2022-2023 Annual Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act

I - Introduction

The purpose of the Access to Information Act, (“the Act”), is to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of federal departments and agencies of government. The Act responds to the principle that government information should be available to the public with limited exceptions to the right of access and that the disclosure of government information should be evaluated independently of the executive arm of government.

This Annual Report on the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority’s (CATSA) administration of the Act has been prepared in accordance with Section 94(1) and is hereby submitted for tabling in Parliament under Section 94(2) of the Act.

This is CATSA’s 20^th Annual Report and this fiscal year marks the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Over the last 20 years, a tremendous amount of work has gone into developing new programs and initiatives to ensure CATSA continuously delivers the highest level of air transportation security for Canada.

Previous such reports are available under the “Reports and Summaries” heading of the “Privacy” page on the website.

II - The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority – Mandate

Established as an agent Crown Corporation on April 1, 2002, CATSA‘s mandate is to protect the public by securing critical elements of the air transportation system as assigned by the Government of Canada.

Fully funded by parliamentary appropriations, CATSA is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Transport. CATSA is governed by a Board of Directors. Operations are directed by a senior management team. CATSA currently contracts security screening to third-party contractors.

CATSA delivers on its mandate of securing Canada’s air transportation system by conducting the following activities across 89 of Canada’s designated airports:

1. Pre-Board Screening (PBS) - The screening of passengers and their belongings prior to their entry into the secure area of an air terminal building;
2. Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) - The screening of passengers' checked (or hold) baggage to prevent the boarding of prohibited items;
3. Non-Passenger Screening (NPS) - The random screening of non-passengers accessing restricted areas; and
4. Restricted Area Identity Card (RAIC) - The program that uses iris and fingerprint biometric identifiers to allow non-passenger access to the restricted areas of airports.

Under an agreement concluded with Transport Canada in 2010, CATSA has the authorization to conduct screening of cargo at smaller airports if there is capacity to do so. Each of these activities is carried out effectively, efficiently, consistently, and in the public interest, as required by the CATSA Act.

Implementation of the Access to Information Act at CATSA

Responsibility for processing requests received under the Act rests with the Manager, Privacy and ATIP, who is also the organization’s Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator. A Senior ATIP Advisor supports the ATIP Coordinator in processing requests under the Act.

The ATIP Coordinator reports directly to the General Manager, Corporate Security, Facilities, and Information Management. The Vice-President, Corporate Services and Corporate Secretary serves as CATSA’s Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) and reports directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer.

CATSA’s ATIP Office responsibilities regarding the Act are as follows:

• receive and process all requests in accordance with the Act;
• assist requesters in formulating their requests when required;
• gather all pertinent records and ensure that the search for information is rigorous and complete; 
• conduct the initial record review and provide recommendations to the program areas;
• conduct all internal and external consultations;
• consolidate the recommendations and apply all discretionary and mandatory exemptions under the Act;
• assist the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) in all access to information related matters including complaints against CATSA;
• prepare annual reports on the administration of the Act;
• provide ongoing advice and guidance to senior management and staff on matters related to access to information;
• promote access to information awareness and training sessions to ensure that all staff are aware of the obligations imposed by the legislation;
• respond to consultations received from external organizations;
• develop and maintain access to information policies and guidelines; and,
• participate in ATIP community activities and ATIP community meetings.

III - Delegation of Signing Authority

In accordance with section 95(1) of the Act, a delegation order, signed by CATSA’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), designates the person holding the position of ATIP Coordinator to exercise and perform the access to information duties on behalf of the organization. CATSA welcomed a new President and CEO, Nada Semaan on April 3, 2023. A new delegation order was issued on July 27, 2023.

The signed and dated delegation order is attached to this report as Annex A.

IV - Statistical Report Interpretation

Access to Information Act Requests Received and Completed

During the fiscal year of 2022-2023, CATSA received nine Act requests, an increase of one from the eight requests received in the previous fiscal year. This represents a 12% increase. There were two files carried over from 2021-2022. In total, CATSA was responsible for 11 files in 2022-2023.

For this fiscal year, of the 10 files completed, CATSA processed 989 pages, an average of 90 pages per completed request. The amount of pages processed has significantly decreased over the previous fiscal year.

During this fiscal year, CATSA received eight informal ^{Footnote 1}  Act requests for information that was previously released. This reflects an increase of seven and represents a significant increase compared to the previous fiscal year. CATSA is pleased to report that on average, informal requests are completed within 15 days after they are received. CATSA continues to strive for the pro-active release of information on closed Act files.

