Access to Information Act - Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization Annual Report to Parliament - April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

1.0 Introduction

Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization (CASDO) is pleased to present to Parliament its annual report on the administration of the Access to Information Act (ATIA) for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2023 and ending March 31, 2024.

1.1 About the Access to Information Act and Section 94 Requirement

The purpose of the Access to Information Act is to provide a right of access to information in records under the control of a government institution. The Act maintains that government information should be available to the public; that necessary exceptions to the right of access should be limited and specific; and that decisions on the disclosure of government information should be reviewed independently of government. This report is prepared in accordance with Section 94 of the Access to Information Act. Section 94 of the Access to Information Act and Section 20 of the Service Fees Act requires that the head of every federal government institution submit an annual report to Parliament on the administration of the Act during the fiscal year. This report outlines CASDO’s accomplishments in carrying out its access to information responsibilities and obligations during the 2023-2024 reporting period.

1.2 About Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization

Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization is a departmental corporation under Schedule II and IV of the Financial Administration Act, created following the Royal assent of the Accessible Canada Act June 2019, to contribute to the realization of a Canada without barriers. CASDO is governed by a Board of Directors and a Chief Executive Officer and is accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion of Canada. CASDO’s applied title is Accessibility Standards Canada. CASDO is subject to the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act (ATIP).

The purpose of the Accessible Canada Act is to benefit all persons, especially persons with disabilities, through the realization, within the purview of matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament, of a Canada without barriers, particularly by the identification and removal of barriers, and the prevention of new barriers, in the areas of:

employment;
the built environment;
information and communication technologies;
communications, other than ICT
the procurement of goods, services and facilities;
the design and delivery of programs and services;
transportation; and
areas designated under regulations.

CASDO’s mandate is to contribute to the realization of a Canada without barriers, on or before January 1, 2040, through, among other things:

the development and revision of accessibility standards;
the recommendation of accessibility standards to the Minister;
the provision of information, products and services in relation to the accessibility standards that it has developed or revised;
the promotion, support and conduct of research into the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers; and
the dissemination of information, including information about best practices, in relation to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers.

2.0 Access to Information at CASDO

Being a small organization, CASDO requested to take advantage of Employment and Social Development Canada’s expertise and efficiency in administering the ATIA and PA through a Memorandum of Understanding. The Corporate Secretariat of ESDC is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of effective policies, guidelines, systems and procedures to ensure CASDO’s responsibilities under the Act are met, and to enable appropriate processing and proper disclosure of information. ESDC is also responsible for related policies, systems and procedures emanating from the Act.

The activities of ESDC for Access to Information (ATI) are:

Provide access to information request handling, co-ordination and processing services in collaboration with CASDO, for records held under CASDO’s control, including consultation with other government departments and resolution of investigations received by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) triggered by complaints from requesters.
Provide CASDO with ATIA summaries on a monthly basis.
Provide guidance to assist CASDO in their responsibilities under the ATIA, including tools and processes, and access to information awareness training to CASDO employees based on mutually agreed upon negotiated timeframes.
Provide CASDO with advice and guidance on establishing an ATIP Liaison function.
Act as a liaison with the OIC for CASDO-related matters and keep CASDO informed of communications between ESDC and the OIC.
Provide pre-publication ATI review of CASDO material.
Provide CASDO with best practices, advice and guidance, and share tools and processes with respect to the following proactive publication activities:
- Briefing Note Titles (briefing notes prepared for the Minister, or Deputy Heads or person in an equivalent rank, i.e., the CASDO CEO)
- Question Period Notes prepared for Ministers
- Transition Binders (packages of briefing materials prepared for the Ministers, or Deputy Heads or persons in an equivalent rank, i.e., the CASDO CEO)
- Parliamentary Committee Binders (packages of briefing materials prepared for Ministers or Deputy Heads or persons in an equivalent rank, i.e., the CASDO CEO)
Provide best practices, advice and guidance to support the drafting and tabling of an Annual Report on the administration of the ATIA.
Provide statistical information for reporting purposes as required.

Under Section 96 of the Access to Information Act, institutions within the same ministerial portfolio can work together to process requests. A service agreement is in place between CASDO and ESDC related to access to information during the reporting period.

Additional copies of this report may be obtained from:

Accessibility Standards Canada
320 Saint-Joseph Blvd., Suite 246
Gatineau QC, K1A 0H3

3.0 Access to Information Delegation Order

Section 95(1) of the Access to Information Act empowers the head of the institution to delegate any of the powers, duties or functions assigned to them to employees of the institution.

A signed and dated copy of the Delegation Order can be found in Annex A.

4.0 Summary of Key Data

The Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act for 2023 to 2024 can be found in Annex B.

