2024-2025, HICC closed 141 requests and processed 41,598 pages within the legislated timelines (representing a 23% increase in files closed from last fiscal year and a 149% increase in pages processed) with an overall compliance rate of 100% for this reporting period. For the previous three fiscal years, HICC’s compliance rate was 98.9% or better, demonstrating exemplary performance in responding to access to information requests and closing files within legislated timelines. Table 1 compares the number of requests closed within legislated timelines for the past four fiscal years along with pages processed.
| Requests responded to within legislated timelines | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of requests closed | 188 | 91 | 115 | 141 |
| Number of requests closed within legislated timelines | 187 | 90 | 115 | 141 |
| Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines | 99.5% | 98.9% | 100% | 100% |
| Pages processed | 18,539 | 18,701 | 16,739 | 41,598 |
Number of completed requests broken down by completion times
Section 7 of the Access to Information Act requires institutions to provide a response to the requester within 30 days of receipt of the request or to notify the requester that an extension is required. Of the 141 formal requests completed during the reporting period, 63 (45%) were completed within one to 30 days and 31 (22%) within 31 to 60 days. Less than 1% of requests were processed in over 180 days. Table 2 compares the number of completed requests broken down by completion times over the past four fiscal years.
| Processing time | Number of requests | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | |
| 1 to 30 days | 103 | 51 | 66 | 63 |
| 31 to 60 days | 29 | 11 | 15 | 31 |
| 61 to 120 days | 43 | 14 | 26 | 40 |
| 121 to 180 days | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| 181 to 365 days | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Over 365 days | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total requests | 188 | 91 | 115 | 141 |
Overview of active requests broken down by fiscal year in which they were received
At the end of the fiscal year, 14 active requests received in 2024-2025 were carried forward into 2025-2026. All requests from the previous fiscal years were closed within this reporting period. HICC consistently strives to meet the legislated timelines by concentrating efforts to expedite the retrieval of records and effectively coordinate consultations with internal and external stakeholders.
| Open requests that were received in the fiscal year | Open requests that are within legislated timelines as of March 31, 2025 | Open requests that are beyond legislated timelines as of March 31, 2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Received in 2024-2025 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Total | 14 | 0 | 14 |
Overview of active complaints
In 2024-2025, there were four active complaints carried forward from the previous reporting periods and closed within the fiscal year. HICC received six new complaints, two of which were closed, and four will be carried forward into fiscal year 2025-2026. Table 4 lists the number of active complaints with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada as of the end of this fiscal year broken down by the specific reporting period in which they were received.
| Open complaints that were received in fiscal year | Number of open complaints |
|---|---|
| Received in 2024-2025 | 4 |
| Received in 2023-2024 | 0 |
| Received in 2022-2023 | 0 |
| Total | 4 |
Reasons for extensions
The Act recognizes that some requests may require more than 30 days to process. Therefore, section 9 of the Act provides for the extension of statutory time limits if consultations are required, or if the request is for a large volume of records and processing the request within the original timeframe would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Department. As was the case in previous fiscal years, most extensions were taken for consultations. Table 5 below compares the reasons for extensions over the past four fiscal years.
| Reasons for extensions | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interference with operations/workload – 9(1)(a) | 34 | 13 | 7 | 16 |
| Consultations – section 69 – 9(1)(b) | 31 | 14 | 28 | 32 |
| Consultations – other – 9(1)(b) | 47 | 23 | 18 | 26 |
| Third party notice – 9(1)(c) | 17 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
Consultations completed for other institutions and organizations
When other institutions and organizations retrieve information that concerns or originates from HICC in response to an Access to Information Act request, they may consult the HICC ATIP Office for recommendations on disclosure. Other government institutions are defined as federal institutions subject to the Act. Other organizations include governments of provinces, territories and municipalities, and of other countries.
In 2024-2025, HICC received 35 consultation requests. The Department closed 32 of these requests this fiscal year and carried forward three requests into fiscal year 2025-2026.