Completion Time

Of the 11 Act requests completed during the 2022-2023 fiscal year:

• 8 completed within 30 days or less;
• 1 completed in 31 to 60 days; and 
• 2 completed in 121 to180 days.

Source of Access to Information Act Requests

Of the nine new requests, two requests (22%) came from the private sector, another two (22%) came from the media, and only one (11%) was from the public. The requesters declined to identify in the remaining three (33%) requests.

Disposition of Completed Access to Information Act Requests 

The 11 completed requests consisted of:

• 6 files (55%) were disclosed in part; 
• 4 files were all disclosed; and
• 1 file had no records.

      For all requests that were disclosed, the records were released electronically.

Exemptions Invoked

Where Access exemptions were invoked, these reasons were cited:

Reason	Subject	Number of Cases
International affairs	S. 15	1
Security	S. 16	6
Personal information	S. 19	3
Third Party Information	S. 20	2
Legal advice	S. 23	2
Statutory Legislation	S. 24	1

Extensions

Of the 11 Act requests completed in 2022-2023, only three necessitated an extension. Of the three requests that were extended, two extensions were taken due to the potential for interference with the operation of the Organization and were for a period of 61 to 120 days.

For the third extension, consultation with another government department was required. An extension was taken for a period of 31 to 60 days to complete the review and processing of the file.

Consultations Received from Other Government Departments

During 2022-2023, CATSA received eight consultations from Transport Canada and all were completed within the agreed timelines, i.e., 30 days or less. At the end of the fiscal year, there were no files pending or incomplete.

The full Statistical Report on the Administration of the Act is attached as Annex B.

V - Training and Awareness

The team responsible for Privacy and ATIP offers ATIP orientation training to all new employees. In 2022-2023, 53 employees received this orientation training.

In addition, one-on-one ATIP support is provided to employees, as needed, to clarify the Authority’s expectations with regard to the implementation of the Act.

VI - Policies, Guidelines, Procedures and Initiatives

CATSA’s ATIP manual provides a detailed view of CATSA’s ATIP processes. The CATSA ATIP Office continues to keep the manual current with the most recent practices as offered by the Treasury Board Secretariat in their training and information sessions. The objective of this ATIP manual is to ensure continued improvement to the treatment of CATSA’s access to information files and ongoing focus on the reduction of their processing time.

VII - Summary of Key Issues and Actions Taken on Complaints

CATSA received one new Act complaint during the reporting period. We await further direction and discussion with the OIC to quickly resolve this complaint. CATSA’s ATIP Office places a high priority on the processing and settlement of all complaints and will continue to work closely with OIC investigators on remaining compliant.

The OIC has not conducted any audits in relation to CATSA’s obligations under the Act during the reporting period.

VIII - Monitoring Compliance

There are two employees that are directly involved in the processing of Access to Information requests. While there is no formal monitoring procedure to oversee the time taken to complete the requests presently, the upcoming fiscal year will provide an opportunity to fine tune our policies and procedures to further strengthen compliance.

The ATIP Coordinator meets with the Senior ATIP Advisor on a weekly basis to discuss the progress of all Act files.

Collaboration

CATSA is a strong advocate of collaboration, both internally within the organization as well as within the ATIP Community.

CATSA – The ATIP Office regularly engages with various internal groups to provide advice, ideas and best practices. Regularly engaging with representatives from across the organization naturally allows a better understanding of issues and activities that are occurring operationally, and what may impact or be of interest as a whole.

Transport Canada – CATSA and Transport Canada work closely to ensure that any similar requests for activities that both organizations perform are treated consistently. CATSA continues to look forward to future opportunities to work together with colleagues in Transport Canada’s ATIP Office.

ATIP Community– CATSA’s ATIP Office regularly engages with other Crown corporation ATIP offices, which has considerable value. The ability to collaborate with other Crown corporation’s ATIP office allows for an opportunity to seek out advice on common issues unique to these institutions. Treasury Board Secretariat quarterly ATIP community meetings provided the ATIP Coordinator and the Senior ATIP Advisor the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences with all members of the community.

ANNEXES

Annex A: Delegation Order – Access to Information Act
Annex B: Statistical Report on the Administration of the Access to Information Act
Annex C: Supplemental Statistical Report on Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Annex A: Delegation Order – Privacy Act

Access to Information Act Delegation of Authority

I, Nada Semaan, President and CEO of CATSA, pursuant to subsection 95(1) of the Access to Information Act, designate the persons holding the positions set out in the attached Schedule ‘A’, or persons acting in those positions, to exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions that have been given to me as head of a government institution under the sections of the Access to Information Act, as set out in the Schedule.