4.1 Requests Received and Completed Under the Access to Information Act

During the 2023 to 2024 reporting period, CASDO did not receive any new requests pursuant to the Access to information Act. Therefore, there was no impact on the department’s ability to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to the Access to information Act and no mitigation measures were implemented.

4.2 Sources of Requests

No data to report.

4.3 Exemptions and Exclusions

No data to report.

4.4 Consultations Received from Other Government of Canada Institutions and Other Organizations

In 2023 to 2024, CASDO has received one (1) consultation request from other Government of Canada institutions.

5.0 Reporting on Access to Information fees

The Service Fees Act requires a responsible authority to report annually to Parliament on the fees collected by the institution.

With respect to fees collected under the Access to Information Act, the information below is reported in accordance with the requirements of section 20 of the Service Fees Act.

Enabling authority: Access to Information Act
Fee Amount: $5.00 application fee
Total revenue: No fee was collected during fiscal 2023-2024
Cost of operating the program: $7,604

6.0 Training and Awareness Activities

CASDO is a small-sized department and received limited requests under the Act this year. Therefore, no formal training has been given to staff.

7.0 Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

CASDO follows the policies, guidelines or procedures of Employment and Social Development Canada.

8.0 Complaints and Investigations

CASDO did not receive any complaints during this reporting period.

Annex A: Delegation Order

Annex B: Statistical Report on the Access to Information Act

Name of institution: Accessibility Standards Canada

Reporting period: April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024

Section 1: Requests under the Access to Information Act

1.1 Number of requests

Details	Sub-total	Number of requests
Received during reporting period	n/a	0
Outstanding from previous reporting periods	n/a	1
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0	n/a
Outstanding from more than 1 reporting period	1	n/a
Total	n/a	1
Closed during reporting period	n/a	0
Carried over to next reporting period	n/a	1
Carried over within legislated timeline	0	n/a
Carried over beyond legislated timeline	1	n/a

1.2 Sources of requests

Source	Number of requests
Media	0
Academia	0
Business (private sector)	0
Organization	0
Public	0
Decline to identify	0
Total	0

1.3 Channels of requests

Source	Number of requests
Online	0
E-mail	0
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	0

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

Details	Number of requests
Received during reporting période	0
Outstanding from previous reporting periods	0
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Outstanding from more than 1 reporting period	0
Total	0
Closed during reporting period	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0

2.2 Channels of informal requests

Source	Number of requests
Online	0
E-mail	0
Mail	0
In person	0
Phone	0
Fax	0
Total	0

2.3 Completion time of informal requests

Completion time
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
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2.4 Pages released informally

Less than 100 Pages released		100-500 Pages released		501-1000 Pages released		1001-5000 Pages released		More than 5000 Pages released
Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released	Number of requests	Pages released
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2.5 Pages re-released informally

Less than 100 Pages re-released		100 to 500 Pages re-released		501 to 1000 Pages re-released		1001 to 5000 Pages re-released		More than 5000 Pages re-released
Number of requests	Pages re-released	Number of requests	Pages re-released	Number of requests	Pages re-released	Number of requests	Pages re-released	Number of requests	Pages re-released
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Section 3: Applications to the Information Commissioner on declining to act on requests

Details	Number of requests
Outstanding from previous reporting period	0
Sent during reporting period	0
Total	0
Approved by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Declined by the Information Commissioner during reporting period	0
Withdrawn during reporting period	0
Carried over to next reporting period	0

Section 4: Requests closed during the Reporting period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

Disposition of requests	Completion time
Disposition of requests	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
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request transferred	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.2 Exemptions

Section	Number of requests
13(1)(a)	0
13(1)(b)	0
13(1)(c)	0
13(1)(d)	0
13(1)(e)	0
14	0
14(a)	0
14(b)	0
15(1)	0
15(1) - I.A.*	0
15(1) - Def.*	0
15(1) - S.A.*	0
16(1)(a)(i)	0
16(1)(a)(ii)	0
16(1)(a)(iii)	0
16(1)(b)	0
16(1)(c)	0
16(1)(d)	0
16(2)	0
16(2)(a)	0
16(2)(b)	0
16(2)(c)	0
16(3)	0
16.1(1)(a)	0
16.1(1)(b)	0
16.1(1)(c)	0
16.1(1)(d)	0
16.2(1)	0
16.3	0
16.4(1)(a)	0
16.4(1)(b)	0
16.5	0
16.6	0
17	0
18(a)	0
18(b)	0
18(c)	0
18(d)	0
18.1(1)(a)	0
18.1(1)(b)	0
18.1(1)(c)	0
18.1(1)(d)	0
19(1)	0
20(1)(a)	0
20(1)(b)	0
20(1)(b.1)	0
20(1)(c)	0
20(1)(d)	0
20.1	0
20.2	0
20.4	0
21(1)(a)	0
21(1)(b)	0
21(1)(c)	0
21(1)(d)	0
22	0
22.1(1)	0
23	0
23.1	0
24(1)	0
26	0