HICC continues to make every effort to assist other institutions and organizations in meeting their statutory deadlines. During the reporting period, 100% of the 32 consultation requests were completed within 30 days. For a comparison of consultation requests received and processed over the past four fiscal years, please refer to Table 6.
| Processing time | Number of requests | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | |
| 1 to 30 days | 77 | 72 | 50 | 32 |
| 31 to 60 days | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 61 to 120 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 121 to 180 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 181 to 365 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Over 365 days | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total requests | 79 | 77 | 51 | 32 |
Percentage of completed requests for which records were all disclosed and disclosed in part
The Act requires that institutions provide the right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution and that necessary exceptions to the right of access be limited and specific. In accordance with this principle, the HICC ATIP Office disclosed in full 24 requests (17%) and disclosed in part 86 requests (61%) representing an 8% increase in all disclosed requests this fiscal year in comparison to last fiscal year. Table 7 compares the percentage of requests all disclosed and disclosed in part for the past four fiscal years.
| Disposition of requests | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All disclosed | 31 (16%) | 8 (9%) | 10 (9%) | 24 (17%) |
| Disclosed in part | 123 (65%) | 57 (63%) | 68 (59%) | 86 (61%) |
| Closed in reporting period | 188 | 91 | 115 | 141 |
Other performance information
Informal requests
An informal request is defined as a request for information made to the HICC ATIP Office that is either not made or not processed under the Act. Informal requests include formal requests that were discontinued in favour of providing information informally and requests for previously released information. HICC processed 337 informal requests for previously released information and disclosed 43,550 pages.
5. Training and awareness
Institution-specific training was offered in a variety of formats to best suit the needs of employees across the Department. Employees are encouraged to complete the Canada School of Public Service (CSPS) course titled Access to Information and Privacy Fundamentals prior to attending any HICC internal training sessions. This CSPS course is on HICC’s mandatory training list, and it must be completed within six months of the start date of employment with HICC, and/or when beginning a supervisor, manager or executive role. These requirements are monitored directly by the employee’s manager.
The ATIP Office offered and delivered Processing ATIP Requests training sessions in both official languages three times per year to all HICC employees and customized group sessions, as requested, to maintain consistent and up-to-date approaches to access to information functions across the Department.
During 2024-2025, six sessions of the 60-minute HICC training course Processing ATIP Requests were delivered to 616 employees. These sessions contained access to information and proactive publication components. The high attendance rates at HICC are attributed to the continued advertising of the trainings through department-wide calendar invitations and the ease of attending the training virtually.
The ATIP Office hosted an ATIP training session for executives with 13 attendees. Additionally, ad hoc training was provided to 283 employees across ten sessions. Five of the ad hoc training sessions were focused on the creation of briefing note titles with the goal of ensuring titles are drafted in plain language and free of sensitive information. The remaining ad hoc training sessions contained an access to information component and were tailored to meet the specific needs of the attendees.
The ATIP Office maintains an internal webpage which includes resources on processing ATIP requests, identifying sensitive information, guidance on proactive disclosure and frequently asked questions.
The Office also publishes articles related to access to information in the internal departmental newsletter. This reporting period, the ATIP Office published articles on the obligations and responsibilities of public servants under the Access to Information Act and the importance of information management. These articles outlined 10 tips to help guide daily work, highlighting responsibilities under the Act, and provided an opportunity for reflection on the collective responsibility of proper information management regarding openness, transparency and accountability as a public servant.
Lastly, employees in the ATIP Office with functional and delegated responsibilities under the Act regularly participate in training and information sessions offered by TBS and the ATIP community to keep up to date on policies and procedures related to the administration of the Act.
