Annual Report to Parliament on the Administration of the Access to Information Act 2024-2025

Introduction

Purpose of the Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act (ATIA) came into force on July 1, 1983 and was amended by Bill C-58 on June 21, 2019. It provides Canadian citizens and permanent residents, as well as persons and corporations physically present in Canada, an enforceable right of access to records under the control of a government institution. The purpose of the ATIA is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal institutions in order to promote an open and democratic society and to enable public debate on the conduct of those institutions. Individuals who are not satisfied with an institution's handling of their formal request made under the ATIA are entitled to complain to the Information Commissioner of Canada.

Tabling of this Report

This report is tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 94(2) of the ATIA and Section 20 of the Service Fees Act under the direction of the Minister of Public Safety. The report describes how Public Safety Canada (Public Safety) administered and fulfilled its obligations under the ATIA between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.

Mandate of Public Safety

Public Safety was created in 2003 to ensure coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians. Our mandate is to keep Canadians safe from a range of risks such as natural disasters, crime and terrorism. Our mission is to build a safe and resilient Canada. Our vision is to, through outstanding leadership, achieve a safe and secure Canada and strong and resilient communities.

Legislation governing the Department sets out three essential roles:

1. Support the Minister's responsibility for all matters related to public safety and emergency management not assigned to another federal organization;
2. Exercise leadership at the national level for public safety and emergency preparedness; and
3. Support the Minister's responsibility for the coordination of Public Safety's Portfolio entities and for setting their strategic priorities.

The Department's three core responsibilities are: national security, community safety and emergency management.

Non-Operational Subsidiaries and Non-Operational Institutions

This report is not intended to fulfil reporting requirements for any non-operational subsidiaries or any non-operational institutions.

Organizational Structure

Public Safety

During the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the department was organized into seven branches: Emergency Management and Programs, Crime Prevention, Portfolio Affairs and Communications, National and Cyber Security, Corporate Management, Firearms Compensation Program, and the Indigenous Affairs Secretariat. The department also has a Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive and is supported by the Legal Services Unit.

Five Regional Offices represent the Atlantic, Quebec and Nunavut, Ontario, Prairies and Northwest Territories, and British Columbia and Yukon. These offices are the primary point of contact for the department at the regional level. Our regional offices provide support to departmental policy, program and operational areas across the organization, delivering core programs at the regional level, providing regional input and perspective, and supporting the coordination of federal responses to emergency events. Their networks of partnerships with provincial and territorial officials, other federal departments and agencies, and diverse communities and stakeholders, are essential to the Department's work.

The Public Safety Portfolio: Partner Agencies and Review Bodies

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) manages the nation's borders by enforcing Canadian laws governing trade and travel, as well as international agreements and conventions. CBSA facilitates legitimate cross-border traffic and supports economic development while stopping people and goods that pose a potential threat to Canada.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) investigates and reports on activities that may pose a threat to the security of Canada. CSIS also provides security assessments, on request, to all federal departments and agencies.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) helps protect society by encouraging offenders to become law-abiding citizens while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control. CSC is responsible for managing offenders sentenced to two years or more in federal correctional institutions and under community supervision.

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) is an independent body that grants, denies or revokes parole for inmates in federal prisons and provincial inmates in provinces without their own parole board. The PBC helps protect society by facilitating the timely reintegration of offenders into society as law-abiding citizens.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is Canada's national police service and is the police of jurisdiction for all provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec. The RCMP works at the community, provincial, territorial and federal levels to prevent crime; enforce the law; investigate offences; keep Canadians, and their interests, safe and secure; and assist Canadians in emergency situations/incidents. The RCMP also offers expertise at the international level by providing specialized training for police officers; conducting international policing activities, including peacekeeping; and sharing intelligence with trusted partners to support investigations, as well as disrupt and dismantle criminal operations.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (CRCC) investigates complaints from the public about the conduct of members of the RCMP in an open, independent and objective manner. The Commission also holds public hearings and conducts research and policy development to improve the public complaints process.

The Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI) conducts independent, thorough and timely investigations about issues related to the Correctional Service of Canada. The OCI may initiate an investigation based on a complaint from (or on behalf of) an offender, as the result of a ministerial request, or on its own initiative.

The RCMP External Review Committee (ERC) is an independent agency that promotes fair and equitable labour relations within the RCMP. The Committee conducts an independent review of appeals in disciplinary, discharge and demotion matters, as well as certain kinds of grievances.

The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office

The department's Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office is responsible for the coordination and implementation of policies, guidelines, and procedures to ensure departmental compliance with the Access to Information Act as well as the Privacy Act. In keeping with the department's role to support the Minister in the coordination of entities within the Public Safety Portfolio, it also plays a leadership role with respect to ensuring alignment of approach with the ATIP Offices of other Public Safety Portfolio organizations, where appropriate.