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

4.3 Exclusions

Section	Number of requests
68(a)	0
68(b)	0
68(c)	0
68.1	0
68.2(a)	0
68.2(b)	0
69(1)	0
69(1)(a)	0
69(1)(b)	0
69(1)(c)	0
69(1)(d)	0
69(1)(e)	0
69(1)(f)	0
69(1)(g) re (a)	0
69(1)(g) re (b)	0
69(1)(g) re (c)	0
69(1)(g) re (d)	0
69(1)(g) re (e)	0
69(1)(g) re (f)	0
69.1(1)	0

4.4 Format of information released

Paper	Electronic				Other
Paper	E-record	Data set	Video	Audio	Other
0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5 Complexity

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

Number of pages processed	Number of pages disclosed	Number of requests
0	0	0

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

Disposition	Less than 100 pages processed		100-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages processed		1001-5000 pages processed		More than 5000 pages processed
Disposition	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed	Number of requests	Pages processed
All disclosed	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Neither confirmed nor denied	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

4.5.3 Relevant minutes processed and disclosed for audio formats

Number of minutes processed	Number of minutes disclosed	Number of requests
0	0	0

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

Disposition	Less than 60 minutes processed		60 - 120 minutes processed		More than 120 minutes processed
Disposition	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

4.5.5 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
Disposition	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	Other	Total
All disclosed	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	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
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

4.6 Closed requests

4.6.1 Requests closed within legislated timelines

Details	Quantity
Number of requests closed within legislated timelines	0
Percentage of requests closed within legislated timelines (%)	0

4.7 Deemed refusals

4.7.1 Reasons for not meeting legislated timelines

Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Principal Reason
Number of requests closed past the legislated timelines	Interference with operations/ Workload	External Consultation	Internal Consultation	Other
0	0	0	0	0

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

Number of days past legislated timelines	Number of requests past legislated timeline where no extension was taken	Number of requests past legislated timeline where an extension was taken	Total
1 to 15 days	0	0	0
16 to 30 days	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0
61 to 120 days	0	0	0
121 to 180 days	0	0	0
181 to 365 days	0	0	0
More than 365 days	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

4.8 Requests for translation

Translation requests	Accepted	Refused	Total
English to French	0	0	0
French to English	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0

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		9(1)(c) Third-Party notice
Disposition of requests where an extension was taken	9(1)(a) Interference with Operations/ Workload	Section 69	Other	9(1)(c) Third-Party notice
All disclosed	0	0	0	0
Disclosed in part	0	0	0	0
All exempted	0	0	0	0
All excluded	0	0	0	0
Request abandoned	0	0	0	0
No records exist	0	0	0	0
Declined to act with the approval of the Information Commissioner	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	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
Length of Extensions	9(1)(a) Interference with Operations/ Workload	Section 69	Other	9(1)(c) Third-Party notice
30 days or less	0	0	0	0
31 to 60 days	0	0	0	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
365 days or more	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0

Section 6: Fees

Fee type	Fee collected		Fee waived		Fee refunded
Fee type	Number of requests	Amount	Number of requests	Amount	Number of requests	Amount
Application	0	$0.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00
Other fees	0	$0.00	0	$0.00	0	$0.00
Total	0	$0.00	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

Consultations	Other Government of Canada Institutions	Number of Pages to Review	Other Organizations	Number of Pages to Review
Received during the reporting period	1	23	0	0
Outstanding from the previous reporting period	0	0	0	0
Total	1	23	0	0
Closed during the reporting period	1	23	0	0
Carried over within negotiated timelines	0	0	0	0
Carried over beyond negotiated timelines	0	0	0	0

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

Recommendation	Number of days required to complete the 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	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
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	1	0	0	0	0	0	1

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

Recommendation	Number of days required to complete the 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

Number of days	Fewer than 100 pages processed		100-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages procesed		1001-5000 pages procesed		More than 5000 pages procesed
Number of days	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	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

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Number of days	Fewer than 100 pages processed		100-500 pages processed		501-1000 pages procesed		1001-5000 pages procesed		More than 5000 pages procesed
Number of days	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	Number of requests	Pages disclosed	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

Section 32 Notice of intention to investigate	Subsection 30(5) Ceased to investigate	Section 35 Formal Representations
0	0	0

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	0	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 44 - under paragraph 28(1)(b)

Section 11: Resources related to the Access to Information Act

11.1 Allocated costs

Expenditures		Amount
Salaries		$7,604
Overtime		$0
Goods and Services		$0
Professional services contracts	$0	n/a
Other	$0	n/a
Total		$7,604

11.2 Human Resources

Resources	Person Years dedicated to Access to Information activities
Full-time employees	0.085
Part-time and casual employees	0.000
Regional staff	0.000
Consultants and agency personnel	0.000
Students	0.000
Total	0.085