6. Policies, guidelines and procedures
During the 2024-2025 reporting period, the ATIP Office developed a procedure involving a new checklist to streamline the screening of incoming requests. This checklist is used by the ATIP Office to verify that requests are complete, to identify if similar records have been previously processed, and to ensure that all responsible Offices of Primary Interest (OPIs) are tasked with providing the relevant records. This checklist assists the ATIP Office in engaging with applicants promptly when clarification is required, preventing undue delays, and has increased the efficiency of triaging requests.
The ATIP Office continues to update its internal procedures including, but not limited to, analyst resources, reporting requirements and roles and responsibility documentation in order to comply with new TBS policies and directives on an as-needed basis.
Procedures and systems HICC put in place to meet proactive publication requirements
All proactive disclosures are tracked within the institution. As the lead for travel, hospitality, contracts, grants and contributions, Minister’s Office expenses, reclassification of positions, and other reports tabled in Parliament, the Corporate Services Branch utilizes Microsoft Teams Planner to track and ensure that regular follow-ups are completed, and reminders and taskings are conducted with the goal of ensuring publishing requirements are met without delay. In addition, the branch has developed a set of Standard Operating Procedures to establish consistent and accurate reporting of publication requirements. For reporting on reclassification of positions, a classification activity report is used to identify positions with a change in group and level which are validated by senior management within the 30 days following the end of each quarter.
The ATIP Office, under the Corporate Secretariat, uses a case management system to actively track the processing of titles of memoranda to ensure compliance with the publication requirements. This tracking system is also used for other proactive disclosures requiring ATIP review. Power BI is used to pull titles of memoranda reports from the departmental tracking system to improve the overall efficiency of the process. In addition, the ATIP Office includes proactive publishing files on weekly status reports sent to the offices that report directly to the Deputy Minister, highlighting the proactive disclosure requests under consultation and in approvals. The Parliamentary Affairs team, under the Corporate Secretariat, established a milestone tracker for the proactive disclosure of briefing materials for committee appearances. This ensures that core deliverables are tracked and reminders can be sent when appropriate.
7. Initiatives and projects to improve access to information
HICC completed the configuration and testing of a new ATIP processing software and will transition to the new software at the start of fiscal year 2025-2026. The new software is expected to improve the overall efficiency of ATIP Operations, reduce the administrative burden on the ATIP Office and improve overall processing times. It also features an electronic document review functionality which is used to quickly filter, sort and de-duplicate documents, including emails and other file types.
During the reporting period, the ATIP Office established the ATIP Process Working Group (APWG), comprised of ATIP contacts from every branch throughout the Department. This group is dedicated to sharing best practices, new methodologies, lessons learned and ATIP-related knowledge. The network facilitates the smooth implementation of new initiatives and procedures and is a forum for providing updates, exchanging knowledge and fostering a collaborative community. Through regular meetings and discussions, the group ensures that all branches are aligned and informed, enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of HICC’s ATIP processes.
HICC is committed to access to information practices that advance Indigenous reconciliation, including responding to requests in a timely manner, providing interim responses for large volume requests, processing a large variety of document formats, keeping open lines of communication with requesters, and applying limited exemptions to the records. In alignment with the Access to Information and Privacy Implementation Notice 2023-01: Advancing Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples by Providing Culturally Appropriate Services, HICC included the recommended courses in the learning and development plans for the entire ATIP team, and the training is mandatory for all new members of the ATIP Office.
HICC is committed to the principles of a transparent, accessible and accountable open government. As such, some initiatives aimed at making more information readily available to the public continue to be implemented. One initiative previously deployed by the ATIP Office was to make use of a secure web-based software tool to easily release large volume response packages simultaneously to requesters when the file sizes were over the maximum limit for email transmission. The ATIP Office continues to maintain this tool for use when other methods of electronically transmitting the records are not possible.
Beyond the ATIP Office, the Department continues to publish information which may be of interest to the public. The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program Project webpage includes approved projects and received applications, along with the status of each application. The Investing in Canada Plan: Infrastructure Canada Bilateral Agreements webpage demonstrates how funds are being used under the bilateral agreements, broken down by province and territory. HICC publishes data analysis, reports and publications on homelessness in Canada and maintains a housing and infrastructure project map of projects across the country.