Nada Semaan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

Signed in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada this 27 day of July 2023

---

Schedule "A"
Delegation Pursuant to Subsection 95(1) of the Act

Section	Description	ATIP Coordinator	Senior ATIP Advisor
				7(a)	To give notice to applicant that access will be given	Yes	Yes
8(1)	To transfer to another institution or to accept transfer from another institution and to give notice to applicant	Yes	Yes
9	To extend time limit and give notice	Yes	Yes
11(2)	To require payment of additional fees	Yes	Yes
11(3)	To require payment for machine readable record	Yes	Yes
11(4)	To require payment of a deposit	Yes	Yes
11(5)	To give notice	Yes	Yes
11(6)	To waive the requirement to pay a fee	Yes	Yes
12(2)	To determine whether a record should be translated	Yes	Yes
12(3)	To determine whether a record should be provided in an alternative format	Yes	Yes
13	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
14	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
15	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
16	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
17	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
18	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
19	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
20(1)	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that subsection	Yes	No
20(2)	To disclose part of a record referred to in that subsection	Yes	No
20(5)	To disclose, with the consent of third party, a record referred to in subsection 20(1)	Yes	Yes
20(6)	To disclose, in the public interest, a record referred to in paragraphs 20(1)(b),(c) or (d)	Yes	No
21(1)	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that subsection	Yes	No
22	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
23	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
24	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
25	To disclose any part of the record that does not contain information referred to by an exemption	Yes	No
26	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
27(1)	To give to third party notice of intent to disclose	Yes	Yes
27(4)	To extend time limit set out in 27(1)	Yes	Yes
28(1)	To decide on disclosure after third party representation and to give notice of decision to third party	Yes	Yes
28(2)	To waive requirement for written representations	Yes	Yes
28(4)	To give access unless review of decision is requested	Yes	No
29(1)	To give notice to applicant and to third party of decision to disclose the record where the Information Commissioner recommends disclosure	Yes	No
33	To advise the Information Commissioner of any third party who received notification or, if the document would have been disclosed, would have received notification	Yes	Yes
35(2)(b)	To make representations to the Information Commissioner	Yes	Yes
37(4)	To give notice to the Information Commissioner that access to a record will be given	Yes	Yes
43(1)	To give notice to a third party of application for Court review	Yes	Yes
44(2)	To give notice to applicant that third party has applied for Court review	Yes	Yes
52(2)	To request hearing in the National Capital Region	Yes	No
52(3)	To request opportunity to make representations ex parte	Yes	No
68	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	Yes
69	To refuse to disclose a record referred to in that section	Yes	No
71(1)	To provide facilities where manuals used by the institution may be inspected by the public	Yes	Yes
71(2)	To exclude information from manuals referred to in subsection 71(1)	Yes	Yes
72(1)	To prepare annual report for submission to Parliament	Yes	Yes
77	To carry out responsibilities conferred on the Head of the institution by regulations made under section 77 which are not included above	Yes	No

Annex B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

Reporting period: 4/1/2022 to 3/31/2023

Section 1: Requests Under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests 

1.2 Sources of requests

1.3 Channels of requests

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

Description		Number of Requests
Received during reporting period		8
Outstanding from previous reporting periods		0
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Outstanding from more than one reporting period	0
Total		8
Closed during reporting period		8
Carried over to next reporting period		0
Carried over within legislated timeline	0
Carried over beyond legislated timeline	0

4.2 Exemptions

* I.A.: International Affairs | * Def.: Defence of Canada | * S.A.: Subversive Activities

4.3 Exclusions

4.4 Format of information released

4.5 Complexity

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

 4.5.2 Relevant pages processed by request disposition for paper and e-record formats by size of requests

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

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

4.5.5 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for video formats

Number of Minutes Processed	Number of Minutes Disclosed	Number of Requests
0	0	0

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

Disposition	Less than 60 Minutes processed		60-120 Minutes processed		More than 120 Minutes processed
	Number of requests	Minutes Processed	Number of requests	Minutes Processed	Number of requests	Minutes Processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.7 Other complexities

Disposition	Consultation Required	Legal Advice Sought	Interwoven Information	Other	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	1	1	0	0	2
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner
Total	1	1	0	0	2

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1  Requests closed within legislated timelines

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

4.7.2 Request closed beyond legislated timelines (including any extension taken)

4.8 Requests for translation

Section 5: Extensions

5.1 Reasons for extensions and disposition of requests

Disposition of Requests Where an Extension Was Taken	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation Interwoven Information		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
		Section 69	Other
All disclosed	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	2	0	1	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0
Total	2	0	1	0