The ATIP Office is housed within the department's Portfolio Affairs and Communications Branch, and is headed by the Director of ATIP and Executive Services, who is also responsible for Ministerial Correspondence and Secretariat Services. It is divided into two teams, the ATIP Operations Unit and the Privacy Policy and Governance Unit (PPGU), each of which is headed by a Manager who reports to the Director of ATIP and Executive Services. In 2024-2025, the ATIP Office consisted of 15.7 full-time employees and had no regional ATIP staff or consultants.

Public Safety was not a party to any service agreements to provide services to other organizations under section 96 of the ATIA during the fiscal year.

Proactive Publication

For a breakdown of the group(s) and/or position(s) 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 ATIA" below.

Delegation Order

The following Delegation Order was in effect at the end of the reporting period.

The Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, pursuant to section 95(1) of the Access to Information 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 Minister as the head of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, under the provisions of the Access to Information 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 11 day of June, 2025.

The Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety

Performance under Part 1 of the Access to Information Act, 2024-2025

The following sections provide an overview of specific key data points on Public Safety's processing of Access to Information Act requests during the reporting period, as required by Treasury Board Secretariat. The full statistical report can be found in Annex A, and the Supplemental Statistical Report can be found in Annex B.

Volume of Requests

Over the past two fiscal years, the department has seen an increase in the number and size of requests received under both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act in comparison with previous years. This increase has placed pressure on the ATIP Office and the department.

During the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the ATIP Office received 589 formal requests under the Access to Information Act and completed 510. While these numbers were slightly lower than the previous year (by 7% and 15% respectively), the ATIP Office processed 87,893 pages, representing a slight increase (1%) in the overall volume of records processed in comparison to the previous year.

During the year, the department also received 929 informal requests and completed 748 informal requests, a significant increase (39% and 25% respectively) compared to the previous year.

Response within Legislated Timelines

The percentage of formal requests that were closed within the legislated timelines remained consistent at 67%, the same as the previous year. This number was linked to the high overall volume of requests under both Acts and the resulting increase in overall workload being handled by the ATIP Office, and is comparable to compliance rates for other similar size organizations. Note that this number includes ongoing work to close files that had gone late in previous years. When considering only new files received in 2024-25, the department's compliance rate was 78%.

Active Requests as of March 31, 2025

At the end of the fiscal year, Public Safety had a total of 533 active requests that were carried over to the next reporting period. Of these, 129 were within the legislated timelines, while 404 were beyond the legislated timelines. These numbers were comparable to those reported by other similar size organizations. Of note, Public Safety has a small number of very large and complex files (2018 and earlier) where multi-year extensions were taken due to the large volume of records that must be processed.

Completion Times

The following table provides a breakdown of completion times for the 510 formal requests that were completed during the fiscal year. The distribution of completion times was comparable to previous years.

Reasons for Extensions

For the requests completed in 2024-2025, a total of 323 extensions were taken during the fiscal year. The majority of extensions were taken due to interference with operations and to conduct consultations with other organizations. The distribution of reasons for extensions was consistent with previous years.

Disposition of Requests

The following table shows the disposition of requests completed in 2024-2025. This breakdown was consistent with previous years.

Consultations

During the year, the department received 209 consultations from other organizations, a slight increase (9%) over the previous year, and completed 190 consultations, a slight decrease (4%) compared to the previous year.

Active Complaints as of March 31, 2025

At the end of the fiscal year, Public Safety had 32 active complaints with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). The following table shows those complaints broken down by the year in which they were received.

During the year, the ATIP Office worked closely with the OIC to establish timelines for the resolution of complaints and to ensure all complaints were addressed within the timelines established by the OIC. No concerns were identified by the OIC during the fiscal year with respect to the timely processing of complaint files by the department.

Training and Awareness

Public Safety remains committed to promoting awareness and providing ongoing training opportunities to all employees. During the year, the ATIP Office continued its outreach to the department to reinforce knowledge and understanding of the legislation and ATIP processes among policy and program areas. The ATIP Office provided 16 training and information sessions on the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act. A variety of subjects were presented, including strategies for retrieving records and applying exemptions, as well as requirements for proactive publication. A total of 238 people attended these sessions.

Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

During the year, Public Safety's ATIP Office worked closely with external and internal partners to ensure continuous alignment with policies, guidelines, and procedures issued by Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and the Privy Council Office and to support security of information in both the remote and hybrid work environment. The ATIP Office also worked closely with areas of the department facing high volumes of requests and implemented special procedures on a case by case basis to mitigating workload pressures and to support compliance with legislated timelines to the extent possible.