As part of the Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, HICC publishes the contact list of Community Entities. HICC also leads the publication of the Community Encampment Response Plans: Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative, summaries through the Homelessness Learning Hub.
Through the Department’s support to the National Housing Council and Review panels on systemic housing issues, under the National Housing Strategy Act, HICC supports the publication of a hearing record. Written submissions are also published online with the consent of submitters, and oral hearings are livestreamed, recorded and posted online.
On the Open Government portal, HICC published the Canadian Public Transit Systems, dataset, which contains geospatial data for public transit agencies in Canada, with information on stop locations, route locations, route types, level of service, wheelchair access, bike access and more. In collaboration with Statistics Canada, HICC published Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey, which facilitates a direct comparison of the stock, condition and performance of public infrastructure across Canada on a bi-annual basis. HICC recently published a new Indigenous consultation toolkit on its website to support the planning and implementation of engagements or consultations with Indigenous communities.
HICC maintains a public database of all Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada investments since 2002, broken down by province and territory. HICC also publishes its list of approved infrastructure projects, as well as program allocation information, implementation plans, annual reports and other products on Open Government, to support government transparency and accountability.
HICC also publishes how our investments have benefited communities across Canada on the Department’s results of our investments.
The Department maintains a transparency page to help members of the public quickly access proactively disclosed information and other transparency resources.
These are a few examples of how HICC makes information readily available to the public to improve transparency and limit the need for formal access to information requests.
HICC is actively looking for new ways to streamline delivery of information to the public and complement procedures already in place under Part 2 of the Act.
HICC has started a review of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can support departmental objectives, which includes how AI can be leveraged to support access to information. HICC’s Chief Data Officer continues to lead HICC’s ongoing work to become a data-driven organization and assist in developing new systems and tools to improve its information management.
8. Summary of key issues and actions taken on complaints
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) is mandated to investigate complaints related to a federal institution’s handling of access to information requests. In 2024-2025, HICC received six new complaints and carried over four, for a total of ten. The OIC issued six final reports: four related to complaints from previous fiscal years, and two complaints from this fiscal year. The four remaining complaints will be carried over into 2025-2026.
The issues raised in the access to information complaints included the extension of time limits and the redactions applied to the records. The complaints requiring action resulted in updated release packages being sent to the requesters.
9. Proactive publication under Part 2 of the Access to Information Act
For the purposes of Part 2 of the Access to Information Act, HICC is a government institution listed under Schedule I of the Access to Information Act and Schedule I.1 of the Financial Administration Act. Table 8 shows the proactive publication requirements to which the institution is subject.
| Legislative requirement | Section of the ATIA | Publication timeline | Does this requirement apply to your institution? (Yes/No) |
Internal group(s) responsible for fulfilling requirement | % of proactive publication requirements published within legislated timelines | Link to web page where published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applies to all government institutions as defined in section 3 of the Access to Information Act | ||||||
| Travel Expenses | 82 | Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement | Yes | Corporate Services | 100% | Open Government |
| Hospitality Expenses | 83 | Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement | Yes | Corporate Services | 100% | Open Government |
| Reports tabled in Parliament | 84 | Within 30 days after tabling | Yes | Corporate Secretariat and Corporate Services | 100% | |
| Applies to government entities or departments, agencies and other bodies subject to the Access to Information Act and listed in Schedules I, I.1, or II of the Financial Administration Act | ||||||
| Contracts over $10,000 | 86 | Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter |
Yes | Corporate Services | 100% | Open Government |
| Grants & Contributions over $25,000 | 87 | Within 30 days after the quarter | Yes | Corporate Services | 100% | Open Government |
| Packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent | 88(a) | Within 120 days after appointment | Yes | Policy and Results Branch | 100% | HICC Website |
| Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared for a deputy head or equivalent that is received by their office | 88(b) | Within 30 days after the end of the month received | Yes | Corporate Secretariat | 100% | Open Government |
| Packages of briefing materials prepared for a deputy head or equivalent’s appearance before a committee of Parliament | 88(c) | Within 120 days after appearance | Yes | Corporate Secretariat | 100% |
HICC Website |
| Applies to government institutions that are departments named in Schedule I to the Financial Administration Act or portions of the core public administration named in Schedule IV to that Act (i.e., government institutions for which the Treasury Board is the employer) | ||||||
| Reclassification of positions | 85 | Within 30 days after the quarter | Yes | Corporate Services | 100% | Open Government |
| Applies to Ministers’ Offices (therefore apply to any institution that performs proactive publication on behalf of a Minister’s Office) | ||||||
| Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for new or incoming ministers | 74(a) | Within 120 days after appointment | Yes | Policy and Results Branch | 100% | HICC Website |
| Titles and reference numbers of memoranda prepared by a government institution for the minister that are received by their office | 74(b) | Within 30 days after the end of the month received | Yes | Corporate Secretariat | 100% | Open Government |
| Package of question period notes prepared by a government institution for the minister and in use on the last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December | 74(c) | Within 30 days after last sitting day of the House of Commons in June and December | Yes | Corporate Secretariat | 100% | Open Government |
| Packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister’s appearance before a committee of Parliament | 74(d) | Within 120 days after appearance | Yes | Corporate Secretariat | 100% | HICC Website |
| Travel Expenses | 75 | Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement | Yes | Corporate Services | 100% | Open Government |
| Hospitality Expenses | 76 | Within 30 days after the end of the month of reimbursement | Yes | Corporate Services | 100% | Open Government |
| Contracts over $10,000 | 77 | Q1-3: Within 30 days after the quarter Q4: Within 60 days after the quarter |
Yes | Corporate Services | 100% |
Open Government |
Ministers’ Offices Expenses *Note: This consolidated report is currently published by TBS on behalf of all institutions. |
78 | Within 120 days after the fiscal year | Yes | N/A | N/A | Open Government |
HICC published 100% of proactive publication requirements during the reporting period within the legislated timelines.
10. Monitoring compliance
HICC makes every effort to meet statutory deadlines and actively monitors the time taken to process requests. Monitoring begins as soon as a request is received by the ATIP Office, entered into the case management system and assigned to an ATIP analyst. Deadlines are tracked and monitored electronically, highlighting files nearing completion or targeted deadlines. The analysts and management monitor the time taken to process access to information requests on an ongoing basis. Statistics on the active caseload are provided to, and analyzed by, the Director of ATIP and Executive Correspondence on a weekly basis. Any required action is taken as a result of this analysis to ensure timely access to documents requested.
Instrumental to ensuring HICC’s compliance with the legislation, the ATIP Office maintained positive working relationships with the program areas by engaging in early discussions of requests, providing guidance when needed and sending weekly status reports to the offices that report directly to the Deputy Minister highlighting the requests in retrievals, under consultation and in approvals.
HICC limits consultations to complex and sensitive records in situations where the subject matter expertise resides with another department or another level of government. Consultations are used to obtain expert advice and recommendations enabling HICC to assess whether requested information must be protected. In many instances, these consultations are now sent as an intention to disclose information, and HICC severs the sensitive information prior to sending the information. Whenever possible, HICC officials exercise their delegated authority to exempt and disclose records under the terms of the Act, without adding time for unnecessary consultations. The monitoring of the consultation process occurs on an as-needed basis and is the responsibility of the Director of ATIP and Executive Correspondence.
HICC implements common contracting clauses as recommended by Public Services and Procurement Canada to support the right of access to information. HICC also includes proactive disclosure clauses into contribution agreements and bilateral agreements. These monitoring activities are overseen at the executive level with support from the Director of ATIP and Executive Correspondence, on an as-needed basis.