5.2 Length of extensions

Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference With Operations/ Workload	9(1)(b) Consultation		9(1)(c) Third-Party Notice
		Section 69	Other	0
30 days or less	0	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	1	0
61 to 120 days	2	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0	0
365 days or more	0	0	0	0
Total	2	0	1	0

Section 6: Fees

Fee Type	Fee Collected		Fee Waived		Fee Refunded
	Number  of Requests	Amount	Number  of Requests	Amount	Number  of Requests	Amount
Application	9	$45.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00
Other fees	0	$0.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00
Total	9	$45.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00

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

Number of Days Required to Complete Consultation Requests

Recommendation	1 to 15 Days	16 to 30 Days	31 to 60 Days	61 to 120 Days	121 to 180 Days	181 to 365 Days	More Than 365 Days	Total
Disclose entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclose in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exempt entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Exclude entirely	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Consult other institution	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 8: Completion Time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Pages	Less Than 100 Pages Processed		100-500 Pages Processed		500-1000 Pages Processed		1001-5000 Pages Processed		More Than 5000 Pages Processed
Number of Days	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Processed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed	Number of Requests	Pages Disclosed
1 to 15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16 to 30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31 to 60	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
61 to 120	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
121 to 180	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
181 to 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More than 365	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1 Investigations 

9.2 Investigations and Reports of finding

Section 37(1) Initial Reports			Section 37(2) Final Reports
Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner	Received	Containing recommendations issued by the Information Commissioner	Containing orders issued by the Information Commissioner
0	0	0	3	0	0

Section 10: Court Action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

Section 41

Complainant (1)	Institution (2)	Third Party (3)	Privacy Commissioner (4)	Total
0	0	0	0	0

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

Section 11: Resources Related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated Costs

11.2 Human Resources

Note: Enter values to three decimal places.

Annex C: Supplemental Statistical Report on Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Name of institution: Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

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

Section 1: Capacity to Receive Requests under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to receive ATIP requests through the different channels.

Description	Number of Weeks
Able to receive requests by mail	52
Able to receive requests by email	52
Able to receive requests through the digital request service	0

Section 2: Capacity to Process Records under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act

2.1 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process paper records in different classification levels

2.2 Enter the number of weeks your institution was able to process electronic records in different classification levels.

Description	No Capacity	Partial Capacity	Full Capacity	Total
Unclassified Paper Records	0	0	52	52
Protected B Paper Records	0	0	52	52
Secret and Top Secret Paper Records	0	0	52	52

Section 3: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Access to Information Act

3.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

3.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Information Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Fiscal Year Open Complaints Were Received by Institution	Number of Open Complaints
Received in 2022-2023	1
Received in 2021-2022	0
Received in 2020-2021	0
Received in 2019-2020	0
Received in 2018-2019	0
Received in 2017-2018	0
Received in 2016-2017	0
Received in 2015-2016	0
Received in 2014-2015	0
Received in 2013-2014 or earlier	0
Total	1

Section 4: Open Requests and Complaints Under the Privacy Act

4.1 Enter the number of open requests that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Fiscal Year Open Requests Were Received	Open Requests that are Within Legislated Timelines as of March 31, 2023	Open Requests that are Beyond Legislated Timelines as of March 31, 2023	Total
Received in 2022-2023	0	0	0
Received in 2021-2022	0	0	0
Received in 2020-2021	0	0	0
Received in 2019-2020	0	0	0
Received in 2018-2019	0	0	0
Received in 2017-2018	0	0	0
Received in 2016-2017	0	0	0
Received in 2015-2016	0	0	0
Received in 2014-2015	0	0	0
Received in 2013-2014 or earlier	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

4.2 Enter the number of open complaints with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that are outstanding from previous reporting periods.

Fiscal Year Open Complaints Were Received by Institution	Number of Open Complaints
Received in 2022-2023	0
Received in 2021-2022	1
Received in 2020-2021	0
Received in 2019-2020	0
Received in 2018-2019	0
Received in 2017-2018	0
Received in 2016-2017	0
Received in 2015-2016	0
Received in 2014-2015	0
Received in 2013-2014 or earlier	0
Total	1

Section 5: Social Insurance Number

Question	Answer
Has your institution begun a new collection or a new consistent use of the SIN in 2022-2023?	No

Section 6: Universal Access under the Privacy Act

Question	Number
How many requests were received from confirmed foreign nationals outside of Canada in 2022-2023?	0