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.

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

1.2 Sources of requests

1.3 Channels of requests

Section 2: Informal requests

2.1 Number of informal requests

2.2 Channels of informal requests

2.3 Completion time of informal requests 

2.4 Pages released informally

2.5 Pages re-released informally

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

Section 4: Requests closed during the Reporting period

4.1 Disposition and completion time

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 per 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

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

4.5.7 Other complexities

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 Requests 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

5.2 Length of extensions

Section 6: Fees

Section 7: Consultations Received From Other Institutions and Organizations

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

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

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

Section 8: Completion time of Consultations on Cabinet Confidences

8.1 Requests with Legal Services

8.2 Requests with Privy Council Office

Section 9: Investigations and Reports of finding

9.1 Investigations

9.2 Investigations and Reports of finding

Section 10: Court action

10.1 Court actions on complaints

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