For proactive disclosures under Part 2 of the Act, HICC monitors the timeliness, accuracy and completeness of information through multiple measures. The ATIP Office, within the Corporate Secretariat, tracks memorandum titles electronically, and files nearing targeted deadlines are monitored closely by the manager and director ensuring deadlines are met. To verify the accuracy and completeness of information, reports generated by the correspondence management tracking system are cross-referenced with Power BI reports to ensure memoranda titles are not missed. In addition, the ATIP Office works closely with the Data Science team to ensure the correspondence management tracking system data and the Power BI data remain in synch. Additionally, the ATIP Office collaborates with the Offices of Primary Interest to verify the accuracy and completeness of the titles at the managerial and executive level.
Other proactive publication requirements are tracked at the executive level within the Corporate Services Branch and Corporate Secretariat on a monthly, quarterly and as-needed basis, depending on the specific proactive disclosure requirement. The Corporate Services Branch utilizes Microsoft Teams Planner to track and ensure that regular follow-ups are completed, reminders and taskings are conducted, and deadlines are met. In addition, the branch has developed a set of Standard Operating Procedures to establish consistent, complete and accurate reporting of publication requirements. The Parliamentary Affairs team, under the Corporate Secretariat, utilizes a milestone tracker for the proactive disclosures under its area of responsibility. This ensures core deliverables are tracked, reminders are sent as appropriate and deadlines are met. Additionally, the accuracy and completeness of the information is verified at the executive level prior to publication.
Annexes
Annex A : Access to Information Act – Delegation Order
Access to Information Act and Privacy Act Delegation Order / Arrêté de délégation en vertu de la Loi sur l'accès à l'information et de la Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels
The Deputy Minister of Housing, lnfrastructure and Communities, pursuant to section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act and section 73(1) of the Privacy Act, hereby designates the persons holding the positions set out in the schedule hereto, or the persons occupying on an acting basis those positions, to exercise the powers, duties and functions of the Deputy Minister as the head of Housing, lnfrastructure and Communities 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.
En vertu de l'article 95(1) de la Loi sur l'accès à l'information et de l'article 73(1) de la Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels, le sous-ministre de Logement, Infrastructures et Collectivités délègue aux titulaires des postes mentionnés à l'annexe ci-après, ainsi qu'aux personnes occupant à titre intérimaire lesdits postes, les attributions dont il est, en qualité de responsable de Logement, Infrastructures et Collectivités Canada, investie par les dispositions de la Loi ou de son règlement mentionnées en regard de chaque poste. Le présent document remplace et annule tout arrêté antérieur.
| Position / Poste | Access to Information Act and Regulations / Loi sur l'accès à l'information et Règlement | Privacy Act and Regulations / Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels et Règlement |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Deputy Ministers / Sous-ministre adjoint(e)s | Full authority / Autorité absolue | Full authority/ Autorité absolue |
| Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive / Dirigeant(e) principal(e) de la vérification et de l'évaluation | Full authority / Autorité absolue | Full authority / Autorité absolue |
| Director General of Communications / Directeur (trice) général (e) des communications | Full authority / Autorité absolue | Full authority / Autorité absolue |
| Director, ATIP and Executive Correspondence / Directeur(trice) de l'AIPRP et de la correspondance de la haute direction | Full authority / Autorité absolue | Full authority / Autorité absolue |
| Manager ATIP (PM 06) / Gestionnaire de l'AIPRP (PM 06) | Full authority / Autorité absolue | Full authority / Autorité absolue |
| ATIP Team Lead (PM-05) / Chef d'équipe de l'AIPRP (PM-05) |
Access to Informotion Act / Loi sur l'accès d l'information
|
Privacy Act / Loi sur la protection des renseignements personnels
|
Paul Halucha
Deputy Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities / Sous-ministre de Logement, Infrastructures et Collectivités
Signed and dated:
January 7, 2025
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