Initiatives and Projects to Improve Access to Information

During the year, the ATIP Office continued to provide dedicated support on high visibility files within Public Safety and the Portfolio that required a coordinated approach to the handling of ATIP requests, including the implementation of the Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program, as well as files related to foreign interference, national security operations, border security, policing, and international affairs. The ATIP Office also continued to provide support in reviewing documents in response to Parliamentary Committee motions for document production. The ATIP Office also continued efforts towards modernizing the current request processing software, working closely with partners including Treasury Board Secretariat, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Shared Services Canada to set up contracts for software licensing and server hosting. These efforts are scheduled to continue through 2025-2026 and are intended to streamline the ATIP process and support alignment with other government departments going forward.

Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

As in previous years, Public Safety received a comparatively low volume of complaints on requests made under the Access to Information Act. During the year, the OIC received 38 new complaints against the department and concluded 37 investigations on Public Safety files. Of these, only 3 files (8%) were deemed to be well-founded. The ATIP Office continued to maintain a constructive relationship with the OIC, meeting regularly with the OIC both at the Manager and the Director level to ensure ongoing alignment of approach, identify priority files for attention, and address any areas of concern as they arose. No specific issues were noted by the OIC during the year.

Proactive Publication under Part 2 of the ATIA

Public Safety is a government institution listed under Schedule I of the Financial Administration Act, for the purposes of Part 2 of the ATIA. The table below shows the department's performance in meeting timelines for proactive publication, as outlined under Part 2 of the ATIA, during the fiscal year. The department was 100% compliant with legislated timelines in 13 out of 16 proactive publication reporting areas during the year. In two areas (reports tabled in Parliament, and packages of briefing materials prepared by a government institution for a minister's appearance before a committee of Parliament), the departmental compliance rate was 67% during the year. In one area (packages of briefing materials prepared for new or incoming deputy heads or equivalent), no materials were created during the year that required proactive publication. Overall, these numbers equal or exceed those of other similar size organizations. The ATIP Office will work with internal partners in 2025-2026 to review existing mechanisms with a view to strengthen on-time publication for the two areas that showed gaps in 2024-2025.

Monitoring Compliance

Public Safety maintains four recurring ATIP reports to inform senior management of the program during the fiscal year. These reports track a range of information including the list of new formal Access to Information Act requests received by the department each week, deadlines assigned for retrieval, and the list of upcoming requests scheduled for release, as well as quarterly reporting on retrieval response times for Public Safety branches. Reports are shared weekly with Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs) and other senior officials and are discussed with senior management as required. In addition, ATIP performance is monitored at the ADM level through performance agreements and evaluations to ensure ATIP remains a priority within the department. With respect to proactive publication, periodic updates are provided to the ATIP Director to monitor progress and to support timely publication of deliverables.

Compliance with the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act is also an explicit requirement enshrined within all contracts, information sharing agreements, and information sharing arrangements issued by the department. The ATIP Office also reviews contracts and information sharing agreements as required and provides advice and guidance with respect to privacy protections.

Annex A: Statistical report on the Access to Information Act

Reporting period: April 1st, 2024 to March 31, 2025

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

Section 2: Informal requests

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on Declining to Act on Requests

Section 4: Requests closed during the reporting period

4.5 Complexity

4.5.1 Relevant pages processed and disclosed for paper, e-record and dataset formats:

• Number of pages processed: 87,893
• Number of pages disclosed: 33,999
• Number of requests: 408

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

• Number of minutes processed: 0
• Number of minutes disclosed: 0
• Number of requests: 0

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

• Number of minutes processed: 0
• Number of minutes disclosed: 0
• Number of requests: 0

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines

• Number of requests closed within legislated timelines: 343
• Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%): 67.25490196

4.7 Deemed refusals

Section 5: Extensions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations received from other institutions and organizations

Section 8: Completion time of consultations on cabinet confidences

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of Finding

9.1 Investigations

• Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate: 39
• Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate: 27
• Section 35 Formal representations: 2

Section 10: Court Action

10.2 Court actions under third party notifications under paragraph 28(1)(b)

Section 44 – under paragraph 28(1)(b): 0

Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

Annex B: Supplemental statistical report on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Reporting period: April 1st, 2024 to March 31, 2025

Section 1: Requests carried over and active complaints under the Access to Information Act

Section 2: Requests carried over and active complaints under the Privacy Act

Section 3: Social insurance number

Has your institution begun a new collection or a new consistent use of the SIN in 2024-25? No

Section 4: Universal access under the Privacy Act

How many requests were received from foreign nationals outside of Canada in 2024-25? 3

Date modified:

2025-11-05